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Army of Two: The 40th Day: All the gunplay, half the bromance

by David Hinkle { Jun 17th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Army of Two: The 40th Day will tone down the gratuitous bouts of fist-bumping and other high-octane manlove celebrations so liberally sprinkled throughout the first game, developers have told USA Today. The shoot-everything-then-chest-bump-each-other mechanic of the first game will receive less emphasis than moral choices, which will require you to make difficult decisions at certain intervals throughout the game.

It's a shame about all of the brolebrations, though, because we think they added a lot to the game. Well, okay, a lot for us to make fun of.

Gallery: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Impressions: Inside an Army of Two: The 40th Day weapons cache

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jun 3rd 2009 at 8:45PM }

Much like our initial reaction to Army of Two: The 40th Day, we were constantly impressed during a behind-closed-doors demonstration of the game at E3 this week. While much of the demo, overseen by executive producer Reid Schneider and creative director Alex Hutchinson, was a rehash of the finer points covered in our earlier preview, we did get a closer look at a new element, which we think illustrates a key dynamic of the more -- potentially -- humanistic sequel.

EA Montreal is giving you (and your partner) "opportunities to express who you are in this environment," explains Hutchinson. More specifically, the game's environment (Shanghai in the midst of a violent invasion) is one in which everything goes horribly wrong and the "core story is about saving yourselves." So, what means will justify that end? The choices become yours. Enter: The weapon locker.

Gallery: Army of Two: The 40th Day

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MGS4, Ratchet, others $30 as PS3 'Greatest Hits' starting June 16

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 28th 2009 at 10:03AM }

Old Snake, domestic partners Ratchet & Clank, glam goth Nero and others will be offered up as PS3 "Greatest Hits" for $30 starting June 16. This will be the second round of discounted best-selling software for the console, as the first batch hit at around the same time last year. The latest additions include:

Army of Two
Battlefield Bad Company
Devil May Cry 4
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

With almost all those titles (maybe) prepping for sequels in the near future, if you haven't checked them out, there's some quality in the offerings.

Eyeball explosion: New Army of Two: The 40th Day screens

by David Hinkle { May 26th 2009 at 11:10AM }

Click image for more bro-saving-bro action

EA has assaulted our inbox in the most extreme way possible, unloading some fresh screens from upcoming bro-love simulator, Army of Two: The 40th Day. The new screens show off a lot of what you'd come to expect from this series: explosions; testosterone; and teamwork. There does seem to be a kid involved this time around, though, so that's new. Sadly, these screens lack the appropriate amounts of fist-bumping, but we're sure EA is saving the best stuff for last.

Gallery: Army of Two: 40th Day (5.26.09)

Xbox 360 Platinum Hits are numerous, cheap, rebranded

by Ben Gilbert { May 14th 2009 at 11:15AM }

This one's just about as confusing as it gets, folks, but here goes nothing. Microsoft is repackaging eight of its titles under a new moniker: "Greatness is Earned." Though these titles still fall into the Platinum Hits category (and as such, are priced at $19.99 and up), a number of them are receiving the treatment for the first time. And this is where things get confusing: We've seen the "Greatness is Earned" logo before, nearly a month ago now, on the repackaged Gears of War (Platinum Hits edition, mind you) ~~seen above~~. At the time, Microsoft wouldn't comment on the images.

Considering Viva Piñata and EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 are among them, we're doubting (and hoping) they won't all get the dark and brooding look. We've listed all eight titles after the break in for your perusal. We'd also like to point out that, while snooping around the Microsoft press site for images of these games, we noticed Halo 3 "Classics" in the "Upcoming Games" category -- the same note found next to all other Platinum Hits games. Interesting, hmm?

Update: We've replaced the image above with shots of the new "Greatness is Earned" pack shots of Gears of War, Forza 2 and Mass Effect. For giant shots, peep the gallery below!

