NIDZUMI+

In March 2008, Army of Two came onto the scene to, quite frankly very mixed reviews. Starring a larger than life pair of wise cracking Private Military Contractors, the focus of the game was very much on cooperative game-play and gun customisation. As the Army of Two, you traversed the world in search of money to upgrade your large arsenal of weapons and engage in an anti-terrorist plot full of conspiracy. With it’s over-the-top action, bravado and bromance some people loved it while others just plain hated it. Fortunately I was one those who loved the camaraderie and action cilchés – so that’s why The 40th Day was ultimately a let-down.

The 40th Day starts with Salem and Rios in Shanghai just as a major terrorist event occurs. We follow their attempts to try and escape the city alive with a large mix of familiar and new co-op moves and an armed with even larger weapons locker. Sadly, that’s about all I can really say about the story really and this is my first gripe.

If you want a rich narrative with deep plot lines you’d be better off watching an episode Tom and Jerry. I’d love to say it was my fault, not paying attention, but there is no story to move you from mission to mission. You just plod from one area to the next never really knowing why. And plodding it truly is, in the prequel you saw the pair jet setting around the world in locations like Miami, Iraq and even an aircraft carrier. With 40th Day however, you trudge through the streets of Shanghai interspersed with corridor crawling. There are a couple of instances of brilliance however, like traversing down the broken husk of a skyscraper and visiting the zoo. However these moments are truly rare.

The mechanics of the game are largely unchanged from the original. Controls feel natural and mostly fluid, although the cover system still seems too hit and miss. More than a few times I found myself struggling to get into cover while being pelted by incoming fire sometimes leading to an untimely and ultimately annoying death.

I’m no prude but there really certain things I don’t want to see in games, unfortunately EA went there

Co-op moves now feature a lot more in the game, with little gems like mock surrender to break up action. Around a corner and you’re about to be faced with a large group of enemies? Just tap A to put your hands up to surrender. The guards will then tell you to drop to your knees at which time you can line up a shot, whip your pistol out and turn the tables on your would be captors. It’s a great mechanic and fits in nicely with the cooperative nature of the game.

Weapon customisation has been significantly ramped up since the first game. Fancy an M4 stock on your new AK47, you got it. Feel like attaching a rusty screwdriver as a bayonet to the front of your assault rifle, you can do that too. This time round there is also a myriad of different skins for your chosen weapon of destruction, everything from animal prints to ghastly rainbow covered patterns there is something for every taste and occasion.

Probably the largest change and the thing I most disliked about 40th Day are the morality moments. At certain junctures in the game you’ll be faced with a moral dilemma. I don’t really want to list any – as to not spoil the game for anyone – but suffice to say they start out quite cut and thrust, do you want money or not. Things for me took a turn for the worse later in the game, especially in the hospital and at the comm centre. Now I’m no prude but there really are certain things I don’t want to see in games and unfortunately EA deemed fit to put them in. Also while on the subject of the morality moments, half the time you make a good decision you’ll inevitably wish you hadn’t bothered as the outcome of your actions are just as bad if not worse, which left me slightly deflated, and sapped what fun I was have having, straight out of me.

In the previous game Salem and Rios were portrayed as larger than life characters and this is made more evident in the sequel, as the large musclebound characters are detailed and dominate the screen. Also of note are the new heavy and super heavy class of enemies. Not only do they look fantastic, but they throw up some interesting ways of dealing with them. As an example, grenadiers must be double teamed with one person drawing aggro while the other gets a clear shot at his grenade packs hanging from his belt.

The decisions left me felt slightly deflated and sapped what little fun I was having, out of the game.

Unfortunately your partner AI isn’t always up to the task in hand and will often wander off – or just not do as you say. At one point in the game I needed to rescue some captives, I told Rios to wait in a passive stance while I tried to sneak up on one of the guards. Next thing he rounds the corner guns blazing, ruining all chances of a rescue for the hapless civilian. Of course you can swap out your feeble minded AI partner for a living breathing friend, who you can only hope will be marginally better. In fact this is only way the game should be played and a lot of fun can be had working through Shanghai fist bumping and punching each other in the gut along the way, with the occasional game of rock paper scissors thrown in.

Unfortunately for me none of this was able to lift the game to the heights I had been expecting. The mood has been toned down and it all feels very sombre compared with the original. Gone are my favourite air guitar gestures and without the parachute and hovercraft sections things just get a bit tedious throughout the short, 6-8 hour campaign. Ultimately, the new additions didn’t really change anything and this will likely leave fans pining for the original, rather than satisfaction at another Bromance fuelled romp.