It’s an all-or-nothing approach that is manageable when enemies are in front of you but becomes tiresome as you progress and foes start appearing from all sides, including behind you. Similarly, twisting around to try and see who is shooting you from the side pulls you out of cover and leaves you exposed. You’re glued to whatever pillar or wall you happen to be hiding behind and trying to move away from that spot in a hurry (for instance, when a grenade is thrown your way) is far more fraught than it should be thanks to unresponsive controls and the lack of a roll ability. Moving between points is done with a button press and works well, but the problems start when you’re actually in cover. It’s safe to say that when a game mechanic such as cover forms the lynchpin of the gameplay, it needs to be spot on and co-developers EA Montreal and Visceral have dropped the ball here. Cover-based shooters are a divisive breed and if you’re not a fan of the Gears of War series then Army of Two certainly won’t endear itself to you. Whether it’s the super-armoured Grunts who can take more damage than your standard foe, the Call of Duty slow-motion breaches and aerial cover segments, the regenerating health or the AI which offers bulk but no smarts, it all feels too familiar. Influences from other games aren’t so much hinted at as stolen in their entirety and put into play. The titular cartel is vast and comprises hundreds of enemies but they’re fairly indistinct. As you move from area to area and from cover to cover the same waves of suicidal opponents queue up to get shot. After the initial impact, the glitz and sheen become more obviously superficial and the game loses its footing. It’s fairly subtle.Then something unexpected happens. There’s even a point where the script makes a comment about exploding red barrels in video games, planting the idea that we may be taken on a Whedonesque journey of sassy asides and deadpan self-reference. The Frostbite 2 engine expertly renders the damage inflicted by bullets as pillars crumble, cars explode and crates are reduced to splinters. The lushly drawn environments make an exciting canvas on which the smartly animated duo let loose with all manner of weaponry. Their origin story, set five years earlier, concisely outlines the reasons for making Salem and Rios (from the first two instalments) bit-part characters. Newbies to the franchise will find the slick opening thrilling, as it sets up the main plot of rescuing a kidnapped Mexican politician whilst simultaneously introducing us to the two new protagonists: Alpha and Bravo. It’s roughly thirty minutes into the seven hour campaign before you realise that Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel isn’t actually very good.
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