Army of Two (video game)

"Army of Two" is also a song by British pop-rock band, Dum Dums.

Army of Two
Developer(s)	EA Montreal
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
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 as AoT or Ao2, is a video game developed by Electronic Arts, released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 4, 2008 in North America. Army of Two is a third person shooter game based around the story of two private military contractors from 1993 to 2009.

Description

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Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem engaged in combat.

Army of Two is a co-op third-person shooter with a focus on cooperative and coordinated strategies. Players will join up with either the game's built-in "Partner Artificial Intelligence" (PAI) or other players "to fight through war, political turmoil and a conspiracy so vast it threatens the entire world." The game has been designed to necessitate teamwork as some missions may be close to impossible to complete without cooperation with the PAI. The story is about fictionalized Private Military Contractor partners, characterized as mercenaries.

Plot

The main story is divided into several regions where the action takes place over the course of nearly two decades.Though the game for many reasons has actually been cut shorter but does not mess with anything major.

Somalia

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 go through a brief training course, taught by their comrade Pedro. Afterward, they are tasked to work with Philip Clyde, a private military contractor with the Security and Strategy Corporation (SSC), to assassinate Abdullahi Mo'Alim. 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.

Afghanistan

Salem and Rios begin an eight-year stretch of mercenary work in various U.S. operations until the events of September 11, 2001. They are then hired to infiltrate an abandoned Cold War era mountain missile base now in use by Al Qaeda in order to destroy the medium-range M-11 missiles left there, eliminate terrorist Al-Habiib, and rescue Brian Hicks(another SSC operative who was captured trying to accomplish the same tasks). After killing Al-Habiib, they destroy a cache of chemical warheads with the help of a hacker, "Section 8", romanized in-game as s3kshun8.

It is then announced in the news that SSC has acquired Black Mountain Industries, another PMC making SSC the largest PMC in the world resulting in some controversy. Dalton reassures the public that their motives are pure.

Iraq

In 2003, the two are sent back to Iraq by mission coordinator Alice Murray, on a mission to rescue Lt. Col. Samuel Eisenhower, a friend from Salem and Rios' old Army Ranger squad. They are told that he has vital information and is being held hostage in an American base which has fallen under enemy control. Salem and Rios successfully extract him to a helicopter. However, soon after it lifts off, it explodes. Salem comments that with Eisenhower dead, only he, Rios, Dalton, and their trainer, Pedro are the only surviving members of their former ten-man unit. Ali Youssef, an Iraqi terrorist, claims responsibility for Eisenhower's death, and the two are tasked with eliminating him, his lieutenant, and his Iraqi base.

After the mission, Senators Alex Richter and Richard Whitehorse discuss a bill coming before Congress in a televised debate. If passed, the bill would privatize the military, positioning SSC to become the primary contractor. Whitehorse is opposed to the bill while Richter wants it to be passed, commenting that private contractors often outperform regular soldiers.

USS Constellation

While fighting enemies in the Philippines, the two are contacted and reassigned by Alice to help retake an aircraft carrier that has been stolen by a cell of terrorists from Abu Sayyaf. The two are transported there via helicopter and parachute down to the flight deck and are rejoined by Philip Clyde who they have not had to deal with since Somalia. Clyde goes below deck while Salem and Rios are tasked to disable the jets parked on the runways to disable the launching mechanism. Alice mentions that the Navy doesn't want SSC getting credit again, and so has dispatched a SEAL team to help. Eventually they go below deck hoping to find a way to the ship's bridge and inadvertently discover Clyde meeting with the terrorists.

Clyde escapes leaving his laptop's USB Flash Drive on the table which the two grab. It is then covertly sent to Section 8 to be analyzed. After fighting their way into the bridge, Navy Captain Harris of the USS Constellation informs them that the carrier has been turned into a nuclear bomb on a course to the Philippine capital, Manila, and that the two must sink the ship before it reaches the city. On the way to handle the situation, they discover the Navy team is dead. Alice informed them of dead with Rios and Salem's former squadmate, Pedro, among the deceased. While maneuvering through the ship, 'Section 8' has uncovered what was on Clyde's USB Flash Drive revealing evidence that he has been leaking US troop positions and intelligence to the terrorists. They succeed in rigging the ship to explode and narrowly escape while Harris goes down with his ship. After completing the mission, they decide not to take any other missions from SSC since they do not know who else is working with Clyde. They decide to wait until they go public with the information.

United States Senators Alex Richter and Richard Whitehorse continue their debate on the bill to privatize the military. Richter believes that doing so would be safer and cheaper than a standing military. However, Whitehorse doesn't want to pass responsibility to corporations who profit from war and may drag the U.S. into unnecessary conflicts. Whitehorse begins a campaign to see the bill is not passed.

China

Salem and Rios, now in South Korea, are doing a job for one of their weapons suppliers, Cha Min Soo. The two have remained out of contact with SSC as they try to investigate Clyde's involvement with the terrorists and a link between SSC and U.S. enemies. Salem's radio is accidentally switched on and Murray contacts them with one final mission, in China. The leader of Abu Sayyaf, the organization that orchestrated the capture of the Constellation, will be crossing the bridge over the Lijiang River and the two are to ambush his motorcade.

