Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Montreal

Features:
Players: 1-2 (Co-op 2)
60 KB to Save Game
HDTV: 720p/1080i/1080p
In-Game Dolby Digital

In 2008 EA’s Army of Two arrived on the scene with a bang, but it also delivered some false promises. At the time EA pledged to redefine strategic two man cooperative gameplay in a videogame. Unfortunately, Army of Two didn’t exactly “redefine” co-op gameplay as compared to Gears of War and the whole experience felt incomplete leaving many disappointed. That being said, it did not stop EA from selling millions of copies. So on many levels the game was a success and aptly justified a sequel. Fast forward to the present, the next chapter in the franchise, Army of Two: The 40th Day, has finally arrived in stores. I had the opportunity to review the Xbox 360 version of the game. Going in, my expectations were high this time around. So does Army of Two: The 40th Day live up to those expectations and address some of the issues from the previous game? Read on to find out.

Graphics

Overall The 40th Day is a good looking game and on the surface appears to be a significant upgrade over the previous installment in the franchise. This time around there is no question we have a title that rivals some of the other heavy hitters on the market. I played the game on a 52" DLP HDTV and there are moments during the game where the devastating 9/11-like skyscraper explosions simply looked stunning and the cut-scenes were quite captivating too. Not much is lost from the transition from cut-scene to in-game play. The presentation is slick, raw, and delivered with an edge clearly targeting the more mature gamer. There is still an element of cheesiness, but as far as the visuals are concerned Army of Two: The 40th Day delivers.

Our two main heroes, Rios and Salem, receive a graphical upgrade where everything from their trade mark hockey masks to the scars on their faces is impressively detailed. The characters look a little over-the-top but it certainly works as there is something about the two characters which draws you into the game. Best of all, they are both original characters who are unlike any other characters I have seen on the Xbox 360 to date. The enemy AI have also received some visual upgrades this time around, however we still see far too many enemies who look far to similar to one another. That being said, the enemies you come across do die in a variety of different ways which was nice to see.

In terms of the battlefields and environments, right from the get-go things have been amped up a fair amount. The original Army of Two game featured environments which were a little too small and linear. This time around the battlefields are much more open and everything is on a larger scale. Simply put, there is lots of eye candy to be had in The 40th Day. I should also mention that the load times have been significantly reduced this time around as well. Some can still stretch a tad long but bottomline it is better than its predecessor. Nevertheless, the environments you do get, including such things as the large Shanghai buildings and factory warehouse areas, are slick and are without question next-generation quality.

Technically speaking The 40th Day runs quite smoothly and I only noticed a few frame-rate drops. I also noticed some occasional screen tearing. This was evident when moving my line of sight from one side of the screen to the other. I noticed some tearing where your screen is slightly disjointed. The draw distance is also 'hit and miss'. On some occasions I noticed some of the visuals in the distance were unclear did not pop up right away. The latter is not a major issue but more of a noticeable glitch.

Sound

The sound in The 40th Day is adequate, but I can’t help but have some sense of disappointment with many as aspects of the games audio. For starters, the sound effects in the game are lackluster. Gunfire and explosions do not sound as good as they could. Granted games such as Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War 2 have phenomenal sounding weapons and are a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, The 40th Day's weapons and explosions sound 'run of the mill' and nothing really shakes you out of your chair. I have become accustomed to hearing very clear and high quality weapon sounds where even the act of reloading is distinctly apparent. This is not the case in The 40th Day as the guns just seem to lack some punch and it almost seems the sounds are dated. For instance, when firing the AK-47 it really doesn't feel like I am firing a high powered machine gun. It is difficult to put into words as you will have to try it out for yourself. For those who are casual shooter fans though it most likely won’t be an issue, however if you have played all the major shooters on the Xbox 360 you will probably be disappointed with the weapon sounds.

The music and soundtrack in the game is also somewhat disappointing. You would think that considering The 40th Day is an EA game the soundtrack would be strong, perhaps even featuring some big name artists. Sadly this is not the case. In fact, the music is very forgettable and really doesn't add or subtract from the gameplay. It isn’t very moving and I certainly didn't find myself humming any if the tunes after I shut down the game. I find this quite disappointing considering this is an EA title and they have produced some of the strongest soundtracks and musical scores to date, however this one falls short in this area.

The voice acting in the game is good. Both Salem and Rios are entertaining, engaging and quite funny at times. Their interactions with each other are dynamic and their relationship is arguably the driving force behind the game. Granted the voice acting can be cheesy and over the top at times, however their voices are clear and well articulated. We could get a little more dialog going at times but for the most part there is no major concern with the voice work, and it stands as one of the games strong points.

Gameplay

Make no bones about it, The 40th Day is a strategic co-operative shooter not designed for those gamers who love to run and gun. In many ways it’s a slower paced game where strategic positioning and being able to work as a team is the name of the game. This alone will create some grief for many who have just become accustomed to spraying their way through areas in order to meet objectives. But before I get a little too ahead of myself let me give you some background in terms of the storyline.

