The latest Army of Two title promises fun third person shooter action, but with great co-op play thrown in
By Adrian Collins
Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel is a straight up shooter, and it is serious fun, as previous titles have been.
Starting off, you get a quick tutorial if you’re unfamiliar with the controls, and then you’re launched into the action with your partner Bravo. The use of cover is pretty key in both single player and co-op, and there are a variety of different bonuses you pick up for a range of different kills, like surprise kills from behind cover, headshots and so on.
Upping your score is where the challenge really lies in the game, as there are leaderboards that you’re ranked on whenever you finish a level, not to mention that you get cash to spend on gear and guns for your character the better your score.
A higher score also adds to your Overkill meter much quicker, which essentially turns you invincible for a while. Gameplay also slows down, and you don’t need to worry about ammo, just start causing as much carnage as you possibly can.
You can create your own mask for your operative (JOE went full on Mexicana to stick with the theme of the game) and there are plenty of options on that front to individualise the gameplay, as well as some not so subtle marketing from SkullCandy slipped in there too.
Your characters have a bit of banter while shooting up the place, and some of it is actually quite funny, in particular when your partner points out in the first level that the red barrels always explode, which is pretty much a law in video games.
However, don’t expect anything hugely revolutionary from this title that hasn’t been present in the other Army of Two games, but if you enjoyed them you will definitely enjoy this.
If you’ve got a mate that you play games with regularly, this is the title to get, as it really comes alive in the co-op mode. In fact, the single player mode does its best to use the AI to recreate that feeling, but nothing beats the craic to be had from sitting down and getting the two player going, which does involve a bit of cooperation and planning.
Switching from first-person shooters to third-person takes a little bit of getting used to, and surprisingly enough we found ourselves getting caught out more often at the beginning from opponents that we were struggling to shoot in third-person.
That goes away after a while, but it’s worth remembering that you might feel a bit foolish when someone that you should have seen catches you off guard because you’re looking at your own character, schoolboy stuff!
Overall, the game is great fun, offers everything you’d expect from a shooter like this, and a few nice extra touches that make multi-player really enjoyable, which should add some decent longevity.
The game is out now, and available for PS3 and Xbox 360.
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