Challenge

Army of Two: The 40th Day is like most shooters on the market today in terms of challenge. There are beginner difficulties that will be tough for a new player and there are higher level difficulty modes for veteran players. This style being an attempt to adapt the game to your level of skill. There are also types of play through the game that create new challenges for the player; these challenges include things like defending one area or attacking a “boss.” The “aggro” system the game uses is a clever way to create strategy by the players, the more one person shoots the more attention he/she draws from the enemies, thus their partner can snipe or heal without being attacked.

Graphics

Army of Two: The 40th Day has good graphics during campaign; however, surprisingly the cut-scenes are very pixilated and choppy. This was surprising since most games have their best graphics during video scenes. It makes the game look as though much less thought was put into the plot development than the action itself.

Replay Value

Army of Two: The 40th Day has a lot of replay value if you are a gamer who enjoys playing solo or co-op campaign, the split screen vs. mode isn’t very exciting. However, the co-op is what this game is designed around and it is very fun to work with a friend to strategically eliminate enemies. if you like co-op games then you will probably play this with a friend long after you have finished the campaign once.

Narrative

The plot in Army of Two: The 40th Day is interesting at a glance, but with a closer look it is easy to see how much it actually is lacking. The story goes along the lines of “major city attacked, you have to fight your way out,” and that is about all there is to it. You don’t find out much about who the terrorists are, and they aren’t interesting enemies anyway. There are several different endings, all of which are quite anti-climatic, and after you see any of them you don’t really care what happened.

Ease of use

The strategy of using “Aggro” and the third person style of play can take a little to get used to, but the controls are pretty solid. Typical for a shooter, for the most part, it can easily be picked up in a few minutes by someone who has played a shooter game at some point.

Social Playability

Army of Two: The 40th Day has online capabilities and multiplayer, but it is pretty boring and ill-fitting to the co-op game that it is. The co-op play is a lot of fun for awhile, but don’t expect it to become a long term multiplayer game. It is a fun game for awhile, and for some people probably for a bit longer, yet you will find other games to play with your friends.

Overall Grade: B-

Army of Two: The 40th Day is a fun game to play, but it still lacking in many departments. The worst part being the story, of lack thereof, and this truly kills further interest in the game. It’s fun to play with a friend, but no more than one. So the game is good in most ways, but terrible in one or two other ways.

Replay Value

Army of Two: The 40th Day has a lot of replay value if you are a gamer who enjoys playing solo or co-op campaign, the split screen vs. mode isn’t very exciting. Army of Two: The 40th Day has some definite replay value for your child, but not a whole lot. It may be a game worth buying if your child has a lot of interest, but I’m more of a fan of renting games you aren’t sure if it will be worth the price.

Objectionable Content

• Violence- Expect some violence to come with any shooter, especially if it has a rating of M-Mature. It isn’t any more violent of a game than the other popular shooter games being sold right now, just blood and killing, not a lot of gore.
• Sexually Suggestive- Like most shooter games centered around the military there is little to no sexual suggestively due to the few number of female characters. The only female character is portrayed as a large breasted skinny woman. However, she does not have any sort of sexually suggestive behavior or dialogue.
• Gender Stereotyping- one of the few military games with a main female character, Army of Two: The 40th Day does a good job of dividing the role she plays between fighter and kidnap victim. She is seen as the characters’ leader as she gives you instruction and after saving her she helps fight with you. The gender stereotyping is well handled in this game.
• Language- there is some mild language during character dialogue, but this is to be expected. It is kept to a minimal, in other words the game doesn’t go out of its way to make you notice the use of adult language.

Addictiveness

The addictive level of this game is dependent on how much the player enjoys the cooperative play that the game is meant for. The co-op can make or break this game for a player, but this is not a game to consume anybody’s life. The campaign isn’t long enough and there aren’t enough extras to truly addict the player for a long period of time.

Academic Perspective

Army of Two: The 40th Day would be a great game to study the effects of giving the player a moral choice opportunity in the game. There are points in the game where you have to choose between making the “right” choice and doing something for the benefit of the player. These choices will result in a cut scene where the effects of the decision are shown to the player. It could be studied how giving the player these choices can affect the physiological reactions to the game when they are having a theoretical effect on other characters futures.