Gallery: Greatness is Earned packaging

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New Army of Two: The 40th Day trailer gets serious

by Richard Mitchell { May 1st 2009 at 10:00AM }

The most official, new trailer for Army of Two: The 40th Day has at last been released. You'll get to see Shanghai being overrun by the so-called 40th Day Initiative, which is apparently laying waste to everything and everyone in sight. One thing we noticed very quickly is that the tone of the trailer is very serious. The buddy comedy vibe present in trailers for the original Army of Two is almost completely absent, save for a single modest one-liner at the end.

Oh, and don't worry, there are plenty of explosions too.

Gallery: Army of Two: The 40th Day

Editors' Note: This post was first published at 5:30 p.m. on April 30. It has since been altered from its original form, which is viewable after the break.

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Joystiq impressions: Army of Two: The 40th Day

by Randy Nelson { Mar 16th 2009 at 3:19PM }

click to bro-size

Let's be honest: when we first heard EA was prepping a sequel to Army of Two, we didn't imagine it would be anything like what we saw in action last Friday in San Francisco's Chinatown district. (Well, 27 floors above it, to be accurate.) In our minds, we were expecting ... the first game, only set in Shanghai. Within 30 seconds of it loading up, we realized that EA Montreal's imagination is obviously a lot more vivid than ours.

Executive Producer Reid Schneider was on hand to act as our tour guide, but much of what we saw really did speak for itself. Particularly about how this game is already anything but a minor improvement over the first.

Gallery: Army of Two: The 40th Day

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Lube your fists! EA confirms Army of Two: The 40th Day, for 360, PS3 ... and PSP?

by Christopher Grant { Mar 12th 2009 at 10:05AM }

Looks like our tipster was spot on – EA just confirmed that Salem and Rios are back in EA Montreal's bro-tastic sequel to Army of Two, titled (as expected) Army of Two: The 40th Day. Again, the focus is on co-op (in case it wasn't clear, they use the term six times in this morning's press release) with you and a loved one of your choosing in the roles of "the ultimate two-man private military team." The 40th Day changes the scenery from war-torn wherever to Shanghai, China and – like every buddy cop flick since the Carter administration – Rios and Salem are in "the wrong place" at "the wrong time." Really, it says that.

Perhaps most notably, the PS3 and Xbox 360 are no longer their own army of two; the PSP has been added to the mix. There's not a lot of detail on what that particular version will include; however, with a limited number of buttons compared to its console counterparts, we're hoping the PSP release doesn't do away with the dedicated fist bump button. Without that, what's the point, right? You'll be able to crotch hoist your bros in Army of Two: The 40th Day "this winter."

For more possible details on The 40th Day, check out the rest of the info our tipster dropped on us last week.

Rumor: Army of Two sequel called 'The 40th Day'

by David Hinkle { Mar 6th 2009 at 10:42AM }

An anonymous tipster hooked us up with some alleged details regarding the rumored Army of Two sequel. Our source is confident that the sequel will be titled Army of Two: The 40th Day, but we won't know for sure until March 12. Still, there's plenty of solid evidence piling up. We've built our case after the break.

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EA site hints at Army of Two sequel 'Army of Two: TFD'

by Justin McElroy { Mar 5th 2009 at 2:49PM }

Remember the game announcement we told you was coming from EA Montreal next week? We've got a sneaking suspicion it might be a sequel to Army of Two. PlayStation LifeStyle found this at the AoT homepage, just a big old red "Submit" banner. But digging through the source code it found:

Game Name - "Army of Two: TFD"
Description - "Army to Two. The definitive third person co-op shooter is back." [sic]
Studio Name - "EAM" (Yeah, we're thinking EA Montreal)

So, assuming this is all on the level, we've only got one question: What's "TFD" stand for? We're accepting your guesses right after the break.

