2008’s winner of the Most Overbearingly Macho Shooter Award gets a well-deserved sequel but can Army of Two: The 40th Day grant the series the mainstream recognition it craves? It’s time to reload, buddy-up and dig into our Army of Two review to find out.
While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Battlefield: Bad Company might push the boundaries of the first person shooter genre in new and exciting directions even these leading lights can’t hold a candle to EA’s 2008 title Army of Two when it comes to rampant machismo and testosterone-fuelled action.
Packed with ridiculous set-pieces and showcasing a pair of patently dislikable lead characters whose incessant “high-fiving” after each gruesome kill made them more akin to serial killers than mercenaries, Army of Two’s OTT nature masked its genuinely intriguing buddy mechanic, which actually proved to be impressively original.
Thankfully anti-heroes Elliot and Tyson have been handed a second chance to impress with Army of Two: 40th Day, and while it unquestionably builds on the solid work achieved in its predecessor there are still some troublesome shortcomings that prevent it from fulfilling its promise.
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While the prequel saw players racking up plenty of air miles by globe-trotting through various locations, Army of Two: The 40th Day is focused solely on Shanghai city, where our two killers-for-hire must combat terrorist forces and bring order back to the crumbling metropolis.
The partner system that made the first game so appealing makes a welcome return in Army of Two: The 40th Day, but this time the developers have given it a fresh coat of paint which not only makes it more intuitive but also adds in supplementary tactics and strategies.
It’s possible to have one player stage a mock-surrender which causes enemies to approach cautiously and ignore the other character, who can then use this window of opportunity to stage a counter-attack from the flanks.
The equally unique “Aggro” system is also back in Army of Two: The 40th Day and serves very much the same purpose as previously; by performing certain actions a player can capture and hold the attention of nearby foes, ensuring that their partner has free reign to run amok.
Just as was the case in the first title, the partner system works best when you’re working with a living, breathing human in co-op mode. While the CPU-controlled buddy AI has been cleaned up since 2008’s instalment, it’s still prone to unfortunate lapses of judgement and when you consider that so much of the game relies on the peerless performance of both characters, this can become pretty annoying.
Regardless of these niggles, Army of Two: The 40th Day unquestionably improves on its forerunner and thanks to additional elements – such as a well-executed morality system which forces players to make split-second choices and face the consequences of the outcome later in the game – manages to secure its place as one of the most original blasters currently available on next-gen consoles.
