Army of Two

Added February 27th, 2008 by Justin McBride

As part of the Burnout Community Day, my fellow journalists and I were treated to a bit of a surprise in the form of a brief Army of Two play session. This upcoming third person shooter, developed at EA Montreal, is unlike many other third person shooters presently on the market due to its heavy emphasis on cooperation.

As we sat down in front of our respective monitors, Senior Producer Reid Schneider and Assistant Producer Matt Turner presided, giving a rundown of what we would be playing prior to starting. I was seated in one of four seats in a row and was told we would be playing the game’s two versus two multiplayer mode, given a brief rundown on the controls and the game started. I took a brief glance at my partner and dove in.

The mode we played was called Warzone, in which the two two-player teams compete against each other to complete a series of neutral objectives, such as destroying a weapon cache, capturing a flag and so on while simultaneously fending off the other team. While it sounds fairly standard multiplayer shooter fare, everything is not as it seems, as this mode has a very interesting twist that could create some very interesting multiplayer matches. Not only will the other team be trying to take you down, but several neutral NPCs will be scattered throughout the map, creating a chaotic environment in which everyone but your partner is out to get you.

What struck me immediately is how quickly I’d acclimated myself to the controls. I never felt as if I needed a tutorial and was up and fragging with the best of them within moments. Pulling the left trigger zooms in to an over the shoulder point of view, allowing for much more precise shots, pushing the Y button while running slides you into cover, and from here, you can fire blindly around corners or over the top of whatever obstacle you’re crouched behind, as well as pop out for a moment to deliver a few quick bursts. Another interesting command that pops up as you’re close to death is the “Feign Death” command. By pressing the A button as this prompt appears, your character immediately goes limp and slumps to the ground, hopefully lulling your opponent into a false sense of security, causing them to leave you for dead.

As your team completes objectives and takes down opponents, cash flows in to your team’s account, which can be used by either player to purchase weapons kits at weapons depots near each team’s respective spawn point. Another team-centric element shows up here, as choosing weapons requires careful planning on the part of both players in choosing weapons that compliment their teammates and regulating the cash evenly between them. While it’s easy to buy the most expensive weapon kit for yourself, leaving your partner high and dry is certainly not recommended.

The two man team dynamic is one that is stressed in multiplayer and clearly, based on this short session, factors heavily into the multiplayer modes. Several of the team interactions seen in the campaign are utilized in multiplayer. As my partner and I rounded a corner, we witnessed our opponents taking turns boosting each other up onto a high ledge. As the first player reached the top of the ledge, he turned and reached over the side to pull his partner up as well. You must also be careful about when and where you perform these actions, as my partner and I took this opportunity to empty our clips into them.

It seems the delay (the game was originally supposed to release last November) was for the best and has given the team time to polish the visuals and gameplay significantly. Visually, the game is looking great featuring a very clean UI and various interesting effects. The environment is even destructible to a degree, and shooting a wall with a shotgun at close range produces a different effect than firing an M4 at the same spot. The characters also have some convincing animations when hit in specific body parts. As I tagged an AI soldier in the shoulder with my AK-47, his body jerked appropriately. When I shot him in the leg, he stumbled forward, off balance.

There was much to like about the all too brief time I had with Army of Two and it certainly gives me a lot to look forward to in the final game. The game felt well polished and the lone multiplayer mode we played was a fun one. I look forward to the final game, which will be hitting store shelves on March 4, 2008.