Army of Two didn't exactly set the gaming world aflame when it released back in 2008. In fact, the only remarkable thing about EA Montreal's co-op shooter was its sheer tastelessness, as daring duo Salem and Rios fist-bumped and cracked wise over the corpses of Middle Eastern terrorists.
Despite the first game's critical reception, EA Montreal clearly did well enough to deserve another crack of the whip, and thus has returned with Army of Two: The 40th Day. Toning down the inappropriate behavior and ramping up the graphics, Army of Two's latest installment could be considered quite the improvement. However, that might not be saying much.
So, just how much of an improvement is 40th Day? Have Salem and Rios finally been given something that deserves a fist-bump, or are these two mercenaries doomed to mediocrity forever? Read on as we review Army of Two: The 40th Day.

Army of Two: The 40th Day (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 [reviewed])
Developer: EA Montreal
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: January 12, 2010
MSRP: $59.99
Here is this game's story: There are bad guys. That is literally the plot to The 40th Day. First, there were not some bad guys, and then there were some bad guys. Salem and Rios have been hanging out in Shanghai, doing their mercenary thing, when all of a sudden, planes start crashing and buildings start falling over. Then those damn bad guys appear and shooting happens at them until the game ends. High brow stuff, for sure.
Of course, Army of Two isn't about the plot, it's about the sexually ambiguous co-op shooting, and Army of Two is pretty decent at it. Not spectacular, but not terrible either. The cover based shooting generally works well, with the same shooting mechanics we've seen in plenty of other games. It's all been done before so often that it's hard to do wrong anymore, and 40th Day makes sure to keep its third-person shooting strictly by the book. The game plays it safe, never trying to switch up the gameplay. This can be quite repetitive, but at least it keeps the quality consistent.
EA Montreal tries to keep things fresh by throwing optional gimmicks at you. The big thing this time around is the "Morality" system, and it's about as dreary as it sounds. Every now and then, Salem and Rios will come across civilians that are being abused by bad guys. The duo can choose to ignore the plight of the innocents, or rescue them for a Morality boost and a reward. While these segments are pretty neat the first few times, they soon break the gameplay flow and grow irritating.
At various points in the game, the mercenaries will encounter a more pressing moral dilemma. Between them, players will have to decide which course of action to take, although they are usually very clearly "good" or "bad" decisions. Morality in gaming often feels forced, by 40th Day takes the overbearing and strained nature of this gimmick to new heights, as it desperately struggles to make you care about characters and situations in a game where characters and situations mean absolutely nothing. After each decision, you're treated to a small comic book style cutscene showing the consequences, but you'll be hard pressed to care.

The more promising gimmickry comes in the form of the various tactical options open to Salem & Rios before and during combat. This can range from sneaking up behind an enemy and taking them hostage, or pretending to surrender so that you can quickly whip out a gun to blast an unsuspecting foe. Players can pretend to have died, or spot and tag various enemies for easier pickings. While none of these options are essential, they are sometimes fun to screw around with at least once, before the novelty wears off.
The "Aggro" system returns from the first game, and it works out pretty well, allowing the tactical nature of the gameplay to shine. Using one player to draw fire so the other can sneak around and pick off priority targets works surprisingly well and expands the potential for tactical gameplay. Again, it's never really required for anything, especially as the game is pretty damn easy, but it's nice to play around with for a while.
As always, there is also plenty of cash to be earned from callously gunning down enemies, most of which are white this time. There is a wealth of customization options, and the ability to wield diamond encrusted grenades and paint your guns in gaudy bright gold remains Army of Two's biggest draw. It's just charming to have an AK-47 painted with flowers.
The single player campaign is short and unremarkable, and the lack of a drop-in/drop-out system for online co-op is a real hindrance, since you'll need to set up a game and stick with it. If you'd rather just go it solo, the allied AI is surprisingly good, able to hold his own in a firefight and obey commands given with the D-Pad. He will occasionally screw up, and has a tendency towards dragging you out from cover if you need healing, but he'll generally do a good job.
As well as the main campaign, there is a survival based "Extraction" mode and a full online Versus mode. As with the single-player mode, there is nothing really remarkable about any of it. There are better games out there that provide better online modes. What is in 40th Day is pretty solid and somewhat enjoyable, but there's just very little reason to play any of it, since it's not only been done before, it's been done far, far better.

That's the problem with Army of Two: The 40th Day. It's really not bad at all. In fact, it's pretty good at what it does. It's just outshined and outclassed by so many other games. There are titles out there with tighter combat, more enthralling co-op play, better online, and more interesting gimmicks. 40th Day brings nothing essential to the table, making it feel rather humdrum in comparison to the competition. Also, it's not even very funny anymore. Aside from one brilliant bit of dialog in which Rios talks about the time he raped a panda (and that's what he did, Rios actually sexually assaulted a panda), the lack of humor in the game is quite apparent, when a dose of inappropriate comedy could have helped set it apart.
Army of Two: The 40th Day is a good, but entirely forgettable experience. It's worth a quick play if you've got nothing else to do, and a weekend rental would serve you very well. However, it's definitely not something you'll want to keep on your gaming shelf for very long.
Score: 7.0 -- Good (7s are solid games that definitely have an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.)

