Army of Two

"Army of too short and sweet."

Army of Two is a third-person action shooter from EA that is centered around co-operative game play. While Army of Two boasts amazing, detailed visuals, a duo of in-it-for-the-money type of guys (funny duo, they are), and some new additions to the third-person shooter genre -- It falls short of expectations. After all of those delays, one would think that the campaign would be a bit lengthy; online features more robust. Army of Two is game that will leave you wanting more.

The single-player campaign featured in Army of Two can be played offline by yourself, or with another buddy sitting next to you via split-screen, or have at it with someone online. Straight to the point about the campaign: It's really short, but sweet. You can easily finish the campaign in one sitting; in just about 6-8 hours or less. There are only six missions featured in the campaign, but the levels are designed intuitively with co-op mechanics in mind. During checkpoints, you are given the option to buy weapons or upgrade your currently owned weapons. The customization portion is very robust, and features lots of attachments you can purchase. You of course can acquire more money by some more killing. Blow up a bridge for a good thirty grand or so. Very nice. Once you're finished with the campaign, you can hop online for some two vs. two multi-player madness.

When you head online, you can play ranked or unranked. It plays incredibly smooth, but that's because maybe there isn't much going on? Army of Two features 2 vs. 2 matches where one team is to complete certain objectives to earn the most money. Whoever earns the most money at the end of the time limit wins. While it may be 2 vs. 2, EA threw in a couple of NPCs to get in the nitty-gritty between the four competing players. It looks as if EA didn't devote as much time with the online counterpart, as well -- because the lobby system is junk to what standard online-enabled games are today. The multi-player aspect of Army of Two is decent, but nothing to right home about.

The visuals featured in Army of Two speaks for itself. There's nothing to complain about, except maybe for those oddly shaped trees. Looks like they're missing a few polygons and the depth of those darn trees just aren't on par with other detailed trees featured in certain games. Well, they're not too shabby, but could use some work. Overall, the visuals, textures, and lighting in Army of Two are some of the best this generation.

To conclude -- Army of Two is a decent game worth giving a shot. If you choose to rent it, then it will indeed be a solid rental. There's not much left of Army of Two once you beat the campaign and hop online for a few matches. That's where the expectations fall short, but Army of Two is indeed short and sweet.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/08

Game Release: Army of Two (US, 03/06/08)