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Army of Two


EA's gruesome twosome shooter is finally ready...

When Ridley Scott revisited Alien to produce a director’s cut, many fans were surprised that, rather than chuck a load of extra footage in, he actually cut a lot out. The resulting re-edit was tighter and scarier, turning a great movie into an even better one. And so it is with Army of Two. When we played it back in November, we found ourselves looking at a mostly fun game that had some serious flaws.

It seems that EA shared our opinion, announcing that the game was to be delayed a few more months to allow the team to tweak it. As with the Alien remix, these improvements mainly involved ripping unfixable content out. So the Dance Dance Revolution-style tampon stuffing minigames? Gone. Vehicular combat? Mostly gone (more on that later). Boring single-player gameplay? Definitely a thing of the past. Welcome to Army of Two - The ‘Director’s Cut’.

Despite the tinkering, the core storyline has remained the same, as Salem (Skinny, money obsessed thrill-seeker) and Rios (Burly quarterback, conspiracy theory nut), rip their way through 18-years worth of political hotspots, high-fiving their way to the plot’s incredibly obvious (and slightly abrupt) conclusion like a pair of wrestling fixated teenagers. Designed as a co-op experience from the outset, you’ll always have a partner, with the second character controlled by a friend or AI.

Much of the work done on the game since November has gone into improving the partner AI, and it’s made a huge difference to the single-player campaign. Although you still issue the same orders as before (aggressive and passive flavors of Go, Stop and Re-group) your pantomime-tough pal responds much more effectively than before, and by combining commands it’s now possible to place him anywhere you want. Now you don’t have to worry about your partner, you can finally relax into the pair’s juvenile camaraderie - to the point where you actually look forward to running up and chest-thumping your heterosexual life-partner after particularly cool shoot-outs.


 
8 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
TedDidlio  - 1 year 1 month ago 
^ This review is pretty much perfect. I agree on essentially every point. I loved the back to back scenes, the overkill mode, getting a satisfying headshot through a crack, or seeing the ragdoll physics work their magic after I send a guy flying as I beast his face in with my armored knee. The weapon customization was fun, and the online was was surprisingly fresh and entertaining. The only thing I partially disagree with is, while the ending was abrupt, I actually enjoyed the storyline. Sure, it was corny and it's not gonna win any awards, but I was genuinely interested in what was going to happen next. There were some really entertaining bits of dialogue too, especially out of the douchebag Clyde. "See you later, Fuck-o's!" "Did he just say fuck-o's?" "Who says that?"

Overall, it's a really fun game that could be perfected in a sequel, which I definitely hope EA greenlights.

Great game, perfect review.

--Dick Billjeffe
Army_of_One  - 1 year 1 month ago 
this game is fun especially grabbing the terrorists and throwing them by there neck,not that much blood though think it would've been better if it was 1st person. :)
R38P3R  - 11 months 17 days ago 
best weapon customization ive ever seen.
Fionn1  - 9 months 1 day ago 
Top game, playing at the moment with my mate, it kicks ass...and the weapon customization is awesome....I mean an AK47 with a shield strapped to it and then a shotgun strapped under the regular AK barrel!!! lol
cowboy567  - 8 months 23 days ago 
I think this game deserves a 10 but thats just one man's opinion.this is an Incredible game
squidhead442  - 7 months 28 days ago 
So cheap! I'm gonna go buy it tonight. Good review and thanks for the additional comments guys!
Fearthylogic  - 4 months 18 days ago 
I've played this game and it's a great game, and I agree on most of it. I think the aggro system could have used a bit more depth, but thats just me. It's a good idea, but kinda felt a bit...useless. There should also have been the option for stealth, but still gives you the option of running in and beating the crap out of them.
Overall, it's a great game, but could use more polish, which is pretty much what they said.
Ricochet3435  - 3 months 27 days ago 
This game is one of the most amazing shooters Ive ever played on 360. I love it! Im addicted to it! I cant stop playing it! And I only got it a few hours ago! I reccomend everyone go out and buy it. It is well worth your twenty dollars!
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The Knowledge
Army of Two
Army of Two

Genre: Shooter
Release date: Mar 7, 2008
Published by: Electronic Arts
Developed by: EA Montreal
Franchise: Army of Two
Multiplayer Modes:
Online
2 player CO-OP
8 GREAT
Read the review
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