Army of Two and a half stars.
Introduction
Usually I’m smart enough not to purchase games made or published by E.A. However with the recent release of Army of Two I broke down. I have to admit a game completely centered on co-op gameplay really enticed me. Plus, the thought of owning a gem studded gold inlaid mini-gun was too much to pass up. I purchased what looked to be E.A.’s first quality game in a long time. But was it?
Well for as long as the game lasts and for as little content as it has, Army of Two is indeed a fun and entertaining game. However with every complement one can give this game one to two qualifiers are required. And, it’s the qualifiers that really hurt Army of Two.
Pros
- Grinding money is surprisingly fun
- Weapon customization has plenty of options and lots of the upgrades are drool inducing.
- Salem and Rios are really cool looking main characters
- Mostly well written dialogue
- Finally, well used cursing (especially odd in a EA game)
- Online co op is nicely structured and easy to get into and out of.
- Camera works well in single player
- Real life situations are refreshing in a gaming industry flush with shooters set in Genericstan and Randomnia
- Great looking graphics that are always very sharp
- Good sound, Music really sets the tone of the game
- GPS system is brilliant (Every shooter needs this - forevAr)
- Well paced campaign with few if any slow moments.
Cons
- Only 4 multiplayer maps
- A measly 6 hour story line
- Real life military enthusiasts might be disappointed by Army of Two's Arcadey feel..
- Big guy’s conspiracy theories seem to be derived from psychic abilities with no logical base (they even mention this at one point)
- Some run of the mill E.A. bugs including the always fun stuck bug
- The Camera systems weaknesses become crystal clear in online Vs. Mode. It just can't keep up with competitive human on human play.
- Some co op skills including back to back (which is scripted and overly usurping) and double snipe seem like after thoughts
- Some characters are quite shallow due to only having 6 hours to tell a story that traverses 6 countries and several different time periods.
Bottom Line
In the end Army of Two is a good game, but much like the rest of E.A.’s titles it suffers under the yoke of an evil corporate master. Under the guidance of a more benevolent publisher it could possibly be an “A” title but, due to being rushed out the door with as little content as possible its score is brought down to a
C+
Head Asplode? – If you like co op and have lots of money to throw around buy it. If your lower on the income bracket two good rentals will do you just fine. Partial ‘splode.
