Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel – Game Analysis and Review
By Daniel Maurer
Developers: Visceral Montreal, EA Montreal
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Composer: Brian Tyler
Engine: Frostbite 2
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Genre: Third-person shooter
Modes: Single-player, co-op
Rating: Mature
Back for a third helping in the series, Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel is the follow up to the 2010 game Army of Two: The 40th Day. This is also the last developed game from Visceral Montreal and also the first to run off the Frostbite 2 engine (the previous two games ran off of Unreal Engine 3). The game takes place in Mexico and pits T.W.O. against a ruthless drug cartel known as La Guadaña (Spanish for “the Scythe”). This time around the game revolves around two new T.W.O. operatives named Alpha and Bravo. The previous two games focused around main characters Salem and Rios.
Graphics:
The first thing that jumped at me about this new game in the series is the overhaul in the graphics department. Environments look more detailed and are better designed. The gore and blood detail is also majorly overhauled in this new entry to the series. The customization factor is also a big plus, as you can pretty much design your characters to tailor to your appearance and gameplay style preferences. Overall a solid job in the visual department.
Gameplay:
The gunfights you will encounter in this game are intense and draw you in to the heat of battle. However with that said, the gameplay falls flat in lots of other areas. One example is the dumber than a bag of rocks AI. I encountered many instances where AI mindlessly wandered around in the open and allowed me to take the easy kill. It’s a bit disappointing to go from a high energy gun battle one minute to a glorified shooting gallery the next. I would recommend playing this game on the highest difficulty setting if possible to try and squeeze what little bit of intelligence the AI has out of it.
Presentation:
Another thing that really burned me out during my playthrough is the main characters. They seemed really bland as compared to the original stars Salem and Rios. Humorless interactions with plenty of bland and boring story elements will be found in this game. Might want to grab a few red bulls and some coffee before you attempt to tackle the story mode. There is no multiplayer mode in this entry of the series, as the developers wanted to return the focus to a seamless co-op experience. In that aspect, the co-op is done well and I experienced no issues while playing with multiple people online.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for a good co-op shooter that brings heavy customization and replayability to the table, Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel might be worth the $60 it currently retails for. Aside from a lack of multiplayer and dumb mindless AI, this is a game that can hold its own by offering a refreshing co-op experience.
FINAL SCORE: 7 out of 10
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