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| | Title:
Army of Two
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Electronic Arts
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Developer:
EA Montreal
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Release:
TBA, 2007
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
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You may notice that this game’s stats show “Players: Two". It’s not “One or Two Players" or “One through some number of players.” There’s a reason why there’s no ‘One' in that description. This is an Army of Two, whether played on single-player or with a human buddy; this game is always a two-player. Unlike other squad based tactical shooters, Army of Two is all about your partner: whether it’s covering each other’s back in a firefight, or parachuting while taking down enemies, Army of Two has a primal focus on always working as a cohesive unit.
PMC soldiers aren’t mercs, they’re contractors
The story is a typical political military war conflict which needs a little intervention. Don’t expect Navy Seals or the U.S. Army to step into the picture, though. PMC (private military contract) soldiers are the headline of the game. Tyson and Elliot, the two contractors gamers will play in Army of Two, are guns-for-hire. They go where the military won’t, and do things the military can’t. These guys take on all sorts of different tasks as private contractors, and it’s up to players to work as a unit to get the job done. Don’t get them confused with the grunt-work of a mercenary, though, they prefer the neo-conceptual term, PMC soldier.
Trigger-happy gamers shouldn’t get too overzealous about the buddy-up gameplay, though. This isn’t Double Dragon, Contra or Crime Fighters. Army of Two is about the tactical aspects of teamwork. Helping another rappel, so either Tyson or Elliot can string down and shoot enemies through the window, or lifting each other up over ledges are just a few examples of the teamwork built into this game. Like the co-op in recent Splinter Cell games, Army of Two has the general back-to-back shootouts and platform co-op moves. But in this game there’s also reviving a teammate with CPR or locking together armor to become an unmovable and unstoppable force.
Vehicles also come into play, as one player can drive machines that traverse water, ground, or air while the other player mans the guns and blasts down everything in sight. From helicopters to forklifts with turret guns attached, players will have a variety of vehicles to man in varying circumstances. Like the game Gunforce, Tyson and Elliot both have to work together to get through tough situations even while using the vehicles. However, if players aren’t satisfied with the weapons found in a copter, jeep or speedboat, they can easily use their own customized personal weapons to get the job done.
Pimp my gun
One of the coolest features of Army of Two is the customizable weapon options. After successfully completing a mission, players are treated with a cool custom gun store that allows players to spend their hard earned cash. Passé upgrades are available: barrel extenders, silencers, sniper scopes, and so on. Let’s face it though, customizing a gun is only cool if you can “pimp” the gun out the same way someone can customize a car in Midnight Club: Dub Edition or Forza Motorsport. Take for instance, a shotgun that needs more range; just add a laser scope and a customized sniper rifle. Also, what if Tyson or Elliot keeps getting blasted in the face and needs some extra armor? Just add plate shielding to the M16, and for extra measure why not toss in a modified street sweeper?
For those who are really into tricking out their guns, there is the option to have the entire monster-modified gun covered in chrome, or better yet, gold. And with the on-line two-player mode, it only makes sense to go around and show-off the omega-tricked-out weapon to an on-line buddy. If players aren’t too sure how well the gun handles, before heading back out into battle with a custom piece, players can test out custom weapons at a shooting range. Pretty cool.
Many people may expect Electronic Arts to carry on a new-found tradition of taking “safe” LPs, sequels and sagas under their wing. You have to give EA credit, though, for at least trying some really original stuff with Army of Two. The custom-gun mods are proof enough, but for the skeptic there are still other neat features equally impressive.
Friendly fire + teammate = birdy
EA Montreal has some amazing proprietary artificial intelligence working in AOT. I’m not talking about enemies and rival contractors, I’m talking about the second player. When playing by oneself there’s still going to be two of mercs at all times. However, the second player is picked up by the AI. This isn’t a routine AI teammate either; this is a sophisticated chap who knows his stuff. As a player, if you screw up he’ll remember. Can’t muster to take a shot on time? He’ll remember. Have a bad habit of picking off civilians? He’ll remember. Not only will the AI take note of everything that happens, he’ll chatterbox his way through every stage about what you do, and how you get it done. So as a player, if you do something right or wrong, your AI teammate will make a comment to you about it, either positive or negative in tone. The Montreal team has even taken into account the dreaded possibility of repetitive phrases from the AI. So they have a very well-rounded approach as to how teammates communicate, and using different ways to cut-down on phrase repetition.
The game uses a snazzy voice-recognition system that allows for back-and-forth banter on both sides. Whether playing with another human or with the AI, communication is key for getting things done. With the AI, communicating with a teammate is how Tyson or Elliot will traverse platform obstacles, get doors open, or concurrently take out guards when sniping. If players aren’t always tight in their formation, whether it’s shooting effectively or knowing when to take a shot, things could go sour, quickly. Even worse, players who aren’t that good a shot and mistakenly let a little friendly fire slip during a shootout shouldn’t be surprised at the results. For retaliation, the computer-controlled teammate might flip the bird, or worse yet, equal the scoreboard with a little less-than-friendly fire. In fact, the AI in this game is so “sophisticated”, he’ll take over operations or flanking maneuvers if the player messed up in prior events. He’ll check his teammate if civilians come under fire, or he’ll even go to take a whiz when things settle down. I’m not sure how pertinent the last action is though. Nevertheless, this how much detail EA’s Montreal team is putting into the artificial, and highly intelligent teammate.
Run from the light, run from the light!
Despite its somewhat taboo connection to everyday conversation, dying in Army of Two is actually a mini-game ordeal for two. Like every other aspect of the squad-based shooter, AOT’s take on death is a cooperative mini-game. The mini-game consists of one player constantly trying to revive the other player by pressing the appropriate buttons to perform CPR. The dying player, on the other hand, must press buttons to run hard and fast from the proverbial “light”. I mean, how can you die and embrace the light when you’re still in the middle of a war, right? Small gestures that are hilarious as they are ridiculous have also been added. If the player performing CPR “skips a beat” the player desperately trying to run from the “light” might trip and fall in the small picture-in-picture window in the corner of the screen. If the “light” devours the dying player, then it’s game over. So both participants must work together to fight the “light” to stay alive and keep the battle going strong.
Before reviving a downed teammate, though, the player that’s still standing must first clear the area of baddies and either drag or carry his teammate to safety. EA has yet to reveal what happens in a situation where both players are out-manned and out-gunned and both need medical attention. Regardless, if either Tyson or Elliot gets gunned down, wounded teammates can be patched with a number of different items, including (I’m not kidding) female toiletries. Conveniently, if one of the men is bleeding profusely, you can “plug” the wound so Tyson or Elliot can continue on as an Army of Two.
Overall, EA’s original co-op beast is shaping up to be a really awesome game. Graphically it’s almost better than anything else on the market. The water effects alone are simply remarkable. With cinematic style action sequences, deformable environments, and vehicular interaction, Army of Two appears to have a well-rounded basis for gameplay. Still, replay values are about as questionable as Benimaru’s masculinity. There’s plenty of time for the Montreal team to even out all the kinks, though, and apparently give the graphics an even better over-haul. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners can expect the Army of Two to hit store shelves sometime in 2007.
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