Army of Two (video game)

Army of Two
Developer(s)	EA Montreal
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Artist(s)	Francois Bordez
Writer(s)	Keith Arem, M. Dooma Wendschuh
Composer(s)	Trevor Morris
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)	Third person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, two-player co-op

Army of Two, commonly abbreviated by players 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.

The PS3 version of Army of Two is also the first game for the console known to be region-locked. EA claims that the region-locking is to prevent network lag caused by players from multiple regions, and to prevent the Asian region console owners from playing the US and European version of the game, as the Asian version has been censored to meet certain requirements. Nonetheless this move has received criticisms from certain parties

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. 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. It has also been revealed that an Army of Two movie is in the works.

By downloading an optional 'Veteran Pack' from the PSN or Xbox Live networks, 2 new story missions are added to the campaign. The first sees Salem and Rios in Ukraine's capital during a series of riots protesting against the corrupt government that is currently in power. Their mission is to infiltrate and destroy the headquarters of a militia that supports the corrupt government, located somehere in the city's subway system. After finally receiving an exact location from Murray, they fall through the floor and discover an abandoned cold war medical facility. They take lab reports that prove the illegality of the experiment conducted there, and extract an UNAID observer who went missing some days earlier and has been held captive and tortured. The militia leader congratulates the two on thier perseverance on getting so far into the base before giving the order to kill them. A massive fire fight follows, with Salem and Rios finally winning out and advancing to the control room for the base, where they set and blow explosives. They then make their way out with the UNAID observer with Salem saying "Don't mention anything vaguely medical from now on".

The second is an extended version of the final story mission set in Miami during a hurricane. This new version replaces Phillip Clyde with Robert Dalton as the final boss, and the location is changed to a top-secret SSC vault where the sensitive and comprimising material is stored for select clients. In this timeline, Salem and Rios kill Clyde but Dalton escapes with the proof of his involvement in the revealing of troop positions,they wait for the hurricane to pass before they pursue him. He flees to the SSC vault where he locks the information in and waits for them. After advancing through the complex and hacking the 3 biometric locks on the vaults, a confrontation occours between Salem, Rios and Dalton. They eventually kill him and hide his body in a vault and lock it, taking the comprimising evidence with them.

Characters

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

Security and Strategy Corporation

File:932860 20060823 screen009.jpg

Elliot Salem (left) and Tyson Rios (Right) engaging in combat.

• 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 extended ending available on PSN and Xbox Live, former US Army Ranger
• Ernest Stockwell: SSC CEO

Bosses

• Mo'Alim: The first boss encountered in Somalia when defeated he blows himself up in an attempt to kill Rios and Salem
• Al Habib: The second boss encountered in Afghanistan he captured Brian Hicks as well as using illegal nuclear missiles and warheads
• Ali Youseff: The third boss encountered in Iraq he is one of Sadam Hussain's lieutenants; he blew up Lieutenant Eisenhower's helicopter as he was being flown to safety.
• Phillip Clyde: The final boss encountered in the normal game in Miami. He is discovered as assisting Dalton in his plan and attacks Salem and Rios on Cha Min Soo's airplane, they escape while he apparently dies. They discover him alive protecting Dalton; he is hit out the window and dies by Salem
• Richard Dalton: The final boss if you play the extended ending available on PSN and Xbox Live. He is discovered as having given away U.S. troop positions so to make SSC look good. He frames Salem and Rios and runs away with the evidence and locks it in the SSC vault, he is then tracked down, killed and locked in the vault by Salem and Rios.

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 throughout the game to have a bill privatizing the military passed.
• 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.
• Brian Hicks: A private military contractor like Salem and Rios he is sent in to stop Al Habib's plans but is captured and tortured and later rescued by Salem and Rios. If you find some evidence Hicks is revealed to have been dealing with Al Habib but after a dispute of money he was captured.
• Paul Harris: The Captain of the Aircraft Carrier that is boarded by terrorists. He is wounded by the terrorists and saved by Salem and Rios. He sacrifices himself to destroy the aircraft carrier and the armaments it carries, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the terrorists.
• Samuel Eisenhower: A US Army Ranger and old friend of Salem and Rios he is fighting against Ali Youssef's forces and then he is captured and Salem and Rios are sent in to rescue him. Upon being rescued and leaves via helicopter; his helicopter is blown up thus killing him.

Pedro Gutierrez: a US Army Ranger who trained Salem and Rios in Somalia. He later becomes a Navy SEAL, and is killed by terrorists when he boards the Aircraft Carrier.

Missions

Somalia

In 1993 Salem and Rios are U.S Army Rangers and they are sent to aid a Private Military Contractor Phillip Clyde to kill Mo'Alim. They meet up with him outside The Continental Hotel. They straight away develop a hatred for Clyde. They continue to The Continental Hotel to kill Mo'Alim as Clyde is nowhere to be seen. They kill him and then they discover that Clyde dissappeared to let them do his job for him. They continue to the extraction point and complete the mission succesfully. Clyde offers Liuetenant Colonel Richard Dalton as well as Salem and Rios a job at SSC his PMC

Afghanistan

In 2001 Salem and Rios are sent to Afghanistan to kill Al Habib and stop his nuclear warheads and M-11 Missiles from being launched as well as rescuing Brian Hicks who was sent in to do the same job. Along the way Dalton reveals that SSC has merged with another PMC Black Mountain Industries and has become the most powerful PMC. During the mission Rios gets suspicious as to what the mission is really about. Salem and Rios accomplish their mission by killing Al Habib and destroying his missiles and warheads.

