Army of Two: The 40th Day - co-op mercenary mayhem at its finest.
Charming mercenaries Salem and Rios are back, this time smokin' baddies in a collapsing Shanghai. The original title, while appreciated for its in-depth weapon customisation and co-op gameplay, did have shortfalls.
Thankfully, most of these have been cleared up with 40th Day.
Play is fast and, of course,
violent, with a far bigger focus on co-operative play. Although single players can tackle the game with an AI partner, the "intelligence" is not up to the level you could expect from a real person, online or on the couch next to you. AI for enemies has improved significantly too - if you take an officer hostage, his troops will surrender.
Weapon customisation is deep and dirty - with savage add-ons and bling-bling paint jobs - with modified guns making a big difference in battles. The storyline is confusing to start with, but as players get towards the sharp end of the game it clears up. Saving civilian hostages is important to gameplay, dictating whether the Army of Two boys are nice or nasty. Nice makes life easier later on, although nasty is darkly entertaining. The 720p graphics are excellent, and so is multichannel audio and cut scenes.
Third-person view issues are rife in the single-player version, with the AI mercenary getting in the way quite regularly. The issue lessens when playing split-screen multiplayer, but can still be annoying under fire. Your AI playmate also has a tendency to drag your player into the line of fire when he's trying to save you with a "rescue shot".
Verdict: Plenty of hardcore fighting, great weapons selection and enough challenge. One of the best co-op titles so far this year, providing good competition to zombie slaying multiplayer Left 4 Dead 2. A big improvement on the original.
4/5
Reviewed on PS3, R18