The story of The 40th Day is set a few years after the original game ends. The main heroes, Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem, are now self-employed private military contractors who run their own private company called Trans World Operations (TWO). The game starts out with Rios and Salem engaged in a routine mission in Shanghai when things go sideways right from the get go. The city goes into absolute chaos with buildings falling in 9/11-like fashion as sheer panic rips through the city. Eventually Rios and Salem discover that a competing private military contractor has been initiating the attacks causing destruction and mayhem. Now the “Army of Two” must fight their way through absolute ruin as they attempt to beat the odds and uncover the secret of the 40th Day.

Overall, I found the story to be much more focused and engaging this time around. It is really a story of survival and I found myself caring for the characters a little bit more. There is no question the series of mysterious catastrophes will hit home with many as there is an eerie resemblance to the way the buildings fall in the game as they are somewhat reminiscent to the way the World Trade Center towers fell. I find myself letting you readers know this as those who are still affected by 9/11 may find yourself inadvertently having some unpleasant emotions stirred up.

Gameplay wise, not a great deal has changed from the original. The core gameplay mechanics are back but they have been given a fresh coat of paint and are certainly much deeper this time around. For starters, the weapon customization options are a nice addition. Changing the color of your weapon or adding a bayonet knife to your gun are just a couple of examples of the types of customizable options available. Also, the ability to remove a scope or silencer from your weapon without going into the customize menu makes it easier to change strategies as you progress along in the game. Additional welcomed additions also include the GPS, mock surrender, and hostage taking ability. All of these additions help to mix up the gameplay a bit and add a little bit more strategy when facing various situations in the game.

The only downfall with the weapons customization system is the inability immediately save that particular set-up. The 40th Day does not save your current customized weapon until you hit a checkpoint. This became an issue for me as I attempted to get past this one area but I kept repeatedly dying. Each time I died I had to spend several minutes re-building and customizing my weapon. It was a small annoyance which became a rather large annoyance after I re-built the gun for about the 5th time.

Along those same lines, I did have some issues with the games spaced out checkpoints and save system. The inability to skip cut-scenes, coupled with checkpoints which are few and far between, can make for a frustrating experience. Having to watch the same cut-scene after you die over and over again can be troublesome. It is widely known that EA play tests the snot out of their games. I am curious why the omission of a skip button was never picked-up by the game testers.

Similar to the original game, Rios and Salem progress through several missions earning cash which can be used for those weapon upgrades along the way. Moving from cover to cover while using your team-mate in the best possible manner to take down the enemies is still the name of the game. Controlling your character and navigating the menus is a little more straightforward this time around. That being said, the controls unfortunately still don’t feel as tight as they should; in fact they seem almost too loose. Add to this that close combat fighting is incredibly frustrating and problematic, and aiming towards enemies as they are moving is also difficult. The latter should not be an issue after some extended playtime; however even after three hours of gameplay I was still having some aiming issues. Far too often I found myself struggling with the controls and it became a source of frustration which would invariably took some of the excitement and enjoyment away from the game.

Clearly the focus of The 40th Day is the cooperative play. Granted there is a single player mode where you can progress with a computer AI team-mate, however the real fun starts when playing the game with a buddy. For the most part I spent the majority of my time in the game playing the single player campaign which takes anywhere from 6 to 9 hours to complete. Overall, it was quite enjoyable to play through the various missions and objectives. One of the biggest additions to the game is the new morality system. There are key moments in the game where you must decide between doing what is right or doing what is wrong. Rather, there will be moments in the game where you will have to choose to kill someone or let them live. To this day I am wondering if my decisions had any bearing on the outcome, but it was an interesting twist and certainly reminded me of some of those morality based decisions you face in Bioshock.

At the end of the day The 40th Day is best played with a buddy via Xbox LIVE. I found myself overlooking some of the games nuisances because the enjoyment level was so high when playing over Live. The co-operative gameplay is the meat and potatoes of the game. There are number of cooperative specific actions that you can do just like you could in the first game. Whether it be using mobile cover or climbing various obstacles; The 40th Day forces you to communicate and work as a team.

Back again is the "aggro" meter and it seems much improved this time around. For those new to the franchise, this meter swings between the two characters. Whichever player is firing the most will attract all the enemy attention and the meter subsequently heats up and swings in that player's direction. This allows the other player to become virtually invisible allowing them to sneak up to enemy positions. If the aggro meter is full for one player they can initiate an "overkill" mode where they go into a fury unleashing all sorts of punishment on the enemy. It is a cool concept and works very well when playing with a buddy as you can simply tell your team-mate to cover you as you attempt a sneak attack by flanking the enemy AI. It works great and allows you to progress through the levels with relative ease.

There is also an online versus multiplayer element to The 40th Day. Unfortunately it feels a tad tacked-on and more of an afterthought. The 40th Day barely holds a candle to other online shooters such as Modern Warfare 2 or Halo: ODST to name a few more recent ones. There are several game types, but nothing which will really captivate you and six months from now I highly doubt Army of Two: The 40th Day will have an online community.