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War titles are a dime a dozen now a days. No matter how slick the visuals are, no matter how much depth and complexity they've put into the game play mechanics, and no matter what year we are spanning in this topic, these games are generally very much alike. EA comes along and gives us a more personal side of tactical/action war shooters with Army of Two. For starters, this is NOT a game to be taken seriously when it comes to war, our government, or the intellectual state of our brave and finest that fight for this country. Army of Two is a very light hearted look into the lives of two soldiers who are part of something bigger than they are and their skills are what we must rely on to save us from the war on terror. Without spoiling any of the plot, let's just say that it's light on content when it comes to a derivative storyline. While many of the terms and objects come from real life circumstances, the approach to these serious events were not taken seriously. Tom Clancy, you still have a job after this...I promise. Some of the jokes here are funny, but some may offend which is why I mentioned not to take it seriously. I personally am numb to this type of situation, so the off color jokes bounce right off me, but they are there and you have been warned. The visuals in Army of Two have a slick style to them with a gritty wasteland forte. Both main characters Samson and Rios look as if they are fugitives from the world of Mad Max, and your enemies are your typical target practice drones. The environments are very detailed, if not a bit secluded at times. While I'm not the biggest fan of duck and cover titles, AoT does a fine job of providing plenty of places to find shelter from oncoming fire. With many objects totally destructible, you must pick your spots wisely or you won't be safe for long. The camera and framerate are above average which will at least make your journey less frustrating and leaving you to only blame yourself for your mistakes.
The audio is a mixed bag of fantastic to blah. The fantastic part comes from the riveting soundtrack by Trevor Morris who is best known for his many other action based movie soundtracks like Bad Boys II, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Black Hawk Down. His heart pounding riffs will make any gamer's heart race in anticipation of the upcoming gunfire that lies in their wake. The blah is the voice acting. While I can't blame all of it on the actors themselves (the script is a big part of the problem), the emotional elements of the voice acting comes off overly dramatic and silly. Army of Two's title should be a hint to how this game is to really be played. While there is a single player campaign, the game's story is still revolving around both characters so someone has to play the other, and the A.I. is your second man if you don't have a friend handy. While the A.I. does a fair job on the obvious objectives, getting him to do what you want most of the time can be a chore. To save time and energy, let's just say if you are going to play Army of Two, get a friend. Once you've established a companion that you can take on the world's terror with, you will find that Army of Two is a fun as hell co-op game that is only held back by lack of content. What makes the game great is that the developers from the get go knew that this would be a two man affair, so each mission is designed specifically for two people. You must rely on the skills of your friend and the willingness to cooperate in order to be successful in each mission. No solo mercs allowed here or you will lose. You can play co-op online or offline so EA has you covered here on both parts. As I previously mentioned, the game is short on content, as it is only six levels in length. Whether you are playing single player or co-op, this is far too short and ends too abruptly as if they ran out of development time and knew a sequel would be made. To try and soften the blow of the short lived affair, EA tossed in some Co-Op online battles in order for you to show to the world who is the better Army of Two. While Army of Two doesn't do anything totally revolutionary, it does deliver something that is seriously lacking at this time, which is a great game that two people can get totally engrossed in without having to join up with a large team. I don't know how many times I've been asked where are all the two player co-op games? Well now here's an answer... Army of Two. If you are looking for this title to enjoy alone, let's just say it may not be for you.
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