Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

Army of Two is a great game controlwise. It feels smooth from the getgo, and the tutorial does a great job of explaining the game. The most notable feature of this game is Aggro, the ability to make your partner invisible. Ok, it's not as simple as that, but basically that is what it does; it attracts all the attention to one person, so in essence the other is invisible. They notice you if you get too close, but for the most part you can sneak right by them all.

The story is a letdown. You begin by choosing between Rios or Salem. It doesn't matter what you choose, as in game they are indistinguishable due to their masks. Rios and Salem start their journey in 1993 as Army Rangers in Somalia, and your job is to take down terrorists. Once your out of Somalia, a private military recruiter offers you to join his forces. Of course, wanting money, you accept. From there, you take contracts from the company, killing terrorists and making money. It lasts about 5 or less hours, unless your on the hardest difficulty, in which case it should prove to make you rage faster than playing Shaq Fu.

The missions have a modern day setting, a nice change from all the World War II games that get released year after year. Some may see the setting as disrespectful, but I see it as a good change. Locations range from Somalia to Iraq, Miami to an aircraft carrier, and each looks very good.

The AI in this game is phenominal. Should you choose to play this solo, you might think you are working with a friend. A friend who takes orders and obeys your every command (usually), but a friend nonetheless. With multiple options to command him, such as providing cover fire from a safe distance or progressing through the stage while you take care of the terrorists, the single player is done quite well. However, this game shines in Co-op play. With a friend, this is the most fun I've had with a shooter game. You can have your friend be an Aggro demanding machine and have him use light machine guns and the RPG, while you be stealthy with a silenced pistol, a sniper rifle and a small assault rifle.

The gun system in this game is well done. There are (I believe) 12 main weapons and 10 secondary, along with 6 sniper rifles and 2 rocket launchers. Almost all are customizable to upgrade attack, accuracy, ammo capacity, and Aggro. Let's face it; there's nothing more badass than killing terrorists with a gold-plated minigun while screaming like Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and enemies get angry when they see you with a golden Sasha.

This game, sadly, has many flaws. First off, the terrorists have the most amazing accuracy I've ever seen. 300 feet away with an AK-47, they can still accurately hit you. Another problem is that, in single player, the computer can occasionally ignore you completely. This is especially bad in the final level, or when you have been knocked down. As well, the voice acting can get annoying. I don't need to hear 15 times that the only way to killed an armored unit is to sneak behind him, dammit.

If you can ignore its flaws, this game is truly fantastic for playing with a friend. The story is pretty typical, even the plot twist is expected, and at times the AI is rediculous in the bad way, but the game, at least to me, is worthy of praise.

BTW, as it is now no longer 60 dollars, this is a MUST GET for any shooter fans with a friend. It easily provides at least 30 dollars of entertainment, or if you have lots of friends who play it online, it might be worth the 60 dollars.