Army of Two

:"Army of Two" is also a song by British pop-rock band, Dum Dums."Infobox VG
title = Army of Two


caption =
developer = EA Montreal
publisher = Electronic Arts
designer = Keith Arem, M. Dooma Wendschuh
composer = Trevor Morris
distributor =
released = vgrelease|NA=March 42008 [ [http://www.ea.com/armyoftwo/home.jsp EA GAMES Army of Two Home Page ] ] [http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/armyoftwo/index.html3] vgrelease|AUS=March 13 2008vgrelease|EU=March 7 2008vgrelease|JP=March 19 2008
genre = Third person shooter
modes = Single player, two-player co-op
ratings = ESRB: Mature (17+) PEGI: 18+ OFLC: MA 15+ CERO: D (ages 17 and up)
engine = Unreal Engine 3
platforms = PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
media = Blu-ray Disc, DVD-DL
requirements =
input = Xbox 360 controller, Sixaxis, DualShock 3

"Army of Two", commonly abbreviated as "Ao2", is a video game developed by Electronic Arts, released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 4, 2008 in North America. "Army of Two" is a third person shooter game focusing on the fictional story of two private military contractors (characterized as mercenaries) "fight [ing] through war, political turmoil, and a conspiracy so vast it threatens the entire world" in a timeline spanning from 1993 to 2009.

Focusing on cooperative strategies, "Army of Two"'s highlighting feature is the necessity to use coordinated teamwork to accomplish the game's goals. While the game is meant to be played with another human as your partner, a "Partner Artificial Intelligence"(PAI) is also included and programmed to follow the player's strategies in suit. Dependence on your partner (whether human or PAI) is so pronounced that most objectives are impossible to complete without it.

Plot

The story begins in 1993 in Somalia when Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios (the protagonists of the game) are still in the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment. They are tasked to work with Philip Clyde, a private military contractor with the Security and Strategy Corporation (SSC), to carry out an assassination. After this mission, Philip Clyde, on behalf of SSC CEO Ernest Stockwell, invites Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dalton (commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment) to join the company for a desk job. He agrees, asking to bring Salem and Rios with him as contractors, and in the following year, the three enter the private sector. [ [http://www.ea.com/armyoftwo/personnel.jsp?personnelType=personnelSSC "SSC Personnel Profiles"] from "EA"] Salem and Rios begin work as mercenaries. Over the course of a decade and a half, they are caught up in a complex scheme to privatize the military, and see to the plot's downfall. At the game's epilogue, we see the two protagonists start their own firm — Trans World Operations, or TWO.

Characters

The following are characters who have a role in the campaign story.

ecurity and Strategy Corporation

*Tyson Rios: SSC operative, Salem's partner, former US Army Ranger
*Elliot Salem: SSC operative, Rios's partner, former US Army Ranger
*Philip Clyde: SSC operative
*Alice Murray: SSC mission coordinator
*Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dalton: SSC commanding officer, Rios and Salem's commander, the final boss if you play the alternate ending available on PSN and Xbox Live, former US Army Ranger
*Ernest Stockwell: SSC CEO

Arms Dealers

*Cha Min Soo: South Korean Special Weapons dealer and share holder of Trans World Operations
*Viktor Roshankov: Ukrainian Gear dealer and share holder of Trans World Operations
*Troy Green: American Secondary Weapons dealer
*Mr. Obayana: Primary Weapons dealer from Sierra Leone
*Mr. May: Weapons Expert for the SSC

Other

*Alex Richter, US Senator: Campaigns to have a bill privatizing the military passed throughout the game.
*Richard Whitehorse, US Alaskan Senator: Campaigns against Senator Richter's bill. Rios and Salem are unwittingly set up to kill him in China.
*S3kshun8: An old friend of Rios'. An expert hacker who helps override electronic locks and provides information to the protagonists. He speaks in 'leet', and Rios is forced to translate his confusing instructions into common English.

Customization

The game allows weapon customization, bought with money earned as the game progresses. Guns available for customization include: pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, rocket launchers, light machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers and assault rifles. Such elements as stocks, under-slung grenade launchers, suppressors, grip handles, extra-large magazines and new barrels, can be swapped out to give the weapon a unique look and superior statistics. Other modifications include gold and chrome plating--also known as "pimping" in the game. Pimping weapons will raise your player's aggro meter drawing more attention to you. The player can also upgrade their armor to make it better and stronger but these can not be purchased and are unlocked as you progress through campaign mode. A firing range feature was proposed that would allow the player to test out their newly customized weapon, however it was removed as it did not meet the developers' standards. [ [http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/armyoftwo/news.html?sid=6150543 "E3 06: Army of Two First Look"] from "GameSpot"] Besides customizing the weapons and armor, the player can also purchase new face masks that the main characters wear.

