Army of Two is made by Electronic Arts in an effort by the company to get away from everything sports. It's about these two guys who work for the Army and decide that it's stupid to go where the are told for a reason they don't understand. So, they quickly realize that it's much more rewarding to work for a private security company and go around the world and fight for apparently the most honorable thing in the world...money. That's right, you play two guys who are hired mercenaries and travel to the biggest war zones in the world and basically kill bad guys.
Let's first start with the bad things about this game. The story, while enjoyable, is really stupid. The story revolves around the trend of privatizing our military. Where apparently our army fails, these two guys can come in and clean up with very little problems. uh...right. The enemies that you fight in this game couldn't be more stereotypical, and that just goes to show how stupid some people really are. There is literally a scene where you are on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan and you are being attacked by suicide bombers. These "suicide bombers" are men with beards and turbans on their heads running straight at you with explosives on their chests and their arms in the air screaming something in Arabic. Shoot one in the chest, and they explode long before they get to you. It's embarrassing how stupid this looks. Especially since the cut scene just before this shows footage of September 11th. To think that our military is facing anything this stupid on the ground in the Middle East is insulting to them and us.
Ok, now that's out of the way, onto the good...the gameplay. You play as either one of these two mercenaries and either the computer or another buddy plays as the other guy. The first time through this game, I played with the 30yoRoomie and it was a great experience. I personally love playing games cooperatively. It's a great feeling where you two have to work together to overcome an obstacle. And in this game, it's absolutely imperative that you work together.First, there is a system in the game in place called Aggro. What Aggro basically means is that the computer enemies will focus their fire on the guy who's firing the most. So say for example, you are playing with a friend and while you are taking cover, your friend decides to run straight out in the open firing at anything that moves. Well the computer enemies will then focus their fire on your friend cutting him to ribbons, and leave you completely alone. Sometimes in the game that's a strategically important option. If for example you need to flank around a machine gun nest, then your friend can run around like an idiot. While everyone is focused on him, you can easily sneak around behind everyone and shoot the machine gunner in the back of the head. It's pretty cool.
The second time through the game I played with the computer as my buddy. In most games like this my biggest complaint is that your computer buddies look like they are doing a lot, but in truth they are hitting nothing, and it's up to you to kill all 562 enemies while your computer buddies are just hanging back. Not in this game. If the computer is your AI buddy, you can bet he's kicking just as much ass as you. Don't feel like going into a room first? No problem, send the computer guy to do it. You control all of his actions. Tell him to charge, hang back, regroup, kick ass, or stay low. It's all up to you, and for the most part he's very responsive. It's very innovative game play and it's a joy to play.
The game moves along at a very quick exciting pace. Just when you start to really get into the game and enjoy it, it's over. Army of Two will take about 20 hours to beat. The game and cut scenes look brilliant and the story is enjoying, except for the times where it's stupid to the point of insulting. Either way, for those of you who liked Gears of War and other hardcore shooters, this game is very enjoyable and worth a look.
Until next time,
- The 30 Year Old Gamer
No comments:
Post a Comment