Iraq

In 2003 Salem and Rios are sent to Iraq to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Eisenhower and as a side objective kill Ali Youssef. They rescue Eisenhower and he leaves via helicopter but then Ali Youssef destroys his helicopter, thus killing him. This further feeds into Rios' suspicions as to how they knew he was in that helicopter. Salem and Rios then head to Ali Youssef's base and kill him as retribution.

Kiev

In 2004 Salem and Rios are sent to Kiev to infiltrate an underground military base which is supporting the corrupt government of Ukraine. Along the way they find out that they have been doing illegal medical experiments. They rescue a UNAID member that went missing a few days ago they then find the leader of the base and he congratulates them for making it this far then leaves his men to kill Salem and Rios. Salem and Rios survived and destroy the base and leave. This mission is not in the normal game it must be downloaded through PSN or Xbox Live.

Aircraft Carrier

In 2008 during a mission Salem and Rios are reassigned to an Aircraft Carrier that has been hijacked by terrorists to rendevous with Clyde and free it of terrorists. Along the way they discover that Clyde has been revealing troop positions and dealing with the terrorists. They find the Captain still alive and he reveals that the ship is full of explosives and he suggest sinking the ship because they cant wait for the Navy Seals. While they are trying to plant the bombs they find the Navy Seals have been murdered.They succede and evacuate the ship and vow to never return to SSC

China

In 2009 Salem and Rios are helping Cha Min Soo their Special Weapons Dealer when they receive a call from Alice Murray who has a mission for them. Rios at first says no but Salem begs him because he needs money and he accepts. Salem and Rios go to China to kill a Chinese Terrorist while he crosses the bridge but once they kill him they discover that the person crossing the bridge was Senator Whitehorse the Senator who was trying to stop the military from being privatised. They realise that they were setup, they suspect Alice at first but she reveals that the mission orders came straight from Dalton. Alice is kidnapped during the end of the mission. They succesfully escape from China then head to Miami to rescue Alice and stop SSC.

Miami

After leaving China they go to Miami via a plane lent to them by Cha Min Soo. During their flight Clyde attacks their plane and attempts to kill them he comes close to killing them but because of other planes shooting at the plane he fails. Salem and Rios escape the plane as it starts to catch on fire, it crashes apparently killing Clyde. They land at Miami Airport and fight their way through and rescue Alice. She reveals to them that Ernest Stockwell the CEO of SSC is not behind this plan and that the one behind it is Dalton. They continue on to the SSC Tower where Dalton is, they finally reach him and learn that Clyde did not die in the plane crash and he is helping Dalton. They kill Clyde while Dalton attempts to escape via helicopter they reach him before he can leave and destroy his helicopter thus killing him. Ernest Stockwell is sent to prison and SSC is shutdown. Alice while watching the news receives a call from Salem and Rios they reveal that they have made their own PMC called TWO and their investors being their weapon dealers.

Miami Alternate Ending

This mission is a different version of Miami. Instead of Dalton being caught by them on the roof and killed he escapes to the SSC vault with the information to prove them innocent. Salem and Rios enter the vault and hack into the computers to bypass the security systems of the vault. They then confront Dalton and kill him and lock him in the vault.

Gameplay

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. 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. 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.

Achievements

Army of Two players can earn various achievements on the Xbox 360 version of the game. Many of them are named in reference to films, including 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; and "Fear is the mind killer", from Dune. Another achievement, "Fission Mailed", quotes the video game Metal Gear Solid 2. The PlayStation 3 version lacks trophies.

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.

Sequel

In a recent interview with variety EA Games label president, Frank Gibeau, stated that there was a planned sequel to AO2.

On March 12, 2009 Army of Two: The 40th Day was announced by EA Montreal scheduled to be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable on Winter 2009.

Reception

Upon its release, the game received a mixed reception with Edge giving the game a 4 out of 10. Since then Army Of Two has become popular with fans and continues to sell well across Europe. The full list of scores are shown below.

• Edge gave it 4 out of 10.
• GameDaily gave it 4 out of 5.
• Game Informer gave it 7.5 out of 10.
• Gameplasma gave it 7.2 out of 10.
• Gamesradar gave it a 8 out of 10
• Gamespot gave it 6.5 out of 10.
• GameTrailers gave it a 7.3 out of 10.
• Official Xbox Magazine gave it a 5.5 out of 10.
• Hardcore Gamer gave it 3.5 out of 5.
• IGN gave it 7.9 out of 10.
• 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.

External links

• Official website
• Army of Two at MobyGames
• Army of Two: Achievement List