After completing their assignment, Alice has lost sign of their extraction helicopter and the two find themselves dealing with the PLA, not Abu Sayyaf. After some digging, Alice discovers that a bounty has been put out for the two implicating their involvement with the murder of United States Senator Richard Whitehorse who was in the motorcade they just blew up instead of the Abu Sayyaf leader. Along the way, the two tell Alice why they fell out of contact letting her in on the potential conspiracy which is furthered by the apparent setup.

The three put the pieces together, guessing that Dalton and SSC CEO Stockwell set them up to kill Whitehorse to end his campaign against the bill and allow it to be passed. Rios and Salem were prime decoys, since they already knew about Clyde, who has been revealed by 'Section 8' to have been involved in ambushes on U.S. soldiers which were staged to damage the U.S. Army's reputation and further support for the bill. En route to escape from China, the two hear Alice being assaulted on the radio, presumably kidnapped. Having then escaped, they decided to end the fight.

Miami

Salem and Rios are then en route to Miami where the headquarters of SSC is located. A hurricane is also headed toward the coast of Florida and the Air Force has sent two fighter jets to intercept their unauthorized flight into the United States, them having been given a plane by Cha Min Soo who tells them to take care of the pilot and bring the plane back in one piece. Compounding their troubles, Philip Clyde is found stowed aboard their plane, having killed the pilot.

Aaron Shinsky rescued Clyde while the Air Force shoots and damages the plane. They manage to get into the plane's on-board hovercraft as the plane is going down, but Clyde picks up a fallen FGM-148 Javelin missile launcher and fires, blowing off half of the plane. Their hovercraft manages to touch down in the waters of Miami and they head to SSC island while Clyde is assumed dead in the crash. When Cha Min hears that his plane was crashed, he threatens to have Salem and Rios killed. They explain that Clyde was responsible, and Cha Min demands they kill him. Salem agrees, not letting Rios mention that Clyde may have already been killed. The two are under increasing pressure from Cha Min as he hacks into their helmet cameras, watching them. The two are then contacted via radio by Ernest Stockwell, requesting that they get him out. He claims that he was not involved with the conspiracy but it was all the work of Richard Dalton.

The two rescue the kidnapped Alice from the Miami Airport. After she is escorted away, the two storm SSC HQ where 'Section 8' helps them get the elevator online so they can pursue Dalton. Along the way, Stockwell accepts a deal from the two to turn himself in as Alice claimed he knew Dalton was breaking the rules, but not exactly what he was doing (sacrificing soldiers). Upstairs, the two are shocked to see that Clyde has survived the crash, but thankful that they can now calm an enraged Cha Min by closing their debt with him and securing later favors. After an immense firefight on SSC's top floor, Salem kicks Clyde out of a window, causing him to plummet into the flooded streets of Miami. Meanwhile, Dalton escapes to the roof, pursued by Rios and Salem. Although Dalton attacks them from a helicopter turret, Rios destroys it with an FIM-92 Stinger while he targets Salem, sending Dalton to his death.

For the ending sequence, the game skips ahead several months. A news broadcast announces that Ernest Stockwell, CEO of the now defunct SSC, has been released after serving three months of his six month prison sentence (having turned himself in as promised). The "Privatization Scandal" is also mentioned; the bill having not been passed. Alice, watching the broadcast, receives a phone call from Rios who tells her that he and Salem have started their own firm, Trans World Operations (TWO). When she asks how they got investors, the cameras pans to look at Cha Min Soo and Viktor Roshankov, two of the arms dealers that they had worked with. Rios mentions that they need a contract filer and offers Alice the job. Alice smiles in agreement.

Characters

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

Security 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
• Ernest Stockwell: SSC CEO

Arms Dealers

• Cha Min Soo: Special Weapons dealer and share holder of Trans World Operations
• Viktor Roshankov: Gear dealer and share holder of Trans World Operations
• Troy Green: Secondary Weapons dealer
• Mr. Obayana: Primary Weapons dealer

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.
• Section 8: 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 sayings into 'English'.

Customization

The game allows a great deal of weapon customization. Some 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. 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 customize the 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 certain place and defend it, while 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 so called "intelligence", which if picked up will get you extra cash and the more intelligence picked up the more it is worth.

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.

Co-op maneuvers

Implemented multi-player maneuvers include:

1. Step Jump: 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.
2. Back to Back: Both players go back to back to cover each other's non-armored backsides.
3. Driving: The hovercraft needs one player to drive and the other to man the turret.
4. 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, Salem will occasionally say "You're fuckin' dead bro". All of these emotes are triggered by pressing the Right or Left triggers while standing near the other player.
5. 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. 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.
6. 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 reccomended 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.
7. Feign Death: If player one is about to die, he can fake his death. All the aggro will go to the second player. Then player one can get up and attack them from behind. (If walked past)
8. Co-op Snipe: Both players get into a sniping maneuver to double their power or take out two targets at the same time.
9. Weapon Swap: Players switch weapons with each other to diversify their arsenal.
10. Riot Shield: One of the players picks up a 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.
11. Parachuting: In some missions Salem and Rios will be dropped from 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:

• GameTrailers gave it a 7.3 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.
• IGN gave it 7.9 out of 10.
• Game Informer gave it 7.5 out of 10.
• GameDaily gave it 4 out of 5.
• Gamespot gave it 6.5 out of 10.
• Edge gave it 4 out of 10.

External links

• Official website