Wow we wow - We're In The Army Now (Army of Two (Xbox 360))

Name: samueltyler

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Product:	Army of Two (Xbox 360)
Date:	14.04.08 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun co-op with a pal

Disadvantages: Dull single player, limited scope

It's the winter of 2007 and 360 gamers are perhaps being given the best winter line up of games of all time. From 'Bioshock' via 'Mass Effect', 'Halo 3', 'The Orange Box' and 'Call of Duty 4' you could hardly move for a game that screams must own. These five games alone are likely to set the average gamer back £200 so what will happen to the other 30 or so games released during the same period? The stupid will go out anyway and be killed of, whilst cleverer publishers may decide to hold off until the quieter start of the New Year. This is what EA did with 'Army of Two'. They were so close to a pre Christmas release that magazines had already reviewed it only for to be recalled. Was this recall an intelligent sales tactic to avoid the Christmas bottle neck, or was it in fact as rumoured that the game was so average it would have only sold an army of two copies?

Gameplay

'Army of Two's gameplay is taken directly from the 'Gears of War' play book. This is perhaps the closest clone to date with the same 3rd person perspective, shooting mechanics and use of cover. Also like 'GoW' you can play the game co-operatively with either computer AI or a friend. This co-op experience is how the game is meant to be played as on your own it feels very limited. You and a friend must work your way through a series of levels shooting an enemy waves. Most enemies will be fodder, but on occasion you will come across a man sporting heavy armour.

The heavy armour soldiers can not he killed head-on so to destroy them you must work as a team so that one distracts whilst the other sneaks behind him. 'Ao2' has an aggro meter that connects the two players. One player can shoot at the enemy and attract their attention so that he becomes a bullet magnet. The other will then become invisible. Balancing the risk between players is vital to get past tricky situations and you must work together to fulfil your goals. Other areas that require cooperation include lifting one another up and opening heavy doors. This means that at no point are you far away from your partner.

To a large extent the actual process of co-op works well, especially if you are with a real life friend over LIVE. However, the gameplay itself is somewhat lacking. The cover and shooting mechanism does not feel as good as 'GoW' and the actual co-op elements of door opening are little more than cut scenes. I did like the idea of having a set amount of time to heal your buddy and the aggression idea is a good one. Unfortunately, the potential is not fulfilled as you end up playing a generic shooter that does not require too much co-op! I had fun with this as I have fun with any game that I play with my friends - but 'GoW' did a similar thing better over a year ago. (4 out of 5)


Characters/Story

Arrghhhh. 'Ao2' characters and story seem to be designed to be the most embarrassing cliché things ever. You play as two mercs who talk about rap music and act cool. Apart from that the story seems to be about betrayal and privately funded armies. It did not make much sense to me because a lot of the dialogue is piped into you whist you are in a fire fight. The game is pretty hard and you have to concentrate to succeed, therefore you tend to ignore someone wittering in your ear. The only positive thing about the characters is that they will high five or play air guitar if you press a button! (2 out of 5)


Longevity

The campaign lasts for around 8 hours, but a lot of that will be redoing scenes that you have just dies in. Once completed a harder mode is unlocked. Unfortunately my friend and I (both veteran gamers) found it too cumbersome and difficult to bother playing again so we stopped after 2 further hours. There is an online mode that would improve game length, but I felt it was limited and slow. Finally, for those with achievements in mind the game does require 2 or 3 playthrus to get them all. (3 out of 5)

Online

Personally I feel that 'Ao2' is yet another victim of poor online. As a co-op experience the online works well with minimal slowdown, only once was it unplayable. However, alongside the core game is a set of multilayer modes. All the modes hold a maximum of 4 players therefore with relatively few people it is a surprise that nearly every game suffered from severe slowdown. The game types are different from the usual online experience and require teamwork to complete tasks faster than the other team. I enjoyed it for a short while, but the experience soon became boring and I went back to the sturdier shore of 'CoD4'. (2 out of 5)

Graphics

Using the Unreal Engine 'Army of 2' does look very good. Each level is set in a slightly different location and they all feel realistic. The best looking are the ship level and the airport level. The character models are also very good with our two heroes in particular looking meaty and strong. Overall, the graphics are amongst the best that the 360 have to offer, the only issue I would have is with some of the clipping on show. This is when a character gets too near to an object and seems to blend into it. (4 out of 5)


Level Design

It is hard to praise level design in a game that fails to utilise its space correctly. In a single player experience the levels in 'Ao2' they would be good enough as a linear experience, but offer no alternative paths. All 6 levels have a different look and I feel it is a shame then that they are all essentially long corridors. The sections that work best are those that have an open feel e.g. an airport lobby, these are too few in my opinion. If EA decide on a sequel they need to add more to the environment that requires true cooperation on the players' part. (3 out of 5)


Sound

With powerful gun blasts and cries of anguish the sound is pretty good in 'Ao2'. The voice acting on offer is also of a high standard even if the characters they portray are irritating. The music is perhaps not quite at the same level as you soon grow bored of hearing the games theme when you are yet again reloading a level. (4 out of 5)


Summary

'Army of Two' is a game that failed to show its full potential. In many ways it is a polished experience with good graphics, sound and gameplay. However, the enjoyability of the game is based around who you play it with. Alone the game feels empty and dull and only with a co-op pal does it work. Even then the elements of cooperatively are limited and you can not help feel that EA could have done so much more. I hope that this game does get a sequel and that the extra time to make this is used to create a truly co-op experience. If this is done then perhaps 'Army of Three' will become a classic. (3 out of 5)



Maker: EA RRP £50
Amazon uk £39.48
Play.com £39.99

Summary: A potential unfufilled