It’s an old adage that I’ve seen more than once in my time at Ready Up – two heads are better than one. In Army of Two: The 40th Day, it’s true in every definition of the word ‘better’; strategically superior for dispatching nuisance terrorists, and a darn-sight more enjoyable too.
The latest in a line of games that scoff at the notion of going solo, Army of Two is designed around couples, duos and tandem gamers, creating an entire game system around playing co-op. As unlikeable jerk-holes for hire Rios and Salem, you (and hopefully, a friend) combine your love for decorative masks, “pimped” guns and diamond encrusted grenades to tactically tip the dominos of war in your favour.
It does so with an underlying mechanic that’s all about aggression. Basically, when one guy is emptying clips and making himself an impromptu warzone celebrity, his partner essentially becomes invisible and can sneak about the battlefield with ease. This allows the covert colleague to flank enemies from behind or nestle up in a hidey-hole and get acquainted with a sniper rifle.
It works pretty well, giving battles a very three-dimensional feel and giving tactics a palpable reward, but it does get a little repetitive as the hours tick by. Just about every fight sees both players arguing about who’s going to be hot and who’s going to flank (although, with the in-game Rock – Paper – Scissors mechanic, you can sort it out fairly), and then the battle plays out systematically.
The game constantly throws out more formidable foes, like guys with riot shields and dudes in protected gun turrets, but everything comes down to the same core mechanic – get aggro and get flanking. The sequel adds fake surrendering and human shields, but neither shake up the game enough to subvert its constant monotony.
All this co-op carnage takes place in Shanghai, after the Chinese city’s skyline is decimated by bombs and other such bedlam. Within a few hours, buildings collapse, mercenaries descend, civilians are killed and chaos erupts. For some reason Rios and Salem are in the city, probably chilling out after whatever happened in the first game (I did complete it, but it didn’t have the most memorable plot) and for some reason they decide to take on all the armed goons.
As you can ascertain, the story isn’t exactly a pressing concern in The 40th Day. But, amongst all the reckless carnage, the game throws out a series of morality tests – little ethical dichotomies that wouldn’t be out of place in a psychology textbook. After each test, like kill a contact for a wallet-filler or leave him alive to keep your conscience clean, you’re presented with a staccato graphic novel that shows you the consequence to your choice.
But… they don’t really affect you. Not on any tangible level, unless virtual murder keeps you up at night. On one level you can choose to let an endangered tiger escape, or kill it. Letting him loose shows the giant cat mauling a thief, but maybe if the tiger attacked you on the next level it might actually register on your radar. As it stands, it’s just an incongruous bit of pseudo-morality in an otherwise amoral universe – by the end of The 40th Day, you’ve basically committed genocide – what’s one street punk with a tiger-shaped hole in his chest?
Nathan Drake and the fat one (my pet names for Salem and Rios) manage to become even more unlikeable than in the previous game. Formerly a couple of frat boys with a subversive homosexual undercurrent, they’re now just a couple of dicks. The “bro”-ness is back in full force (it’s “beer o’ clock”, apparently), but the butt-to-junk parachuting is replaced with a general obnoxiousness and some utterly bizarre anecdotes. Apparently Rios “boned” a panda – figure that one out.
In fact, Army of Two is a pretty ugly and trashy game from tip to toe. Using a dead hippo carcass as a piece of cover will upset animal lovers, and the jaggy models and low-res textures will drive graphic whores barmy.
“Do they have any giant pandas? I haven’t killed a giant panda yet.” Stay classy, Army of Two.
If you like playing dress up, you can paint out your guns in “pimp gold” and even make your own custom masks.
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February 5th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Nice review!
There’s something tempting about this game. I stayed away from the original as I heard of big technical and functional issues, but this sequel strikes me as being more of the same in a package that works a little better.
Now that I’m aware that Panda sodomy is on the table too, I’m probably going to be getting this game at some point.
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:21 am
i Must admit there is something about this type of game that just seems to hold my attention long enough for me to complete them, Worth a buy if your looking for a game where you can leave your brain somewhere else for a few hours at a time.
CaSpEr