Metareview -- Army of Two (Xbox 360, PS3)

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Mar 6th 2008 at 11:00PM }

Despite a suspicious silence accompanying its (delayed) arrival, EA's smack-talkin' shooter seems to have mostly delivered on its promise of consistently cooperative violence. Unsurprisingly, most reviewers seem to agree that a one-macho-man army is at a disadvantage in Army of Two, with the lone experience highlighting some of the game's flaws and unremarkable design. It might be worth a look if you and your BFF have already blasted everything in Halo 3, Crackdown and Gears of War.

IGN (79/100): "As a single player experience, Army of Two is a fine game -– one that manages to provide a fun, engaging time despite its length, AI issues and elements that don't seem fully implemented. However, it's really co-op play and multiplayer where the game stands out, and these two modes will most likely keep you playing for a long time."
Game Informer (75/100): "Like dysfunctional characters in a buddy flick, Army of Two has some annoying problems, but if you just want a fun cooperative experience, it gets the job done and delivers sizeable thrills you won't find anywhere else."
Eurogamer (70/100): "Any level of the current co-op king, Halo 3, has more spectacle and incident packed into it than the entirety of Army of Two; more that you'll want to relive in company over and over again. Bearing the strong Vs. mode in mind, it would be wrong not to warmly recommend this as a smart twist on a stupid shooter, but perhaps it should have taken itself a little more seriously after all."

Tags: Army-of-Two, ArmyofTwo, Co-op, EA, Shooter

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Microswirl @ Mar 6th 2008 11:18PM

I award this game 1 apple on a scale from apples to oranges.

Einhanderkiller @ Mar 7th 2008 12:30AM

I personally give it two grapefruits out of 16.789.
I'd have raised the score by half a pineapple if they had tightened up the graphics on level three a little bit.

snowy @ Mar 6th 2008 11:19PM

It got my money. Looked like a good time.

dsub @ Mar 6th 2008 11:40PM

COD4 offers a POS 6-hour long Campaign and a good multi player mode and gets GOTY mention. Army of Two offers a so-called crappy Single Player mode and a great multi player mode and gets "Meh. It's Okay." I really don't understand the review system in the world of gaming. I haven't played Army of Two yet, but after reading these reviews, it sounds alot like every shooter that comes out these days. Short, rushed, thoughtless and horrible Campaign that feels like it's there only because it has to be, and a Multiplayer mode that gets praise because it has a deep selection of "options and game types, and multiplayer features"

Whoopdy fucking do. Options, Gametypes and Features. That takes some creative thought. Which sounds more creative? Coming up with 50 different weapons and boring lifeless maps, or writing a great story with deep game play that takes more time to pick-up than a 5 second glance at a "Controls Layout" screen.

I guess I'm just ranting at this point as I am very off-topic. I'm just bored and frustrated with this garbage. Ninja Gaiden II needs to come out.

John McPoop @ Mar 7th 2008 12:10AM

@dsub

While I agree Ninja Gaiden II will be a good game I have to say that it is not going to be any better than Sigma on PS3. It will just be more of the same IMO.

I do have Army of Two and to be honest the reason the campaign sucks is because the purpose of this game is co-operative gameplay. So, playing with the computer as your partner is frustrating and simply not fun. However, that same campaign with a friend in online co-op becomes an incredible experience. This game is certainly not your run of the mill shooter. It is sort of like Gears Of War with a co-op twist and solid RPG like upgrading features for weapons, armor and mask's. You can even "pimp" your gun out which is a bit ridicoulous. Honestly who wants a 24K gold AK-47.

I commend EA for going outside of its comfort zone and creating a unique co-op experience that forces you to work together to have success.

In contrast the only difference Ninja Gaiden 2 will have over Ninja Gaiden Sigma will be more blood, some different weapons, different levels and enems that try to attack after you hack half of their body off. I am sure it will be great game but certainly nothing new at all. With that said I will get it day 1 and will love to play it. But it offers nothing new either in terms of the hack n slash genre.

