The James Logan Courier

By Tawab Fakhri, Courier Staff Writer

An overabundance of great action and shooter games, such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect and more, came out this spring. However, gamers were left wanting something more cooperative, a part of the games that never have been targeted truly in the gaming genre until now. Army of 2 is the undisputed king of cooperative game play.

The game starts on a training field where you and your friend (or computer if you have no friends and you’re playing alone) go through a tutorial. Afterward, you are sent to rendezvous with Special Ops forces in South Africa, who will play a bigger role later in the game. After the mission, eight years pass and the two protagonists are in elite Special Forces and are sent to find the culprits behind 9/11. From there, the story unfolds.

Sure, there have been co-op games before that were fun, but the co-op aspect was either an unfocused added feature, such as in Halo, or you were only allowed to play together in multiplayer mode, as in Call of Duty, unless you play online in which case you don’t even see the guy you are playing with. Besides, finding a mature partner online, is like finding a fifty dollar bill on the floor. unlikely, but not impossible.

This lack has finally been overcome with the completely different style in AO2. Just getting through the mission itself requires intense and synchronized teamwork. Without it, you will surely be overrun by baddies. If you want to take it further ,you have to look for special hidden tasks in the missions, such as to infiltrate the enemies defenses and save a hostage, or find secret government files in a hidden bunker. The optional side missions will be twice as hard but will be well worth your effort.

AO2 also gives you an array of weapons to fit whatever style you have. Your primary weapon will consist of an automatic rifle of some type. Whether you want the deadly suppressed SMG, or the omnipotent Gatling Gun, the choice is yours. the secondary weapon will be a simple handgun, and your special weapon will be a sniper rifle. When you make some money, you can upgrade your weapons with such things as an extended clip, larger barrel, or even an Uzi as a secondary weapon, a rocket launcher as a special weapon and an added shotgun to your rifle for some serious firepower.

Aside from glitches that are few and far between, and the horrible AI partner you're saddled with in single player mode, Army of 2 is a must play this summer.