Preview: Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel

I got the chance to pop along to EA HQ in Guildford (UK) to play through the first two levels of Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, or Army of 2:3 for fans of numbers. Although technically “TWO” stands for Tactical World Operative, a private military firm which contracts out guns-for-hire in conveniently sold pairs.

Army of Two is a franchise that is designed from the ground up as a co-operative experience. It is also a franchise whose name is not entirely well suited for being a franchise. Army of Two: 2 sounded 2 silly and so was subtitled The 40th Day. This new third game in the series does have a sneaky three in the title and logo, but it is backed up with the extra support of “The Devil’s Cartel” – which also hints at the story, which centers around a Mexican drug cartel, named La Guadaña.

The core essence of the game may still focus on explosive over-the-top action that likes to encourage cooperation, but this time around the developers, Visceral Games with a bit of help from EA Montreal, are keen to show that the game has moved on from the bromantic days of Salem and Rios. In favour of more streamlined, fast paced gameplay there are no signs of butt slapping celebrations, having a time out to play stone/paper/scissors and a distinct lack of a high five button. Even Salem and Rios themselves have been confined to the role of secondary characters, with the players now taking control of new lead characters, Alpha and Bravo. The story also features another terrible TWOsome, named Chuy and Baker, who are voiced acted and mo-capped versions of hip-hop stars Big Boi and B.o.B.

Salem and Rios join Alpha and Bravo in a flashback 5 years in the past. It all goes FUBAR.

Some of the signature features are retained, with the Aggro system still allowing you to shift the focus of your foes between the two playable characters to gain a tactical advantage. The best example of this from the part of the game we played through had one of you repeatedly distracting a machine gun emplacement so that your co-op partner in gun-crime can more easily sneak round them in a flanking maneuver. Further encouragement to co-op play is given with bonus points being scored for teaming up to shoot the same target, made easier by your aiming reticle visually changing when both of you have the same target in your sights. Score bonuses are also given for other objectives such as surprising targets, flanking, acting as a decoy or utilizing environmental kills.

The Overkill feature returns and allows you to become invincible with infinite ammo for a short amount of time. Handy when making a dash to save a downed team-mate, but best used offensively by both players at the same moment, for an extended amount of time allowing both of you to reap maximum carnage on the gangs of evil drug dealers. Always on hand to assist in the environmental carnage, I am happy to report that there are plenty of explosive red barrels scattered throughout the early levels. They even get a nice name check in the dialogue. [= )] Fans of explosions and destructible scenery may be pleased to hear that Ao2:TDC has switched from the Unreal engine to the Frostbite 2 engine.

The Devils Cartel is at its best when you and your co-op partner are going all out guns blazing, rapidly moving from cover to cover and out flanking your enemies.The cover mechanic is annoying at first and although I did get to be quite adept at moving from cover to cover with rapid movements and slides into position, it still felt like it was prone to unexpected results or input errors that will end up with you soaking up a few bullets during moments when that was the last thing on your mind.

For all the discerning face decorators out there a mask creator has been added. I did not get to play around with this on the day, but did get to pick a Skull Candy themed/sponsored combination of mask and armour options that I took a shine to. The turquoise day-glo neon highlight colour was particularly unsuitable for combat because, as my co-op chum noted, it “Was visible from Space!” There was also a wealth of other options for gun customization from absurdly large drum magazines to the more usual sight upgrades and yes, don’t worry, you can still make your weapon a nice shiny gold.

I have to admit that I was not expecting much from this third outing in a seemingly tired franchise. While not perfect, there have been enough refinements, improvements and adjustments to the formula on display to turn my head. I would not go as far as to call the dialogue clever, but it was highly amusing in its dumbness and seems self-aware of this to enough of a degree that you are happy laughing at Alpha and Bravo’s brash bravado style. If Battlefield is Black Hawk Down then The Devil’s Cartel is a two man Expendables; a brazen guilty pleasure popcorn flick. It may not win any Oscars, but it may win some fans.

In what is rapidly becoming a crowed year for games, I worry that the legacy of this franchise may deter people from giving this one a try. After playing a good chunk of the game, I urge everyone to try the demo that is available on XBL and PSN. It is a bit short and throws you into the deep end a little, but gives you a good taste. If you like what you see in the demo and have a split-screen or online bro to go to war with then this might be the right (third) TWO for you.

Tags: Ao2: TDC, Army of Two, Army of TWO: The Devil's Cartel