John McPoop @ Mar 7th 2008 12:14AM

@dsub

Even Itagki (i guess thats how its spelled) said in an interview that the Ninja Gaiden series is not meant to have a great story. In fact I can't think of a more emotionless and less compelling her than Ryu Hyabusa. Dante from DMC might be cheesy but at least he has a personality.

Ihavepants @ Mar 7th 2008 12:32AM

@ dsub

Probably because the Cod4 campaign (whilst short and mostly linnear) kicked ass.

motorer @ Mar 7th 2008 1:51AM

@ihavepants (me too!)

yeah i thought the cod4 campaign was incredible. I had a day off and played it through in one sitting - i couldn't pull myself away from it. i thought it was $60 well-spent, and i hadn't even touched the multiplayer (mind-numbing online shooters weren't really my thing). now i play it all the time.

colin @ Mar 7th 2008 3:17AM

"Honestly who wants a 24K gold AK-47?"

I would.

Fosssil @ Mar 6th 2008 11:42PM

I like the commercial for this game; the Three Dog Night cover is pretty cool.

Orionsaint @ Mar 6th 2008 11:51PM

I wish Army of Two had a demo so I could try it out

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 7th 2008 8:10AM

I bought it, campaign is sweet with a friend. MP sux ass, plain and simple. This is a rent not a buy. I will be trading it in as soon as I beat it. =(

Kaioh @ Mar 6th 2008 11:55PM

Comparing this game to either Halo or Call of Duty is absolutely idiotic. They're different genre's, completely. In fact, the only thing this can even come close to being compared to is Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, in which it is superior to in so many ways. This game is easily an 8 out of 10, to me.

It's a pity that every god damn game that comes out is compared to Halo 3. It's not the best game in the world, people, so please take your mouths from around it's metaphorical penis.

Thank you.

John McPoop @ Mar 7th 2008 12:02AM

I agree with you 100%

I also have this game and while it is not game of the year caliber it is a worthy purchase for co-op enthusiast... I wish the online play had 4 teams of 2 going at it... In fact I have recently purchased this and the club and I think even though they are also different that Arm of 2 is a better game. In my opinion the game deserves a B- on a letter grade or something like a 8.4/10 certainly not great but far from average crap like many of the reviews say... I would also like to say that the single player campaign is not very fun... But, if you play through an online service and do co-op campaign it is off the chain.. Truly a buddy game in every sense of the word

onesidezero2481 @ Mar 7th 2008 11:11AM

@kaioh

i totally agree... i am actually having more fun playing co-op in Ao2 than i did in halo 3. halo 3 is an extremely fun game, don't get me wrong... but with all the praise, rave reviews, and comparisons, i'm starting to get sick of the chief.

salem and rios ftw

Ranus Studios @ Mar 6th 2008 11:57PM

Too bad I don't have any friends.

Ihavepants @ Mar 7th 2008 12:35AM

I feel your pain.

*starts feeling*

ugg.tryptophan @ Mar 7th 2008 1:06AM

guess what brian and tammy are getting for their wedding gift?

marklar @ Mar 7th 2008 1:51AM

LMFAO!!

ugg.tryptophan @ Mar 7th 2008 3:54AM

i should have seen that coming

Chameleon @ Mar 7th 2008 4:35AM

@steve

that sir was the funniest thing i've read in quite some time ....

dark_inchworm @ Mar 7th 2008 10:43AM

I did see them coming.

Beatz @ Mar 7th 2008 3:14AM

It's too bad the game is getting generally positive reviews, I wanted to say something about how the game should be called Army of Poo, but well, that just wouldn't make sense.

Imadogg @ Mar 7th 2008 4:27AM

I only read the review on IGN and basically they just said how the single player is ok and the multiplayer/co-op is sweet. A friend and I have been planning to get this since we first heard about it to play co-op through Live, now that it's out we shall get it ASAP. Co-op seems good according to the review.

