Buddy AI. Yeah, you’ve guessed it. It’s the thing I’d be talking about pre-purchase. Still, to date, can we really say that we’ve played a title where our teammate IQ stems above the average little old lady’s 14-year-old brolly? Nay. Alas not.

So could I be a little pensive about playing through the single-player version of Army of Two, with Matt being off and all, gallivanting in the South of France? Yes. Strangely I was. It is important to state at this point that I’ve played through the campaign without another human life-form keep me sane, and that playing through the missions in COOP with a mate is definitely better. I only managed to find this out based on dragging a member of I.T. downstairs to have a go. Albeit my choice of partner-in-crime for said event is the type of guy to find a well-rounded in-game NPC chick and wonder where the grope button is. So, hopefully you’ll find a better candidate.

Army of Two is a cooperative 3rd-person shooter with the main games feature being about controlling the 2 main characters, Salem and Rios through their contracted career in the private military sector. The game starts out with the 2 protagonists heading over to Somalia to wipe out a guy called Abdullahi Mo’Alim, working in conjunction with SSC (Security and Strategy Corporation) and a berk called Philip Clyde. I say “berk” because he spends most of the mission sounding like a schoolyard bully; taunting the main characters with pointless remarks, accomplishing only a bitter resentment for having no control over being able to garrotte the unsuspecting bastard with his own entrails.

At the end of the mission, like a dangling carrot in front of a famine battered mule, Salem and Rios are invited to join the private sector with their boss where they’ll make a load more cash, and probably, if they could get away with it, a pair of bikini clad girls and a large tub of chocolate ice cream with no spoon. So, it’s not unsurprising that our would-be heroes of the game nod their agreement so emphatically they sue fate for whiplash, and our game begins. With KISS masks. Yeah, I don’t get it either? I mean, surely being shot in the face while wearing one would really, really hurt. But, I suppose you’d be alive to complain about it and the git standing over you, laughing at your misfortune and $10,000 worth of dented facial aesthetic. Oh yeah? But you get the last laugh, as baby, those things are customisable!

Sigh. Yes. Buy a bigger gun, worry about pimping yourself up later.

From a single-player perspective you go through the game as whichever guy you want to control, and through a series of D-pad related commands you can control your teammate. You can make him advance, follow, hold or view things from his point-of-view. The main commands can be issued once for defensive where your partner will passively carry out said command, or twice for aggressive where he’ll try and take the heat of your back. Now, the great part about Army of Two is that for around 85% of the time, this system actually works! If you tell him to stay, he does, if you tell him to follow he does. But, not just in that “as the crow flies” kind of way, as in using cover and responding half intelligently to what’s going on around him. Some situations call for the ability to COOP snipe, where both players will take up positions to shoot at the same target or say, 2 guards at the same time which possibly isn’t used as much as it could be throughout the game. One feature that probably will be used quite a bit is when one of you takes a certain amount of damage; you’ll need to be healed by the other. Dropping to the ground you’ll wait for your partner to come over and pull you out of danger, retaining the ability to cover-fire while your buddy finds a spot to repair the damage. Another game mechanic is where you’ll suddenly be overwhelmed by enemies and will have to go ‘back-to-back’ where everything will slow down and the guys will have to take on a number of enemies without dieing.

As the name of the game might suggest, it’s all about cooperation between Rios and Salem. Because of this, they’ve added the agro system, a feature you might’ve wanted in a previous game but were disappointed to find lacking. If you’re firing at the enemy you’ll take “agro” which will make you start to glow red. This can be monitored not only visually, but also by means of a sliding bar at the top of your HUD. Of course, on the opposite, as you loose agro, you’ll start to become semi-transparent. This all might seem a tad over-the-top in their approach to make the game visually impacting when being aware of who’s currently taking all the heat, but when you think about the fact you can play this game COOP online, it’s a good idea. If one of you holds agro for a period of time you’ll get the option to go into “Overkill” mode where one of you will remain invisible to the enemy and the other will start dishing out double damage.

You get all the obvious weaponry a pair of Rambo-lovin’ nutters would want to overcome their enemy. From AK’s to RPG’s to sniper rifles; your playing style can be met. Additionally, with each weapon you purchase, a series of upgrades can also be bought to customise it further. If you come to a close encounter with an enemy you’ll get a chance to perform a melee move that will generally kill the enemy outright. Oh, and as stated previously, you can buy more masks. No, no, they don’t actually do anything other than change the appearance of your character. For $10K a time, you might argue this cash could be spent on a different weapon or an upgrade, and you’d be absolutely right. This addition, like the ability to choose the ‘pimp’ upgrade for your gear, is for the aesthetically minded or the soldier low in self-confidence.

I read an article about how Army of Two brought an air of glamorisation to the brutal reality of war. With their constant banter or the players ability to play air guitar with their partner as a form of praise. No doubt from the sort of person who can’t watch an Arnie film, James Bond or let his kids watch Legend because it’s got a big scary man in it (no not Tom Cruise). But hey, I stem from a long line of people that believe books, T.V., games and films, don’t generally kill people. The killers don’t tend to need much in the way of media motivation to set them down their already disturbed path. I can’t see Ted Bundy sat down watching The Clockwork Orange to get his inspiration – he already had too much fruit in his cake.

No, Army of Two doesn’t fall down on controversial content. If anything I’d say it tumbled slowly down the other end of the scale. While there’s one level that sticks you on a boat and lets you admire their actually quite pretty sea, there are certainly more levels that leave you with a sense of repetitive nostalgia. Hey, nothing against the Middle East as such, but I’ve certainly seen enough of it of late! The A.I. of your partner is pretty damn good, but there are times where you’ll be pulling your hair out at the simplicity of bug he’s encountered. Don’t go near proximity mines without setting them off, otherwise he’ll quite happily say “Look there’s another mine” before proceeding to do…absolutely nothing. The whole, dragging you away from danger also appears to be optional at times as he’ll try and fix you while under fire. Obviously dieing. Obviously meaning you’ll have to start from the last checkpoint. Obviously.

However, the one big drawback for me, which in certain respects is only further enhanced on the frustration factor by playing through it on my own, is how the game provides dynamic challenges for you to face - it doesn’t. Even some of the more important moments of the game will be controlled by a cutscene. Your main problems will be too many enemies, or an enemy type you can only kill from behind. The back-to-back scenarios happen a few times, and for the most part, for unrealistic reasons. As we all know from previous games, the “Woa here’s loads of enemies for you to deal with, didn’t see that coming did ya?” can get old fast. The buddy A.I. is at least a saving grace, as having a stupid teammate run out into the line of fire when you’re trying to tactically take on 10 guys all blind firing over walls would be like finding out Steve Buscemi was your blind date – an ugly situation.

Army of Two should come already sealed with a real life buddy to play the game. I have to say I was happy to put down the single-player campaign on completion, but a cooperative campaign with a friend gives the game that edge to play it more than once. AoT offers a multiplayer versus mode too, which alongside the cooperative campaign can both be played online with a friend, which means the game then becomes that much more.

While I’ll say that Army of Two hasn’t blown me away with any new revolutionary concepts, it has at least provided some decent entertainment, loud gunfire and action packed music. Which, after the amount of hype and following the game received is at least something to be happy about. It’s well worth a play, particularly if you have a friend to utilise!