Army of Two: The 40th Day Review

(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Violence/Language; www.armyoftwo.com)

(two stars)

Why the sub-par 2008 game, featuring so much BRO-mance between its two protagonists that it makes frat-boys uncomfortable, would get a sequel subtitled "The 40th Day" is beyond me.  But I suppose the financials of the first "Army of Two" were successful enough that it warranted the continuing adventures of mercenaries, Salem and Rios - now shanghaied in... of all places... Shanghai, and their struggle to get out of the city as it falls down around them by nefarious forces.

The "Army of Two" series is built around a cooperative experience.  Ideally, a friend should be playing alongside of you - either online or on the couch.  Otherwise, the computer will control your partner who, although relatively competent to get you out of tight jams, pales in comparison to an actual person to coordinate strategy with you.

Like its predecessor, "40th Day" is a cover-based, third-person shooter that take the core action mechanics of the much more polished and successful "Gears of War," and attempts to add to it with its "Aggro" system.  The idea is that as one player attracts more attention from the enemies with an open assault, the other player becomes less noticeable, allowing them to flank the enemies and shoot them undetected.  Of course once that happens, the enemies will refocus their efforts on the now "Aggro" meter will swing the other way, allowing the first player to take cover and flank enemies from the other side.

The mechanic works, but not particularly well.  Often times, players are caught in a circle of enemy fire, and so the fire-and-flank maneuvers have to be thrown out and it's every merc for himself.

Worse are terrible cover controls that make it near-impossible to tell whether a player is safely behind cover, or mearly just ducking near it.  In games like "Gears of War," moving in and out of cover has a weight associated with it in the animation of the characters - you can actually feel your character slam up against walls, and the controls required to take cover are intuitive and responsive.  "40th Day" has none of this.  I believe the tutorial told me that I needed to click the thumbstick when near cover in order to "stick" to it, but the click of the thumbstick also controls crouching.  So when I'm attempting to take cover, I sometimes just end up look like I'm doing a set of deep-knee bends because my character keeps squatting up and down instead of getting behind the darn barrier to avoid gunfire.

Then there are the times when I'm positive I'm in cover, only to be shot in the head because I'm actually just hanging out near - not in - cover.  A game that's not terribly interesting to begin with, shouldn't also be so frustrating to play.

Graphically the game is solid.  The destruction in-game and during cutscenes is visceral, but overall, "40th Day" has a very generic feel.  This is supposed to be overcome by the larger-than-life look and personalities of Salem and Rios, who, in all respects, are easily forgettable.

"Army of Two: The 40th Day" is worth a rental for those interested in a testosterone-laden shoot-em-up; but as a lasting purchase: this game has, ironically, little bang for its buck.