Kidding, kidding...
But I disagree with Jim Sterling your not a very good reviewer and should stick to your day job.
No offense.
Jim: Is there at least a mission select option in co-op so a buddy and I can pick up close to where we left off, or do you have to start the campaign over every time you play co-op?
This is his day job.
@Army of Poo (HAHAHAHAHAHA)
You seem good... but color me uninterested.
Ron workman was right when he said that he felt the site was turning into a generic video game blog.
Heh
No offense you are way more talented of a writer than me.
but the premise gets dry
Also I'm aware I don't have to read your articles.
That game barely deserved a 4.5. It sucked as badly as the first one.
This IS his day job, you idiot. "Your" the one who should stop writing.
pfft Assassins Creed 2? I remember Patapon.
PATAPON. NEVAR FORGET!
kidding jim, wuv yoo
I already said I that he was a talented writer. I suck at writing I have awful spelling and grammar. This site was raped during late 2007. The one thing I do like though is that there are some writers who frequented the site from the very start!and that is fantastic
point is Dtoid was a community site
Now its all business
This all happened when modern method was being fully established.
That is why sites like 4chan are incredible because its all pretty much up to the community. Moot plays almost no part in it and thats what makes it so good.
Dtoid use to be like that. Im not saying Dtoid was ever close to 4chan content wise. But Im just using it as an example of being a good admin or site owner.
--------------------
It sounds like they were walking on eggshells when making this game. Only white people can be bad guys now, no jokes, just mindless shooting. It's a shame, they allowed criticism to basically create their game for them.
His writing style,
I'm just saying its all the same stuff hes trying to be edgy. He also copied stuff from old members of the site and there Cblogs. Im not naming them because I dont want to start naming tons of names. But I mean its great that he is getting paid for doing what he loves!.
Badass Of The Month Club, CONFIRMED.
Name them, please. I'd like to see you come up with them. FYI, no one will take you seriously because your C-Blogs have the utter drench of 'fail troll' attached to them. Just go away, please.
I know what to expect for this game , I'm going to wait for a price drop >_>...
Thanks for the review Jim!
This...this is just a review. He didn't even take the time to talk about the uh..."controversy" surrounding the now-absent humor.
This is entirely the wrong place for your little observation. No idea why a relatively tame review caused you to finally stand up bravely like this. Oh, and you're not going to get banned. Please don't simply assume you'll be banned and then criticize us for it, despite the fact it didn't happen.
As for you comments -- this IS my day job, so that criticism fails at the starting game. I also don't "try to be edgy." I simply write how I've always written for the past eight years. This is how I am and if you don't like it, you better not read it because it's not going to change.
As for your "Dtoid has changed" comments, are people STILL whining about that? Destructoid has totally changed -- for the better. Newcomers are more welcome to the site, people get along better, drama is down, and most importantly, business is up. Y'know, the business we need in order to keep Dtoid running. If you'd prefer us to NOT try and make money and keep afloat, you're more than welcome to pay our considerable running costs, staff wages, and contest shipping.
ChadPersonalTrainer obviously needs a real man to pitch to him.
Overall, I give your comment a 4.5
But in all seriousness, that's all this game deserves. Yawn, next.
WITCHCRAFT!!!!!
Now, with MW2 and over 9,000 other great games out, it's just hard to care for this game. With all the cool demos out too, this one just did nothing for me. I found myself waiting for the demo to end. Mediocre at best. This review is quite generous if you ask me.
I see what you're doing.
Although if this game is not something we'll want to keep on a shelf and if it's forgettable, then it's probably not 'good', but more like 'okay'.
Some people truly are pissy little bitches sometimes aren't they?
As good as I thought assassin's creed 2 was, I understand why Jim really didn't enjoy it. :-)
Please, people, stop harping on. IT WAS OVER A MONTH AND A HALF AGO BY THIS POINT, SHUT THE FUCK UP! And let me see some interesting comments instead of your childish drivel you retard chad.
BTW as a Personal trainer myself, I know for a fact that we're meant to have a positive outlook in order to in turn help out the people we train.
You might want to remember that if your username is based on any truth.
I like the way you drop the fact youve been around a while, while pretending its exactly what you dont want to do. It makes you seem so much more authoritative.
I guess in your time here you've so often seen Jim reduced to tears through the comments on his articles that you decided it was your turn. You rule.
Hella cool, dog.
and I think its funny that only on destructoid people hate AC2, but every other reviewer and person on other sites think its great