Spring Break
Ao2 redefines shooting games
Phillip Kazanjian
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Did you enjoy playing "Gears of War" co-operatively with your friend? Well, if you did, then "Army of Two" is an experience that you do not want to miss out on.
Developed by Electronic Arts and releasing on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, "Army of Two" is a co-op experience in its purest form. The player fills the boots of either Rios or Salem, two wise-cracking former army rangers, in this gritty lead spewing action title.
The now popular stop-and-pop game mechanics found in "Gears of War" and more recently that crap fest of a game, "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men," are here in full force; aside from your battle buddy, cover is your best friend. The game features a great variety of weapons to be used, but the player must purchase these weapons before ever being able to use them in battle. Before they can buy their desired death dealer, the player must complete missions and once they complete missions they finally receive that oh-so-desired paycheck that is going straight to that custom m4a1 that they always wanted. The whole shop mechanic feels a lot like the item purchasing system in the ever classic "Counter-Strike."
Once the player obtains their new shiny, yet admittedly bland rifle or shotgun, they can put forth more funds for customization. A lot of sadistic creativity can be had here, with add-ons ranging from a bulky shield, silencers, grenade launchers, to certain additions that will allow your character to generate a greater amount of aggro. Aggro is the layer of "Army of Two" that will help define it as unique above other third-person shooters. The term itself comes from the online world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games where it translates to "attracting negative attention."
When a player gets the attention of the enemy by either being reckless or by opening fire, they will generate aggro; the more aggro the player generates, the more likely the enemy will open fire on them and ignore the player's partner. A general tactic that gets used more than anything else in the game is utilizing the aggro system to your advantage. Have one player generate enough aggro to distract the enemy while the other player flanks and dispatches the ignorant opposition.
"Army of Two" only truly comes alive when it's played with an actual partner, online or off. If you lack a person to play with, you can always post an ad on Craigslist for a co-op partner, because this game should not be played alone your partner's AI is sub-par which is a common flaw in most games of this type, and it ends up taking away from a would-be great experience.
Either way, friendless or not, I fully recommend "Army of Two" for those into both action and tactical shooters.
Developed by Electronic Arts and releasing on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, "Army of Two" is a co-op experience in its purest form. The player fills the boots of either Rios or Salem, two wise-cracking former army rangers, in this gritty lead spewing action title.
The now popular stop-and-pop game mechanics found in "Gears of War" and more recently that crap fest of a game, "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men," are here in full force; aside from your battle buddy, cover is your best friend. The game features a great variety of weapons to be used, but the player must purchase these weapons before ever being able to use them in battle. Before they can buy their desired death dealer, the player must complete missions and once they complete missions they finally receive that oh-so-desired paycheck that is going straight to that custom m4a1 that they always wanted. The whole shop mechanic feels a lot like the item purchasing system in the ever classic "Counter-Strike."
Once the player obtains their new shiny, yet admittedly bland rifle or shotgun, they can put forth more funds for customization. A lot of sadistic creativity can be had here, with add-ons ranging from a bulky shield, silencers, grenade launchers, to certain additions that will allow your character to generate a greater amount of aggro. Aggro is the layer of "Army of Two" that will help define it as unique above other third-person shooters. The term itself comes from the online world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games where it translates to "attracting negative attention."
When a player gets the attention of the enemy by either being reckless or by opening fire, they will generate aggro; the more aggro the player generates, the more likely the enemy will open fire on them and ignore the player's partner. A general tactic that gets used more than anything else in the game is utilizing the aggro system to your advantage. Have one player generate enough aggro to distract the enemy while the other player flanks and dispatches the ignorant opposition.
"Army of Two" only truly comes alive when it's played with an actual partner, online or off. If you lack a person to play with, you can always post an ad on Craigslist for a co-op partner, because this game should not be played alone your partner's AI is sub-par which is a common flaw in most games of this type, and it ends up taking away from a would-be great experience.
Either way, friendless or not, I fully recommend "Army of Two" for those into both action and tactical shooters.
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