Move forward!
By Ben Salter
Blowing shit up and shooting things like there’s no tomorrow! That’s what
Army of Two: The 40th Day is all about. Developer, EA Montreal, has taken the concept from the first game, attended to a majority of its legion of issues, and returned with a co-op action game that’ll provide just that; endless action best enjoyed with a mate.
Set in Shanghai, Army of Two: The 40th Day puts you and a mate (or the computer) in the shoes of Rios and Salem, a dynamic duo in charge of their own freelance military corporation. Unfortunately for them they chose the wrong day to visit the east, as everything goes from bad to worse on what should have been a straightforward mission. Buildings start to crumble, debris falls from the sky and before they know it the whole city seems to be infested with operatives that want them dead. They must find out who’s behind the mess, before it’s too late.
The basic gameplay is relatively simple. In short, Army of Two feels like a Gears of War clone that places an even greater emphasis on co-op. The simple controls scheme brings with it a series of pros and cons, but overall it’s great for some mindless action. In the heat of battle the last thing you want to think about is what button you need to press to perform a simple task.
The cover mechanic is extremely important, as you’ll spend more time in cover than not, and fortunately it works very well. Run up to any object that can be used as cover, a wall, car, table, and so forth, and Rios or Salem will immediately take cover behind it. For lower items you’ll also need to crouch, presetting the left analogue stick, while aiming using the left trigger will momentarily put you in the firing line to retaliate. EA Montreal has clearly put a lot of thought into this as it works almost flawlessly, yet was so easy. Even better is the option to toggle between over the left and right shoulder. So many over the shoulder third person shooters force you to look over your right shoulder, and then, even the good ones only let you go left at certain moments. The 40th Day gives you the option to position the camera, and in turn the angle, over either shoulder at any point in the game.
EA has decided we all need to think morally when blowing things up. All big decisions in the game have two possible outcomes, and the press of a button controls it all during cut-scenes. For instance, you can choose to assassinate a character for more money, or let them go. The outcome is played out in a series of comic panels, which looks really cool, but all in all it’s pointless. There’s minimal, if any, consequence for your actions, and most of the time it doesn’t seem to matter what option you chose.
Working with your partner is imperative to the success of each objective. If you ignore him everything will go horribly wrong; however, you might just survive if you work together. It’s much better playing with a friend, as it always will be. In saying that, for a game that’s all about a two-man team the solo player AI is surprisingly good. If you’re stuck without friends, like me for all but 5 minutes, you’ll get to know the yet again simply, but effective, four-pronged command system. You can order your partner in crime to advance, re-group, or hold position with the d-pad with either an aggressive or tactical approach. The second L trigger can then be used to get him to help you open doors, take an enemy hostage, or give you a leg-up. Obviously there’s not as much depth and planning as with a mate by your side, but it’s good to know your computer-controlled partner is doing what you want without having to watch over them.
The AI does tend to fall down a little in hostage situations. Most missions have at least one, if not multiple, hostages to save. It’s not mandatory to rescue the helpless victims, but there is a sizable cash bonus that can be used on updating weapons. You can send your partner in to take one hostile hostage, but if you want to pick one off with a sniper first he’ll assume it’s all units go and run in guns blazing. The same can be said in the reverse situation. Should you wander into a room of heavily armed adversaries you have the option of faking surrender. The idea is your partner flanks around or you quick draw simultaneously and take them out whilst on your knees. Neither plan works without a second human player.
An aggression meter at the top of the screen indicates which character is in the thick of the action. The meter ranges from Rios to Salem and indicates which of the two is drawing the most fire. The idea is the other should be able to flank the enemy without them copping too much of the fire. It’s a good idea, but after a while it starts to become a little tiresome. While co-op games aren’t known for branching out too much in terms of diversity, there’s only so much flanking you can do before you run in emptying rounds into everything and ultimately meet an untimely demise due to frustration.
There are only 7 chapters to play through, each taking around 45 minutes on the normal difficulty, totaling about 5-6 hours of play time. After that there’s absolutely no incentive to comeback to the single, or co-op should we say, campaign. Something different, like a driving or sniping mission, would have been nice in the middle to mix things up. Running into cover, and tactically trying to save hostages is all well and good for the first 3-4 chapters, but after that I felt like I was ready for something else. Without spoiling it for you I did think the final chapter was the best of the lot, but it really would have benefited from something different in the middle.
The multiplayer is really where Army of Two: The 40th Day shines, as its predecessor did. The co-op campaign is a lot better than going it alone, but the multiplayer game modes are the only reasons to come back once that’s done and dusted. Up to 12 players can partake in fairly run of the mill game modes, such as deathmatch and capture the flag, but it certainly adds some depth to what is supposed to be a multiplayer title. Unlike similar online games you’re still forced to co-operate in these matches. In each online deathmatch, for example, you’ll be working with a partner. They become the only one that can revive you and vice versa. It mixes things up a little, but it’s far from being everyone’s cup of tea.
We played the PS3 version, and Shanghai as a pit of destruction looks great. Both characters have visited the surgeon and been refined right down to the last detail. There are a few texture issues here and there, but nothing you’ll notice often unless you’re looking for it. The biggest problem we had was with some of the disastrous camera angles. We mentioned that being able to choose left or right shoulder was great, but said shoulder often gets in the way; especially when trying to aim down or use a handgun, Rios or Salem’s shoulder will obstruct what you’re shooting at.
The comedic dialogue between the two characters is great, as is the voice acting that delivers it. EA Montreal has decided to cut back on the banter between the two, which you’ll either love or hate. We wanted a bit more, but they talked too much in the first game; it’s a difficult balance. As such the protagonists have lost a bit of their bad boy bromance charm.
The Final Verdict
Army of Two: The 40th Day improves on the ideas of the first game and delivers a co-op action game with endless action. It gets a little bit repetitive later on, but it’s still awesome, mindless, and fun with a mate, or even computer, by your side. The cover system and general gameplay mechanics are all very good for this type of game and are only let down at times by poor camera angles. The additional online options reinforce the co-op nature of the game, and add a new spin on classic game types.
Gameplay
8.0/10
A great co-op action game that actually isn’t too bad playing with the computer. It just gets a little repetitive after a while.
Graphics
7.5/10
The graphics themselves are quite good, but let down by poor camera angles that reared their ugly head a little too often for our liking.
Sound
8.5/10
The voice acting is solid, as are the sound effects.
Value
6.5/10
The campaign only takes 6 hours, and really needed a little more diversity. The online multiplayer is good too, but I hardly see people playing deathmatch over other big name titles.
Overall
7.7/10