Army of Two's story is built upon the world of private security corporations. After the game's first mission, two Army Rangers are recruited by SSC – Security and Strategy Corporation – to carry out assignments for the government. Frustrated with the conventional infantry, they willingly accept, and are quickly seduced by the high pay and superior equipment provided to them. Army of Two provides a useful insight into the privatisation of defence, but fails to leave any lasting impression on the issue. The story is straightforward and tightly scripted, but unfortunately, the motivations of the game's villains are not fully explained. The real potential lies in the dialogue and accompanying cutscenes, which are CGI-rendered. Together, they deliver an explosive and entertaining plot, something many games have failed to do of late.
Gameplay in Army of Two is based on timing and tactics. The game uses a system called 'Aggro', whereby one mercenary attracts the attention of enemies so the other can flank. By shooting big weapons, throwing grenades and making a general nuisance of themselves, players create Aggro. Aggro is measured conveniently by a half-circle meter on top of the HUD. The mercenaries' names are displayed on either side of the meter, and an arrow points in the direction of the person generating the Aggro. The benefit of gaining Aggro is that it attracts the attention of insurgents away from your partner. In effect, the second player then becomes invisible, meaning they can flank the enemy easily.
Players will spend most of their time providing covering fire or flanking.
Players spend the majority of time in Army of Two laying covering fire and flanking, but because the Aggro system works so well, you will never become bored with the process. The Aggro meter takes time to fill, so each skirmish requires a certain level of planning. Unique level design makes every battle different, and players will often have to change tactics on the fly, switching between the roles of generating Aggro and flanking.
In order to build Aggro more quickly, players can buy different weapons using the money they have earned from completing objectives and killing enemies. The basic rule in Army of Two is that the bigger the gun you have, the faster you generate Aggro. Players come equipped with primary, secondary and special weapons (such as sniper rifles). Each firearm is different in terms of its damage, range, clip size and amount of Aggro it creates. There are a heap of different options for upgrading guns, including the option to 'pimp' them. If you pimp a weapon it will look more like a jewellery box then a conventional firearm, but doing so helps attract the attention of potential enemies.
Army of Two enables players to shoot accurately from behind cover without having to expose themselves. The result is that the game is paced much quicker because you can build Aggro without being exposed to enemy fire. You cannot become 'attached' to objects as you do in Rainbow Six: Vegas, but the cover mechanic still works flawlessly. Switching weapons is more of a chore, as it requires holding down the left bumper at the same time as pressing the D-pad, which takes a few seconds. Grenades are thrown in the same way as Gears of War – holding the left trigger shows trajectory and pulling the right trigger releases the explosive.
"Use this weapon – it’s fully sick!"
Besides the cover and flank gameplay, Army of Two throws a number of other challenges at players. The two mercenaries constantly have to go 'back-to-back' to defeat hordes of enemy soldiers. In these engagements, time slows down and you are given an unlimited amount of bullets to throw at encircling enemies. Other co-operative assignments include being strapped to a parachute together, operating an amphibious craft, sniping two enemies at once, and holding a shield – in the form of a car door – in front of your partner while they provide covering fire.
In the single-player campaign, players are given direct control over the second mercenary. You can order your partner to advance, regroup or hold position, and be passive or aggressive in their movements. On the whole, the AI team-mate does a fairly decent job of following orders, but there are still a few flaws. The AI partner works better at being the aggressive one and laying down covering fire. As a result, players may find themselves constantly adopting the role of the passive soldier. The AI mercenary will also sometimes stop shooting at the enemy for no apparent reason, or drag you needlessly all over the battlefield before performing first aid. The bad programming only interferes sporadically, and for the most part, the singe-player experience is solid. Our only remaining criticism of the single-player campaign is that you cannot choose your AI team-mate's weapons before each mission.
The enemy artificial intelligence in Army of Two is also quite smart. Terrorists will hide behind cover and retreat whenever appropriate, meaning there is even more need for player tactics. You will constantly find yourself being outflanked by the enemy, and players should be especially wary of 'martyrs' – insurgents that come run at you with bombs strapped to their chest. One drawback of the game through is that if you get bogged down in a certain area, enemies will continue re-spawning until you progress forward.
"You can stop dragging me now – no, really!"
Playing Army of Two is an absolute delight in co-op mode. Without the flaws of the AI mercenary, players can make their way through the game with a minimum of pain, albeit a much quicker experience. In co-op, you can either play privately with a friend or look for a partner online. If you opt for the latter option be sure that you have access to voice communication, or your game will become bogged down in deciding who will be the aggressive mercenary.
Army of Two's graphics are absolutely stunning. EA have put the technology behind the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to fantastic use, as the game looks excellent regardless of the platform you play it on. Textures are very lifelike – surfaces such as water, wood and rock look terrific. Building interiors and exteriors are rendered well and complimented by realistic level design. Characters and weapons are animated with a high level of detail, while lighting and rain effects add another level of believability to the game. Most importantly, there are no frame-rate issues. The development team should also be complimented on the CG cutscenes, which look absolutely fantastic. Overall, Army of Two is nearly on par with Call of Duty 4 – the game is only diminished because it takes place from a third-person perspective.
The soundtrack to Army of Two is equally good. The superbly composed music gives a gritty edge to the game, and sound effects are of a high quality. Noises like the wind and ocean really help immerse the player in the shooter's various locations. Though the voice acting is somewhat cheesy, it adds a level of humour to the game's intense cutscenes and battles.
Money earned from completing objectives is spent on bigger and better weapons.
The Army of Two campaign is made up of six levels, all of which take about ninety minutes or less to complete. Each stage is divided into a number of smaller episodes with different primary, secondary and bonus objectives. In the event that you get lost, the GPS function can be switched on to show which direction your character should be going in. Players earn cash for every assignment they successfully complete, so there is real incentive to undertake each objective that arises. Checkpoints are placed strategically throughout each of Army of Two's six stages, and we never found ourselves replaying large chunks of the game. However, the load times always seem a tad too long, especially for accessing the weapon dealer menus.
In addition to completing the campaign co-operatively, Army of Two offers a number of other multiplayer modes. Multiplayer games are mainly about getting the most amount of money before the match ends. Teams earn cash by disposing of the opposition and other targets of opportunity. Players will either spend their time running around killing the enemy, or planting bombs and protecting hostages. The better match types require you to do both, but it still becomes repetitive after a while.
Army of Two is not just another mindless shooter churned out to satisfy fans of the genre for a few hours. EA's latest third-person title offers players in-depth and satisfying tactical experience, both in the single-player campaign and co-op mode. The cover and flank gameplay never bores, mainly because of the intensity offered by the intuitive Aggro system. Despite a few glitches with the partner AI and other factors like loading times, Army of Two is an entertaining game, especially due of the excellent graphics and enjoyable story. Though it is unlikely to set the world on fire, Army of Two has the correct mix of innovation and polish to succeed where countless other games have failed.
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