Army of Two Review
What It’s About
Army of Two is a third person shooter currently released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. The plot revolves around army buddies turned PMC mercenaries: Rios and Salem. Rios (the big guy) is deep thinking, intuitive, and righteous. Salem (the lil guy) is the smart ass, quick talking, fast living, money driven one. Typical mid-mission tangents started by Salem involve talks about who’s going to win tonight’s football game or who is the best rapper (all while bullets are whizzing past your head). This is one of the many ways that EA conveys the teamwork, bonding, and friendship aspect of Army of Two. By the way, the cut scenes feel like mini movies.
The Agro System
The Agro system involves taking the enemies’ focus off your partner so that he can sneak around and flank them. The guy firing the biggest, loudest, and flashiest gun will take on the most Agro. There is an Agro meter on your HUD that shows you who currently holds the most Agro. If you manage to fill up the meter you will enter Overkill mode. In this mode the man with most Agro will receive a temporary increase in firing rate and bullet damage. The other member will become virtually invisible and will move and double speed. Agro will make the difference between death and a fat pay check.
Guns
The gun variety is sufficient but the best part about it is the customization. Each gun you purchase can be customized in some shape or form. Some customizations are for utility (bigger clip, shield, better scope, etc.) and others are for aesthetics (gold plate your gun Saddam Hussein style).
Coop Work
This game focuses on team play. Some obstacles can not be overcome without your partner. If a wall is too high to climb then you can give your partner a leg up. If a door is too heavy then you can combine your strength with your partner to lift it up. If you’re facing an assload of insurgents then you can rip off a car door and press forward with your partner behind you shooting their faces off. Some missions will require you to parachute into the thick of battle; one of you will control the parachute (via Sixaxis control for PS3) while the other snipes nearby enemies. If you teammate gets gunned down then it is up to you to drag his ass to cover and give him an adrenaline shot to the chest so that he can get up and fight some more. Pissed at your partner’s performance? Stand close to him and press the fire button so you can slap him across the head. Want to celebrate a job well done? Press the action button near your partner and give him dap. This game is about team work and this game does it right.
What You Need to Play
There is one thing that you need to get the full experience out of this game: a friend. This game requires a lot of team work and who better to provide that than somebody you know? This game gives you the option of playing the campaign on coop via split screen or online. If you are playing coop op online you most definitely need a headset. Don’t know anybody else with the game? You can play with random people online. There is no excuse, don’t play alone like a lame would.
How It Is
So how does it play? It plays something like Gears of War (Xbox 360) minus the steroids. The duck-and-cover style gameplay is executed well in this game. Blind-firing is intuitive and effective. Focused aim zooms in over the shoulder and it feels natural. The intelligent A.I. is complimented by the Agro system. As stated before, this gun is the most fun when it is played with friends. Although I had hella fun with this game, I did have a couple gripes. The first would be the melee attacks. Although the variety of melee attacks are awesome (Choke Slam courtesy of the Undertaker), it sucks that there is not a button mapped for it separate from the fire button. Movement sometimes felt awkward and climbing for better sniping position seemed like chore on occasion. Also, why did EA decide to cut the ability to sprint if they were going to bite GoW so hard? The guns are not balanced either (take a lesson from Call of Duty 4). The only thing that matters when it comes to choosing your gun is how big it is. The last issue I have with the game is its length; this game is short as hell. Flea and I beat this game in two days (would have done it in one night but we have lives to attend to). Fortunately the game’s short length is supplemented with online play which has the potential to be very sikk.
Rating:
Presentation: 9
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 7
Replay Appeal: 8
Overall: 7.8 out of 10
What It’s About
Army of Two is a third person shooter currently released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. The plot revolves around army buddies turned PMC mercenaries: Rios and Salem. Rios (the big guy) is deep thinking, intuitive, and righteous. Salem (the lil guy) is the smart ass, quick talking, fast living, money driven one. Typical mid-mission tangents started by Salem involve talks about who’s going to win tonight’s football game or who is the best rapper (all while bullets are whizzing past your head). This is one of the many ways that EA conveys the teamwork, bonding, and friendship aspect of Army of Two. By the way, the cut scenes feel like mini movies.
The Agro System
The Agro system involves taking the enemies’ focus off your partner so that he can sneak around and flank them. The guy firing the biggest, loudest, and flashiest gun will take on the most Agro. There is an Agro meter on your HUD that shows you who currently holds the most Agro. If you manage to fill up the meter you will enter Overkill mode. In this mode the man with most Agro will receive a temporary increase in firing rate and bullet damage. The other member will become virtually invisible and will move and double speed. Agro will make the difference between death and a fat pay check.
Guns
The gun variety is sufficient but the best part about it is the customization. Each gun you purchase can be customized in some shape or form. Some customizations are for utility (bigger clip, shield, better scope, etc.) and others are for aesthetics (gold plate your gun Saddam Hussein style).
Coop Work
This game focuses on team play. Some obstacles can not be overcome without your partner. If a wall is too high to climb then you can give your partner a leg up. If a door is too heavy then you can combine your strength with your partner to lift it up. If you’re facing an assload of insurgents then you can rip off a car door and press forward with your partner behind you shooting their faces off. Some missions will require you to parachute into the thick of battle; one of you will control the parachute (via Sixaxis control for PS3) while the other snipes nearby enemies. If you teammate gets gunned down then it is up to you to drag his ass to cover and give him an adrenaline shot to the chest so that he can get up and fight some more. Pissed at your partner’s performance? Stand close to him and press the fire button so you can slap him across the head. Want to celebrate a job well done? Press the action button near your partner and give him dap. This game is about team work and this game does it right.
What You Need to Play
There is one thing that you need to get the full experience out of this game: a friend. This game requires a lot of team work and who better to provide that than somebody you know? This game gives you the option of playing the campaign on coop via split screen or online. If you are playing coop op online you most definitely need a headset. Don’t know anybody else with the game? You can play with random people online. There is no excuse, don’t play alone like a lame would.
How It Is
So how does it play? It plays something like Gears of War (Xbox 360) minus the steroids. The duck-and-cover style gameplay is executed well in this game. Blind-firing is intuitive and effective. Focused aim zooms in over the shoulder and it feels natural. The intelligent A.I. is complimented by the Agro system. As stated before, this gun is the most fun when it is played with friends. Although I had hella fun with this game, I did have a couple gripes. The first would be the melee attacks. Although the variety of melee attacks are awesome (Choke Slam courtesy of the Undertaker), it sucks that there is not a button mapped for it separate from the fire button. Movement sometimes felt awkward and climbing for better sniping position seemed like chore on occasion. Also, why did EA decide to cut the ability to sprint if they were going to bite GoW so hard? The guns are not balanced either (take a lesson from Call of Duty 4). The only thing that matters when it comes to choosing your gun is how big it is. The last issue I have with the game is its length; this game is short as hell. Flea and I beat this game in two days (would have done it in one night but we have lives to attend to). Fortunately the game’s short length is supplemented with online play which has the potential to be very sikk.
Rating:
Presentation: 9
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 7
Replay Appeal: 8
Overall: 7.8 out of 10
