U360 gets the inside details on EA Montreal's first Army of Two DLC.
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Thanks in part to the huge success of titles like Grand Theft Auto IV and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GameStop reported a net earnings increase of 151% for the first quarter of 2008 according to sales figures released by the company.
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New achievements for EA's Army of Two have appeared. There are four achievements worth an additional 100 GamerScore.

The achievements are only available to unlock in a brand new SSC Challenge Mode which comes in the form of a new downloadable content pack. From Official EA Games website:

"Army of Two is bringing you all new content with the brand new SSC Challenge Mode available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the Sony PLAYSTATION STORE on April 24! The SSC Challenge Mode Pack is comprised of four new two-player co-op maps where gamers will compete in the SSC Challenge versus mode for the chance to earn big cash rewards. Each team must work co-operatively and compete in a race through grueling obstacle courses as they test skills in accuracy, two-man tactics and highly lethal combat. This whole new multiplayer mode will give you the chance to test your skills in a brand new setting while still delivering the action packed co-op intensity that you can expect from Army of Two.

The new maps will be available on April 24 in North America and Europe on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The download pack will also come to the PLAYSTATION Store on April 24 in North America and May 2008 in Europe."

The full achievement list for Army of Two can be found here. The download content is expected to be priced at 600 Microsoft Points. Will you be downloading the new content? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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Gamesite XGN posts her weekly European Xbox Live Marketplace Roundup. This week there are a great number of new demos released.
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EA has today announced it is expanding Army of Two with the release of the new Security and Strategy Corporation (SSC) Challenge mode and maps. The new SSC Challenge mode will see two teams competing in obstacle courses set in four new maps for the chance to join the SSC.

The new content will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in North America and Europe and the North American PlayStation Store on April 24. The European PlayStation Store will get the new content in May.
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Jesse Divnich, newly-installed director of Analytical Services at EEDAR, believes that there should be little disruption to overall sales of Grand Theft Auto IV, even though demand for Wii Fit - released in the UK just days earlier than Rockstar's title - appears to be extremely high.

However, he did admit that there may be an initial hit, based on some crossover, although if so, it wouldn't last too long.
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PlayStation 3 outsold Xbox 360 for the third month in a row, but the Nintendo Wii overshot the combined sales of its rivals, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.

Ahead of March's NPD Group sales data, due to release this Thursday, Pachter forecast PS3 sales of 365,000 units, edging out sales of 310,000 for Xbox 360.

In a Monday investor note, Pachter predicted that Nintendo will come out on top for yet another month, with Wii sales of 700,000 during March's five-week retail period.
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WorthPlaying writes: Army of Two will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current-day headlines where they will utilize unique TWO man strategies and tactics while seamlessly transitioning between playing with AI and a live player. EA has issued a patch for Army of Two fixing connection stability, server response and headset issues.
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As previously announced, an Army of Two demo is available to download from the XBOX Live Marketplace, as well as three sets of gamer pictures. Here's the full list for Tuesday 1st April 2008:

Name: Nick Busby InkBlots #2 Gamer Pictures
Price: 60 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Name: Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Picture Pack Elite
Price: 60 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Name: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: Picture Pack
Price: 140 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Continued at the source.
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Army of Two Assistant Producer, Matt Turner has revealed on his upcoming blog, details about an Army of Two demo and new downloadable content:

"So guess what people. The demo is coming. Oh Yeah. Sha-bam. Looks like it will be going live April 1st. So for those of you that have yet to give our game a whirl you can download it off Xbox live and take it for a test run. It's the training and first map of the game so it gets you familiar with the systems and then lets you get a taste of the combat. We figured that now is as good a time as any to get it out there. It will be free, of course, and waiting to entice you like a piece of raw meet dangling over an alligator pond¿jumping, snapping, being generally menacing until you grab it and take it deep under water for a good ol' fashion death roll¿ animals! Again! I always get on nature tangents¿it's kind of a thing these days I suppose.

Moving on. So there is 1 new multiplayer map arriving as well as 2 new campaign maps in the not too distant future. As well as SSC Challenge- that's the obstacle course for mercs that I mentioned in my previous post. So that being said there is some good stuff to look forward to in the future for AO2."

Details of an upcoming patch were also revealed. The problems that patch will fix include:

* Problems connecting to EA servers

* Getting Disconnected from Multiplayer matches

* PS3 Headset issues

* Region Lock
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Democrat and Chronicle reports:

"Salem and Rios started their careers as U.S. Rangers. But they got talked into working for a corporation as mercenaries, doing contract-killing for the "U.S. Administration." Unlike government soldiers, their post-9/11 battles are bloody lucrative.

And so, video games - from BlackSite: Area 51 to Tom Clancy titles - continue to make political statements. Army of Two is the latest, not the greatest, battlefield outing to chime in on how America conducts itself militarily."
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Army of Two takes the top spot for the second straight week on the Gamefly Top Ten 'Most Queued' list. Not surprisingly, Super Smash Bros. Brawl continues it's reign at the top of the Nintendo Wii list, while PlayStation 3 gamers have Army of Two queued up at the top as well.

Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested list:
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Army of Two and Bully: Scholarship Edition fight it out at the top of the chart...
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While EA's Army of Two has been doing brisk business since it's release last week, the tale of two military contractors has been raising eyebrows and ire for its subject matter. While some have deemed it to be too 'pro-American,' it was developed in EA's Montreal studio. Alain Tascan, the general manager, said: "In Europe for instance, certain places feel the game is very pro-American. But the thing I want to tell them is, 'Do you know it's being done by French Canadians?'"
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EA has responded to Geekpulp about the region locking found in the online section of Army of Two, they have some valid reasons but Lag and international play is not one of them.
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Army of Two will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current day headlines where they will utilize unique TWO man strategies and tactics while seamlessly transitioning between playing with AI and a live player. The European manual mentions that the game is not cross region compatible, which EA confirmed today. Since Army of Two uses peer-to-peer and no server connectivity, that choice was made to maintain perfect synchronization in the animations and prevent a bad co-op experience.
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Gamedaily gives you a detail look at Army of Two's Achievements.
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VGB writes: What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

This week's charts, with data taken from March 6th, 2008, sees Army of Two debuting to top sales in North America, while Japan finds sales leadership in the latest in Sega's Yakuza franchise, Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan (Yakuza 3).
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Next-Gen.Biz reports that EA says it's in discussions with Germany's ratings body to secure a release for Army of Two in the country

A report on Area Games, translated by Kotaku, says EA's Army of Two has been refused classification by the German ratings body USK.

When contacted by Next-Gen EA confirmed that "Army of Two is currently unrated in Germany". The publisher refused to be drawn on whether it plans to submit a toned down version of the title to the USK for classification, but added that it is "in discussions with the ratings body to review next steps for its release".
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Army of Two takes the top spot of the Gamefly Top Ten 'Most Queued' list. Not surprisingly, Super Smash Bros. Brawl continues it's reign at the top of the Nintendo Wii list, while PlayStation 3 gamers have Army of Two queued up at the top as well.

Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested list:
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