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 7th 2008 8:24AM

Good things about Ao2

Co-op single player campaign *With a buddy
Graphics
Sound
Funny Dialogue
Giving props to your buddy
Weapon and armor Upgrades
Using car doors and shields as moving cover

Bad things

Controls
Horrible Hit detection
Cover isnt as good as Gears. Why didnt they just rip it off?
Melee never works properly
MP is Horrid and not fun, what are they smoking?
Too many small loading screens

This game is a buy if and only if you have a buddy to play it with, not some random stranger online. I would say an 8.0 is about right. It has so much potential. Maybe in Army of Two part Two.

Chance Morgan @ Mar 7th 2008 9:59AM

Good list!

I especially agree with the melee never works properly. The only time it seems to work is when I am using a riot shield to bash their heads in.

I haven't tried the multiplayer yet, but I can tell you that I have enjoyed playing through the single player so far. It is a little slow to have to play for both yourself and your AI partner, but when you make the right choices you are able to kick some serious ass. You bring in a buddy with some skills and this game will rock. /plays air guitar

Geist @ Mar 7th 2008 12:50PM

I only played a bit of the game for about half an hour, but I still disagree with your opinion on the cover system. I'm quite sick of cover systems that 'lock' you to objects, so seeing one like this where you don't have to press a button just to get into cover is nice.

More games need to use Red Orchestra's cover system.

Trev @ Mar 7th 2008 1:23PM

I'm with Geist. The context-sensitive aim over/around wasn't perfect, but I like that ducking behind an object is actually cover for once. It doesn't supplant Uncharted as my "best implementation of a over mechanic" because of the aiming issues and the inability to switch your gun to the opposite shoulder, but it has the same feeling of freedom. Uncharted still tops my list because it gives you so many ways to exit cover or shoot from cover that you don't really feel like you're snagged when someone sneaks around behind you.

I agree about melee attacks, the suck and the animations take forever, especially because they force you to stand up and take 30 or 40 bullets as you headbutt the guy and I can only comment about loading on the PS3 version, but it does it in really stupid places (same with the mid-mission shopping) It won't do it right after the cutscene, but will wait for you to take a few steps forward and trigger it, then load/pop up the "do you want to shop" box? Example: First mission, doesn't load at the start, but loads after you climb the ladder. Maybe it's my cutscene skipping that messes with it? UE3 quirk related to that?

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 7th 2008 2:11PM

Trev

Those loading situations are the exact same on 360 =(
I didnt know this game ran on UE3? It doesnt have the "powered by UE3" anywhere in and on the game. I thought it was on the Inertia Engine? Who knows...
I like Uncharteds cover system as well but I just feel Gears system is so easy to use. See a wall, stone, car. whatever and push one button while near it and boom your in cover. Easily popping in and out to shoot or two move to another cover automatically. Ao2 cover feels very sloppy.

Matt B @ Mar 7th 2008 8:50AM

I already have enough shooters, so I bought MLB 08: The Show. Road To The Show is so addicting that I have to force myself to put the controller down to go to bed and work. Looks like I made the right choice this week.

kbomb1upc @ Mar 7th 2008 10:16AM

@Matt B
I know what you mean. I don't have the game right now but I play the demo EVERY night. The graphics are really nice and the controls are right on.

onesidezero2481 @ Mar 7th 2008 11:16AM

the best way to break down Ao2 is this:

if you have at least one friend who is competent, like shooters, and are ok with 2vs2 mp (although AI enemies also litter the mp maps)... buy this game.

NATO_Duke @ Mar 7th 2008 11:22AM

I'm pleased with the reviews showing this game did in fact get polished past its awful earlier pre-release. Yet I don't see it as a buy right now. I think I will rent it and see if any other Joystiqers are up for a coop fight.

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 7th 2008 11:58AM

I'd play with ya but Ill probably end up trading this sucker in when Dark Sector drops in a few weeks. The MP just isnt good enough to give the game a longer life after the campaign. I dont know if its that Im used to waaaaaay better MP out of a title these days or what, but I dont like the MP of this game AT ALL. Its clunky as fudge.

:/

Co-op campaign is really cool though and worth a look just for that IMO.