Online multiplayer

Multiplayer allows up to four players, two on each team similar to the co-op structure of the main campaign. Both teams will compete over objectives on the map such as assassinating a VIP or destroying an objective in order to earn the most money for their side. At the same time, they will also be forced to deal with the opposing team in order to secure their objectives. In the interview, the developer has stated, "The biggest challenge was to convey the co-op experience in a multiplayer match. We didn't want to go with the typical deathmatch mode. We have a variety of modes that really capture the essence of co-op gameplay. You'll have to watch each other's backs and work together to defeat the opposing team. "

Character customization is not possible in the multiplayer portion of the game but you can buy preset sets of weapons, upgrade your body armour and amount of ammo you can carry. Players need to be careful while shopping though, since the team with the most cash in the end wins.

There are 3 multiplayer gametypes: Warzone, Bounties and Extraction. In warzone the objectives are randomly generated and they may vary greatly. For example team might need to get to a certain place and defend it, while the other team tries to destroy it, shoot down the chopper, blowing up a jeep with gunner, transporting wounded soldiers to extraction point, assassinating V.I.P's etc... Extraction is basically Warzone but with rescuing V.I.P.'s to a safe location only. There are currently four maps total, and each are filled with hostiles native to the location. Also every map contains cases of intelligence documents that the player can seek out for extra cash.

Multiplayer for the game is currently region-locked. Players with the European, American or Asian version of the game cannot play with each other. [ [http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/blog/post/683522/Army_of_Two_Wont_Play_Across_Regions.html 'Army of Two' Won't Play Across Regions] from "G4 (TV channel)"] This is not common for online multiplayer games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

On the May 27, 2008 edition of X-Play from G-4 TV, it was announced that two new maps would be available for download on Thursday, May 29, 2008. These maps contain 2 new Co-op maps and an alternative ending to the game. Along with 6 extra achievements.

Co-op maneuvers

Implemented multi-player maneuvers include:

# Step Jump/Pull Up: One person stands up against a wall and holds his hands out while the other person gets lifted up. The second person can then reach down and pull first person up.
# Back to Back: Both players go back to back to cover each other's non-armored backsides.
# Driving: The hovercraft needs one player to drive and the other to man the turret.
# Kudos: Both players can do a range of emotes from slapping each other to playing air guitar. Also characters will communicate a lot and talk trash to one another. For example, one of the random emotes that Rios will occasionally say after being healed is "Where did you learn first aid, butcher school?" Players can also show anger to their partner by smacking them or head-butting them, and will occasionally say "You're fuckin' dead bro". Rios, however, put the word "hell" numerously in his quotes as in: "Why the hell did you do that" and constantly "...Shut the hell up."
# Healing: When one player is injured, the other player must run over to him and either drag him to a safe area or heal him in that spot. Both players may shoot while one is being dragged, but during the healing only the injured player has the ability to fire at the enemies. The injured player also has a "bleed-out" bar, which limits how much time they have left before they die from their injuries. This bar decreases from 1.) The difficulty played and 2.) If enemies continue to shoot them. Pre-release versions had the critically injured player's spirit running from a bright light while the still living character mashes buttons to perform CPR in an attempt to revive the wounded player.
# Aggro Meter: Whichever player is firing the most will attract all enemies towards them. This allows the other player to become virtually invisible, and thus sneak up to enemy positions. If the aggrometer is full to one player they can initiate an "Overkill" mode, which the player with the most aggro goes into a fury doing x2, x3, x4 etc. shooting damage to the enemies, in this mode bullet time is initiated and the player cannot crouch, but doesn't have to reload either. The other player without aggro becomes transparent and moves faster, they are recommended to use hand to hand combat while in this mode. Both players have 15 seconds before all aggro is drained and both players are equal.
# Feign Death: If player one is about to die, he can fake his death. All the aggro will be transferred to the second player. Then player one can get up and attack them from behind (if walked past). Though this can be done multiple times, the same enemies will fall for it only once.
# Co-op Snipe: Both players get into a sniping maneuver to double their power or take out two targets at the same time. To ensure they fire simultaneously, an automated countdown will be initiated.
# Weapon Swap: Players switch weapons with each other to diversify their arsenal.
# Riot Shield: One of the players picks up a riot shield or a car door and both players hide behind it. While one player holds the shield, the other player has the ability to open fire at incoming enemies. The player that carries the shield also has the ability to hit enemies with the shield using melee attack.
# Parachuting: In some missions Salem and Rios will be traversing the skies via parachute. Then one soldier controls the parachute, while the other snipes targets on the ground.

