[Review] Army of Two: The 40th Day (Part One)

Posted by Jeremy M. Zoss at 10:53 AM Jan 13, 2010

​As I mentioned in the Bayonetta review, I'm playing around with some different review concepts these days. Army of Two: The 40th Day isn't such a major title that it deserves extended coverage, but it is a game that was brought to you by the number Two, so splitting it into two separate parts seems to make sense.In this first part, I'll discuss the game as a solo-experience, while the next part will focus on multiplayer and co-op.

While everything about Army of Two: The 40th Day is clearly built around co-op gameplay, I think it would be unfair to review it without experiencing the game as both a co-op and a solo experience. Over the last couple days, I played through the short campaign by myself with an AI-controlled partner at my side. My take on the original game can be summed up by saying "Eh, it was fine," so I didn't go into The 40th Day with tremendously high expectations. But if you have played the original game, The 40th Day initially impresses. The first level is all about showing off the improvements made to the franchise, and there are many. Rios and Salem have some cool new move like mock surrenders and the ability to capture enemies and forcing them to lay down their arms. There are also civilians to save and the fratboyish banter of the first game has been toned down. There are moral choices in which you decide to do the right thing or the profitable thing. The sum total of these new features is that the character seem far less like sociopaths, even when they're killing lots of dudes.

Despite what you see here, they are a bit more likable this time around.

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Unfortunately, after an impressive start, The 40th Day's campaign starts to falter. While the opening levels feature some strong setpiece design, the longer you play the more cracks you notice in the foundation. Aiming speed is sluggish even after you tweak the sensitivity. Your AI partner doesn't always listen to the commands you give him. The context-sensitive interaction buttons means you'll sometimes accidentally command your AI ally to grab an enemy while you're sneaking up on him, which blows the whole subterfuge out of the water. Army of Two: The 40th Day is also one of the most plotless games I've played in a long time. An army invades Shanghai, you fight your way out. That's it.

It may sound like I disliked The 40th Day so strongly that I'd be insane to play through it again. That's just not the case. Yes, I saw a lot of problems the first time through, but a lot of those issues will be resolved when I play it in co-op. After all, if my partner's a dummy when he's controlled by a real person, that's not the game's fault. As a solo experience, The 40th Day isn't much to speak of. But I've got hope that it will work well as a co-op experience. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

[Update: Part two of this review ain't happening. I checked out all the online and co-op features, and nothing about any of them inspired me to keep writing about the game. Given the lack of feedback on Part One, I'm going to assume that no one cares if this game gets any more coverage here. If I'm wrong about that, please let me know.]