Two better than One

I have always been a fan of military related subject matter. In fact I was in the military some time ago myself during the time that America’s Army was touting their ‘Army of One’ recruiting strategy. I always held the belief that an army consisted of hundreds or even thousands of soldiers all fighting some form of evil infidel that is trying to encroach into our way of life. Now I was being told that an Army of One was the way to go.

Just what does an Army of One actually mean? Well, after giving considerable thought to this subject I have come to the conclusion that an Army of One is simply a single soldier that has been highly trained in various combat specialties. When you take a thousand Army of One’s and add them all together you will have yourself a pretty darn good army that is capable of crushing all evil that is thrown your way. At any rate, that’s how it’s supposed to work in the real world.

Now publisher Electronic Arts along with their developer EA Montreal is telling us that an Army of Two is the only way to go in today’s fast paced action shooter console game. After sitting down to take a closer look at this very impressive cooperative shooter for Xbox 360 I have to agree with the good folks over at EA and I’ll tell you why.

Introduction

Army of Two is a co-op action shooter that takes place in various hot spots around the world that require military action. The game player and one of his or her friends are the basis of this Army of Two. If you want to be an army by yourself then you will have to settle for computer AI as the second member of your army. Let me tell you that in this game using the AI as your partner isn’t at all bad. In fact your computer partner does perform admirably. However there’s really no comparison to having an actual human being at your side as you fight through a demanding campaign and various online wars against other human players via Xbox Live.

The game starts out with the two co-op players assuming the identities of army ranger soldiers Salem and Rios as they attempt to complete ranger training in that hot spot of military action called Mogadishu. Our two heroes go through training where they practice the major moves and tactics that are needed to be successful. After they complete basic training they suddenly find themselves working for a company that provides mercenary soldiers for hire. Let me say this before I tell you about the different moves that each player needs to master in Army of Two. If you plan on going off on your own like Rambo then think again recruit, because Rambo’s in this game can get their tail blown off with no effort at all. Army of Two requires that both players or one player and computer AI work together to accomplish the mission and I put a heavy emphasis on together.

Mastering Moves

Ok then, just what are these major moves that need to be mastered? Actually there are some common tactics that we all may be familiar with from every day life or from simply watching action movies on TV. The first category is what I’ll call the helping hand move. This category of co-op moves consists of giving your partner a boost or to help him climbing walls and other various objects. It works like this; person number one stands against a wall and holds out their hands, forming a step. The other player then uses the hands as a step while player one boosts the other player over the wall. Once player two is on top of the wall he reaches down to pull player one over as well. It’s as easy as that. Well actually it’s not easy, because it does take practice. Both team members need to be able to hit the right buttons in the correct sequence to perform the moves. If you mess up you will fail and will need to try again until you get it right.