GOONL!NE

Developer: EA Montreal
Publisher: Electronic Arts (EA)
Released: Friday March 7th 2008
Console Played On: Xbox 360
Also On: Playstation 3
Rating: PEGI 18 (BBFC – 18)

PMCS. They are everywhere in games now. Haze, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots etc… But the main game spearheading this “PMC” business comes in the form of Army of Two, EA’s 2nd new IP in the space of a year (After skate. in September) but the thing is, can EA’s stance on new I.P’s make Army of Two successful?

Gameplay & Story:

You play as Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios, who after meeting in U.S. Rangers, go into the private sector in 1993. After the 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pitsburgh, we all know what happened next when the US went to war with their “war on terror”. During it, the push of PMCs increased with more PMC’s getting involved then they were before 9/11.

You will be taken to such places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Beruit, China and many more locations. The game is built with such ellegence and grace, the A.I. is absoutely superb in Single Player. Right now, only the Single Player was tested, we’ll be putting the co-op and online play through its paces very soon. But back to Single Player, the controls feel good on the 360 (Apparently, the SIXAXIS tilting in parts of the PS3 verison like parachuting feel loose), the characters handle well and the A.I in the game is one of the best I’ve seen for a game in a logn time.

Features such as upgrading guns, back to back shooting and a rage meter, where one character builds all the rage so all the enemy gunfire is pointed at you while the other flanks and shoots, are very good features as well as nifty little features as using door’s on cars and truck as shields. But the whole entire story is too short! And thats what brings down the game, it is too short, coming in at around maybe 8 – 10 hours for me.

Graphics & Sound:

For a EA game…they dont look half bad. To say these graphics would be a standard in a EA would be a overstatement but thats not to say they dont look great, they do but just…dont expect it for all of EA’s titles.

As for the game’s weapons, they are perfectly real life weapons. They look the part with its customs looking great and when you fire a weapon, it sounds very real. The same can be said if the guns are supressed, they sound like their real life counter parts, either way, they without a doubt look the part.

Overall:

When you play it as a single player, the campaign is short yes. But when you play it online with co-op, it extends it. Overall the difference is somewhat noticable but either way Army of Two, while not the 9/10 game everyone was expecting somewhat, is a game that will keep you occupied for a while…or until Grand Theft Auto IV comes out at least.

Graphics: 8.8
Gameplay: 9.2
Story: 7.8
Sounds: 7.8
Longtivity: 8.2

Overall: 8.4