The “Army of Two” series has firmly established itself with a definitive formula that appeals directly to a certain class of gamers. Simply put, if you like action, gore and perhaps battle-torn environments, this is the franchise for you.
“Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel” is the latest game to emerge from the series and rest assured, it means business. In fact, there are many updated features included which greatly improve the game itself, yet still pay homage to what made the series such a hit in the first place.
The plot and characters of the game itself aren’t really anything new, it’s the same exact formula encountered in previous games. Alpha is, as his name implies, the serious leader who lives to take down enemies, and Bravo is a slightly more lackadaisical character that’s still quite serious, but tends to joke around more often.
Visually speaking, “The Devil’s Cartel” is something of a step-up from the last entry in that it has incorporated Battlefield 3’s Frostbit 2 engine. The wonderful thing about this engine is that it offers certain, shall we say, destructive capabilities to the gaming environment. However, instead of simply using Frostbite 2’s capabilities to create destructive set pieces, Army of Two developer Visceral Games has translated it over to the character models. In short, when you strike an enemy combatant with a shotgun blast, you’ll witness the effects. The same exact thing can be said of headshots; you’ll be spilling “bad guy” brains all over the place. In terms of complaints, it would have been nice if the environments were destructive, given what they’ve done with the character models. Sure, it’s a bit of a minor squabble; just imagine the fulfillment of using the environment itself to take out enemies or perhaps formulate new strategies.
Naturally, the gameplay is what has made Army of Two such a popular title / series and “The Devil’s Cartel” seeks to up the ante in this department as well. For instance, there’s a new “Overkill” feature that’s been added which will probably remind gamers of what happens when Mario grabs a star (you become an invincible killing machine). In essence, Overkill is charged up every time you get a kill and when it’s completely filled up, you can activate it and wreak havoc on the enemy as bullets bounce off of you like superman.
Simply put, “Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel” is really about big-time Hollywood-style action, and it doesn’t let up for a second. If you’re the type of gamer that really gets into gun battles, or perhaps have a thing for gritty war-themed action movies, you’re going to love this game.