Graphic Novel

"Army of Two: Dirty Money", written by John Ney Rieber and illustrated by Brandon McKinney, is a 2008 graphic novel which follows Rios and Salem through some of their earliest missions together working as private military contractors up to the War in Afghanistan in September 2001. The plot follows the corruption of the private military company that they work for as private military contractors. Rios and Salem work together as an 'Army of two', trying to stay alive and uncover the conspiracy within the company that employs them.

Pre-launch

*Army of Two was #1 on EGM's list of "The Top 50 Original Games We're Looking Forward To."

*Pre-orders of the Xbox 360 version get the Design Your Own Weapon Contest winners' weapons whereas pre-orders of the PlayStation 3 version get a mini-book featuring concept art.

Reception

Reviews overall have been mixed.

*"Edge" gave it 4 out of 10. cite journal|title=Army of Two Review|author=Edge staff|year=2008|month=April|journal=Edge|issue=187|pages=91]
*GameDaily gave it 4 out of 5. [ cite web| last= Workman | first= Robert| title=Army of Two on Xbox 360 Review| publisher=| url=http://www.gamedaily.com/games/army-of-two/xbox-360/game-reviews/review/5327/1966/| date=2008-03-03| accessdate=2008-03-05 ]
*"Game Informer" gave it 7.5 out of 10. [ cite web| last= Reiner| first=Andrew| title=Army of Two Review| publisher=| url=http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/BE28C231-13B2-4BAE-A9E7-B16B4FA219C9.htm| date=| accessdate=2008-03-05]
*"Gameplasma" gave it 7.2 out of 10. [ cite web| last=Lodata | first=Ryan| title=Gameplasma: Army of Two Review| publisher=Gameplasma | url=http://www.gameplasma.com/reviews.php?do=view&id=418| date=| accessdate=2008-04-10 ]
*Gamesradar gave it a 8 out of 10
*"Gamespot" gave it 6.5 out of 10. [ cite web| last= Dodson | first= Joe| title=Army of Two For Xbox 360 Review| publisher=| url=http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/armyoftwo/review.html| date=2008-03-010 | accessdate=2008-03-12 ]
*GameTrailers gave it a 7.3 out of 10. [ cite web| title=Army of Two Review HD| publisher=GameTrailers | url=http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31598.html?type=| date=2008-03-06| accessdate=2008-03-06 ]

*"Hardcore Gamer" gave it 3.5 out of 5. [ cite web| last=Hatchett | first=Geson| title=Hardcore Gamer: Army of Two Review| publisher=Hardcore Gamer | url=http://www.hardcoregamer.com/index.php?option=com_magazine&id_rubrique=1&type=article&id_article=52| date=| accessdate=2008-05-09 ]
*"IGN" gave it 7.9 out of 10. [ cite web| last=Haynes | first=Jeff| title=IGN: Army of Two Review| publisher=IGN | url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/856/856954p1.html| date=2008-03-04| accessdate=2008-03-05 ]
*Gamer TV UK gave the game 9 out of 10 saying Co-op just became its own genre.
*The G4 program X-Play gave it 4 out of 5 stars. cite web| last= Kiel | first= Matt |title=Army of Two review |publisher=G4 | url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1729/Army_of_Two.html| date=2008-03-04 | accessdate=2008-03-05 ]

Miscellaneous

*Many of the game's achievements are named in reference to films. Such references include the achievements "If it bleeds, we can kill it", a quote from Predator; "Big Boom! Big Bada Boom!", from The Fifth Element; "This is my Boom Stick!", from Army of Darkness; "Say hello to my little friends", from Scarface ; "Flip you. Flip you for real", from The Usual Suspects; "Fear is the mind killer", from Dune; and "Fission Mailed" from .

References

External links

* [http://www.ea.com/armyoftwo/ Official website]
* [http://www.revenuerobot.com/2008/army-of-two-achievements-xbox-360/ Army of Two: Achievement List]