Army of Two: The 40th Day is the second and latest game in EA’s series. It focuses on two mercenaries, Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem. In this game they get a simple job to plant a few beacons on a building in Shanghai . Once the job is done some bombs within the city go off and all hell breaks lose.
I usually like to give more background about games going into a review, but this is another game where I feel like the story elements aren’t really necessary for your enjoyment of the game. There isn’t really much more you need to know about the story going into this game. It’s really not that complicated.
YAY :
- This is a third-person shooter, so the gun combat should be enjoyable, and it is. A lot of the weapons are each better for different situations and are fun to use. It might be a little excessive when an enemy’s head explodes if you snipe for a headshot, but take it as a visual reward/confirmation of your skills.
- Along with the weapons feeling right when taking care of business you can customize virtually every piece of every gun. By the end of the game I ended up with an AK-47 with an M16 barrel, front grip, a red dot scope, and a 70 round drum as my primary weapon. If you want to get crazy/funny you can add a soda can silencer or attach a screwdriver to the front of your gun as a bayonet.
- The partner A.I. seems vastly improved from the first game. I don’t remember TOO much from the first game, other than it wasn’t that good and I saw a clip of someone’s A.I. partner standing and spinning in circles. If you’re playing by yourself you can order your A.I. teammate to move forward, hold, or regroup all while either remaining passive or drawing the heat from you by laying cover fire. You can also mock surrender to a small group of enemies while your partner hangs back and snipes them. It’s great to see the developers not punish players who want to play through the game alone, even though the game was built for co-op.
- The idea of moral choice implemented in the game is pretty cool. It’s not on the level of a game like Mass Effect, but a few times throughout the game you’ll be posed with situations that effect your morality and depending on your choice might give you more weapons or money.
- The music in The 40th Day is great. While playing I kept thinking ‘I need to find out who scored this’. I even watched the credits at the end of the game for that very purpose. I can’t say I was too surprised to find out the music was done by Tyler Bates, the man responsible for the soundtrack to 300.
NAY :
- Extraction, a 4-player co-op mode similar to Gears of War 2′s Horde Mode, was locked for the first month after release to everyone who didn’t pre-order . It should be available now, but it’s a shame to lock out people who didn’t want to be early adopters to a sequel of a semi-decent game, especially when it sounds like the coolest online mode offered.
- While I like the idea of the moral choice system the end was pretty lame. You’re posed with a choice which I thought was a very easy one. Also, pay attention to what the guy at the end says to you and what he’s actually doing. I think someone in the animation department might have dropped the ball.
- This carries over from the first Army of Two game. I like the depth of the weapon customization, but gold plated guns and diamond encrusted grenades are kind of ridiculous. I forgot I wasn’t playing 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand for a minute there.
- Yes, Nolan North is a good voice actor and is well liked, but does he really need to be in every game? It’s funny that once they either didn’t want or couldn’t get the guy who played Salem in the first game back for the sequel someone thought “Let’s get Nolan North!”.
Army of Two: The 40th Day is actually a pretty good game and very competent third-person shooter. I don’t see it winning any awards come the end of the year, but it’s worth your time. Even if you weren’t a big fan of the first game give this one a whirl. Would I recommend you buy it? Probably not, unless you want it for multiplayer or will play it through multiple times. I played through the campaign on normal in around seven hours. But, hey, maybe the recently unlocked Extraction mode is really addictive.
