Army of Two: The 40th Day

[Flawless]

1UP

Remember how EA teased that it would be announcing a new game from its Montreal studio today? And how people were speculating that it would be a sequel to its co-op private military company shooter Army of Two? Well, the speculation proved to be correct, as this morning EA announced Army of Two: The 40th Day for PS3, Xbox 360, and PSP. The sequel takes place in Shanghai, China, and continues the story of its two main characters, Salem and Rios. Here's how EA describes the situation they find themselves in:

When a disaster of epic proportions strikes Shanghai, China, Rios and Salem find themselves right in the middle of it all -- the wrong place, the wrong time, but the right team. A carefully orchestrated series of mysterious catastrophes is dragging Shanghai to the brink of ruin, and now the Army of Two must fight their way through ravaged city districts as they try to beat the odds and uncover the secret of the 40th Day.

Included in this story is the first ever screenshot of Army of Two: The 40th Day. We've seen the game in action and can say that it's definitely worth getting excited over. It looks far better, has improved controls, more co-op moves, and, well, a bit less of the bromance. The good news is that it won't be long until you hear all about that.

[Flawless]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

1UP Preview

We got to see a bunch of this promise in action, and so far so good. For starters, the entire game looks much, much better. Whereas most of the environments in the original game were rather static, the streets of Shanghai are filled with objects like dust and paper floating in the wind. Also impressive is the lighting and shadows that fill the streets. The game does an impressive job of giving you a sense that you're making your way through this devastated Asian city. "For me, what I'm interested in this one is that we're trying to build a world," says Creative Director Alex Hutchinson, former lead designer of Spore who joined EA Montreal to work on this sequel. "Decent shooters, like, say, Dark Sector -- they're getting blasted at the moment for things that would scored 9+ five years ago. And I think it's that they're flat. They've got their mechanic down and then they built 8 levels with that mechanic. And then you see something like Bioshock where you're in a world, you know what I mean? And these games have this sense of space. And even, say, God of War -- it's linear, but you feel like you're in the space, and something's going on that's big. That's what I'm hoping we can nail with this one."

Of course, EA Montreal also isn't standing still when it comes to the co-op gameplay. When playing with the AI, your counterpart is far more realistic in his responses now -- he'll take cover on his own, and in general be able to think much better on his feet. Much more attention is also being placed on making levels a lot less linear, giving you more options to figure out how you want to play through them. Then there are the new tricks at your disposal, such as being able to do a mock surrender, where one person will pretend to surrender while the other snipes from a distance. We also got to see a new GPS gadget that you can use to have one person pinpoint enemies in a room while the other person shoots through the wall to kill them (which is pretty badass, actually). Speaking of which, environments are now far more destructable, and many of them can be shot through. Bodies can be shot through, too (for instance, you could shoot through a hostage to kill an enemy holding him -- just saying).

As for the private military company aspect of the original, this will still play a part in the story and how you accept missions. This time, however, there's also the element of bidding on missions, which gives you the opportunity to potentially make more cash (or lose out on missions if you bid too high). And in case you were wondering, Alice will reprise her role as your source for intel. Most of the other popular aspects of the first game -- from the weapon customization to using elements of the environment as shields -- will be present and enhanced in The 40th day as well. Multiplayer will also be a big part of the focus this time around, with lots more levels and modes to play (including Army of Two's version of a Horde mode). And although we didn't get to play through any of the game yet, we did get to test out the controls in a demo area and can confirm that they've been nicely improved in the sequel -- certain actions like co-op sniping are easier to perform, and aspects like aiming have been improved with a slight snap-to feel of a game like Call of Duty 4.

But perhaps the most exciting enhancements for The 40th Day are aspects we haven't seen yet but can't help but be intrigued by. Hutchinson, who not only served as lead designer on Spore, but also The Sims 2, seems to think he can bring a bit of his background to the game. "There were all kinds of systems that are really interesting in The Sims or in Spore that we built, but it's like these audiences never talk. You've got all these people making hardcore shooting games and all this knowledge about hardcore shooting games, and then you've got Maxis and other studios making these simulators and things, and because the audiences are so divided it usually means that the creators are divided too. The people that make The Sims are not that interested in shooters and the people who make shooters are not that interested in The Sims. But I was sitting there thinking, 'You know, there's so much stuff that's interesting here.' And lots of stuff we'll show you in the future is systemic stuff -- for instance the interactions with the partner. All it was before was 'A' to shake hands and 'B' to punch him. That's like the edge of a Maxis system, you know what I mean? You could build something that is really interesting. And if you're making a shooter, it takes you into a slightly different space."

Of course, many would be cautious not to get too excited about the new features for The 40th Day, especially after so many elements that were promised for the original game never came to fruition. That said, it appears EA Montreal is in a much different place with its sequel. Never mind that it's not developing the game while simultaneously building its studio like with the original, but there's a certain level of expertise that's already evident in the sequel. There was much experience gained from the first game, obviously, but also experience gained in hiring talent onto the project (in addition to Hutchinson coming from Maxis, other new team members have come from such studios as Insomniac, Criterion, and Ubisoft). EA Montreal has a lot to prove with this sequel, but they seem optimistic they'll be able to properly deliver on what they set out to with the first Army of Two.

[Flawless]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

First trailer:

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[Flawless]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Army Of Two II Restricts Multiplayer Mode Unless You Pre-Order

Well this is a new one - unless you pre-order Army Of Two: The 40th Day you will be blocked from playing the game's four player, co-op survival mode for an entire month:

[bkfount]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Army Of Two II Restricts Multiplayer Mode Unless You Pre-Order

oh EA..always trying to one up Activision.

I personally can't wait until one of the two companies start to offer different modes or game endings to different retailers as preorder exclusives.

[Cyros]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

How do you restrict MP to a pre-order in a game built around the concept of MP?

[DickDalewood]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Well... at least they just restricted the four player part.

Very weird though... either way, game looks really fun.

[Tiko7523]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

hmmm always liked the artwork cover for thee games lol

the game might be finally good it seems maybe a purchase

[DickDalewood]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Well, I would play the demo, but it's two player only, and I don't have anyone to play split-screen with, and I don't want to go online and play with some random douche bag.

Whose stupid idea was this? There is a solo option but the demo doesn't allow us to play it... what??

[Cusefan]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

How do you restrict MP to a pre-order in a game built around the concept of MP?

Im still gonna rent it... Demo was fun though.

[Cyros]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Yeah, demo turned out to be fun, and my friend's brother-in-law had a copy of the first game and we started playing through that.

Without a doubt they made some nice improvements to the 2nd game.

[Tiko7523]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

just played the demo it was pretty fun really nice game . one question tho my partner quit on me when i was playing which aborted the misson.... in the retail game can you go through the whole game with a computer partner?

thanks

[DickDalewood]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

^ Yes

[Rassklot]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

army of two i believe is a good concept.. but it sucks
dont know why.. cant stand that game

[goh]

Re: Army of Two: The 40th Day

I'm guessing by the lack of single player in the demo the AI partner is complete rubbish again.