Review: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Written by JB Monday, 11 January 2010 21:14

After waiting 39 long and frustrating days, Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios are rewarded.  On the 40th day, they finally get to have sex with Lent-abstinent Josh Hartnett.  Actually, they don't.  Prude.  In the 40th Day they turn Shangahi into Port-au-Prince, riding through China like the Mongol horde, causing more damage than a Haitian earthquake.  With many additions to the gameplay from their first foray, how does the game stack up?   

The 40th day finds Salem and Rios with their own Private Military Contract company in hot merc-on-merc action, on the tail end of a detail in Shanghai.  Suddenly, the city erupts into chaos.  Buildings explode and the corpses of civilians litter the blood-soaked streets.  To make things worse, armies of rival Private Military Contractors are now hunting the Army of Two.  Why?  Well, because...  Actually I'm not sure why.  Someone forgot their homework. 

Classic

 It's not all bad though, they did make improvements from the first AO2.  But that's like saying someone made a motorcycle made out of knives "a little safer."  The first Ao2 lacked deep gameplay, variety of enemies, and interesting bosses-but made up for it with an in-depth gun customization.  The 40th Day decided to stick with that.  The fighting is basic. Using an ill-concieved two man distract-and-attack system, one fighter is able to hide behind cover and spray bullets-getting the enemie's attention, sometimes killing them.  While he is doing this, the other fighter is able to hide behind cover and and spray bullets- getting the enemy's attention, sometimes killing them.  Again and again.  The enemies all look alike too, but I'm cutting EA some slack here-  the game takes place in China.

I forgive you EA..

They did, however, fix the vision problems encountered when one took damage in the first Army of Two.  That's right, you can still see-even if you are hit with a bullet.  They also added a sprint feature, and the co-op actions like the step-jump became much more user friendly.  They added many cool features to their weapon customization and made a stronger notification of when these actions were required.  They also added player-chosen decisions- a black-and-white moral choice between life and death.  These choices affect player perception and have ramifications for the player.  These ramifications are shown to the player after the choice has been made.