EA Montreal to announce new game on March 12

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Mar 4th 2009 at 3:54PM }

EA has notified press that it intends to demonstrate a new game from its Montreal studio (along with other forthcoming projects) next Monday, March 9. The Canadian studio, currently hard (we hope) at work on one third of EA's new Need For Speed trio, namely the Wii-bound Need For Speed: Nitro, is expected to formally announce the project on March 12.

Extending this post would only lead to rampant and inevitably spurious speculation, so we'll just let you take a guess at what this mystery title could be.

Army of Two chastised for 'homo-erotic content'

by Justin McElroy { Dec 4th 2008 at 10:55AM }

The Timothy Plan, one of our top 10 favorite conservative Christian, Florida-based investment firms, has just applied frowny-face stickers to "30 most offensive video games." (Offensive like killing hookers, not offensive like Haze or Imagine Fashion Horsez.) Our favorite entry on the list? Army of Two, scolded for "somewhat homo-erotic undertones between the two main characters."

Though we fully support the Timothy Plan bringing to light AoT's non-existent allusions that two men could have feelings for each other, we can't help but wonder ... isn't that our job?

Not to mention [crotch-hoisting joke here].

Army of Two set to hit the silver screen, no seriously

by Xav de Matos { Oct 24th 2008 at 1:30PM }

According to The CutScene blog from Variety the EA Montreal developed co-op third person shooter Army of Two has been optioned for a feature film by Universal. Currently attached to the picture is writer Scott Z. Burns (of The Bourne Ultimatum fame) and producer Scott Stuber (who was once attached to the failed Halo movie). EA is set to produce the film, a first for the publisher who has recently sold rights for a film based on The Sims and Mass Effect.

"The ambiguity of these private military corporations lends weight to an intelligent thriller with relevance to what's going on in the world right now," Burns told Variety. "I told EA right off the bat I wasn't a gamer, and that appealed to them because they didn't want to simply replicate the game."

Isn't a gamer? Well, Burns had better stay true to the fantastic lore that was outlined in the Army of Two game. You know, the blinging out of weapons and ... other things they did in that game. Seriously though, Uwe Boll must be spinning in his grave. Oh, he isn't ... never mind.

Army of Two crotch-hoisting its way to the big screen

by Christopher Grant { Oct 24th 2008 at 10:26AM }

What we would've given to be a fly on the wall in this pitch:

EA: "Hey, so ... we have this game, right? Army of Two. The one with the fist-bumping meatheads with the death masks? We think it would make a great motion picture!"

Hollywood: "... Are you totally high?"

Despite having nothing going for it, EA somehow managed to convince Universal to bring the oh-so-forgettable, crotch-hoisting, buddy-cop antics of Army of Two's [generic character A] and [generic character B] to the silver screen.

Writer slash director slash producer slash sucker Scott Z. Burns will bring the future Oscar contender to the screen using all the tricks he learned co-writing The Bourne Ultimatum, The Informant, and co-producing An Inconvenient Truth. Burns gushes, "I'm thrilled that EA and Universal see the potential to make a smart thriller that has real implications in the world we live in today." Wow, we were totally thinking the same thing!

EA: Dead Space, Army of Two, Bad Company sequels in the works

by Randy Nelson { Oct 23rd 2008 at 4:00PM }

Variety writes that during an interview with EA Games president Frank Gibeau and EA Redwood Shores general manager Glenn Schofield, the duo spoke openly of plans for sequels to both Dead Space and Army of Two. According to the report, EA is also planning a direct follow-up to Battlefield: Bad Company.

Given the (so far) generally sterling reviews of Dead Space, combined with internal enthusiasm about the IP, a sequel to the sci-fi shock-fest isn't exactly a surprise. Neither is Bad Company, which has both reviewed and sold rather well. Army of Two is the head-scratcher, though. The game released to decent reviews, but was by no means a runaway hit. Still, anyone who's played it can see the potential for fleshing out some of its co-op concepts into a (hopefully better) sequel. Army of Two ... 2?