Army of Two defines the "cooperative" in a cooperative gameplay genres...
Story
The story of Army of Two can be seen as "traditional" or something that we have seen before in entertainment. It is a mixture of conspiracy and international intrigue, mixed with some real life dilemmas about military and whether it should be private or government-owned. Yet again, saying more than that will classify as a spoiler, but the main point is that while playing AO2 you will be engaged in a decent story. Not only that, but the main character – Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem – will provide you tons of "smart comments, funny moments" which makes it even easier to follow the story and to build an idea about character's personality. 7/10
Graphics
The graphical presentation of AO2 is good at best. The game came out in 2008, still the graphics are good, but not the best out there. Nevertheless, there little details make big difference. And the little details are really well-presented. For example, character and enemy presentation are very good, your weapons are actually attached to your back or sides in a very realistic manner (not just "glued" to your back like in other shooters), the cutscenes are also of decent quality. 8/10
Sound/Voice Acting
Very similar to the graphics presentation. Voice acting could be improved on, but it is solid at least. What I mean by that is that it won't become annoying, but the opposite – you will put "a voice to a face and" start accepting your characters voice.
The soundtrack is very limited to be honest, there are a couple of catchy tunes but that's about it. The gunplay sounds can be improved on a little but are good at best. 7/10
Gameplay
Well, if there is any game that represents the cooperative gameplay out there it has to be Army of Two. This is not just a game where you put two characters together guns blazin'. This is a real cooperative experience. This is why I said that the best way to play AO2 is with a partner – either online or locally. I have not tested the game with an AI partner, so I can't really comment on that. From the moment you start, until the very end you and your partner will depend on each other like you have never seen in any other game. Let me give you some examples. In order to reach higher grounds you have to do STEP-JUMP with your partner, who in returns have to pull you up as well. There are areas where you have to do a "CO-OP Snipe", meaning both of you ready your snipers and fire at the same time (yes, there is a countdown, you know "3..2…1…"). There are areas where you do what's called "Back-to-Back" meaning you and your partner stand back to back and exterminate enemies coming from all sides. You can also switch weapons with your partner. Each characters carries a Primary, a Secondary and a Special Weapon (along with grenades)…Let's say your partner has a pistol that he does not use it much, well you can switch your pistol for his – right there in-game on the spot. It is an incredible feature and very useful when you want a weapon that you don't have the money to buy but your partner does. So you can just switch weapons and done! All these events, however are "glued" together by one feature that is ACTIVE from the very start – AGGRO. Aggro is like attention. The more your partner shoots at enemies, the more his AGGRO meter is filled. What this means is that all enemies start shooting at him, since he has their attention. Now, the other player can sneak behind enemies or gets closer to them and eliminate them. Which in turn, will make that player's AGGRO fill up so all enemies start shooting at that player. It sounds more complicated that it is – but it is a very powerful feature and both players need to be aware of each other's aggro. Another very strong feature of Army of Two is the gun customization. This is a game that has pretty much the most customizable options I have seen in a video game. Pretty much you buy the base model of a particular gun and then you can modify it to your liking (costs money). You can also "pimp it out" which means you can engrave your weapon with intricate patterns, which make your weapon looks unique and a bad a**. Pimping out a weapon increases your aggro faster when you are using that weapon. Do you get the relation how AGGRO is pretty much tied to everything, so mastering the understanding of that concept will save yours and your partner's lives numerous times. 10/10
Long-lasting Appeal
For me Army of Two is great game. It delivers the most when cooperative play is involved and I respect that, because the developers created a game that was supposed to be played as "Army of Two" in a coop mode and that coop mode is exceptional, full with lots of useful features I am yet to see in another video game. Maybe this is why I actually purchased Army of Two on day one as well, which I am enjoying right at this moment. 8.5/10.
Overall, Army of Two is a must have if you are fan of cooperative gameplay. Actually, it kind of gives the definition of co-op gaming.7.5/10
EvilSelf…