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What do you and your partner do when the private military contractor you’ve supported and defended for years betrays you and leaves you for dead? Well if you’re Salem and Rios you pack your bags, er…weapons, and head to Shanghai to exact revenge. And boy oh boy revenge has never been so fun! Army of Two: The 40th Day, the latest video game from EA Montreal, delves into a world of deception and intrigue to bring us a multiplayer, co-op game style that leaves you coming back for more. Seen through the camera lens of a tourist on a bus tour winding its way through the “Pearl of the Orient” moments before the devastation occurs, the opening cutscene begins with a bang as the all of Shanghai begins to explode around you. Playing as much like an action movie as a video game, there are constant explosions, buildings crumbling, aircraft falling from the skies, havoc at every corner. Pandemonium reigns supreme as the entire city falls into chaos, leaving Salem and Rios struggling not only to discover their adversaries but to simply survive.

Like the first game, The 40th Day utilizes the Aggro system of gameplay mechanics. One teammate firing from a distance to create a distraction as the other teammate flanks your adversaries to pound them into oblivion. And to aid you in your task, EA Montreal has introduced a GPS system into The 40th Day. You can tag your enemies, even when they take cover or hide behind walls, allowing you to change your tactics on the fly, thereby becoming more efficient and less vulnerable. Even though the AI seems to utilize it’s GPS rarely, this forces you to pick and tag targets, emphasizing that you are the primary team member. Amazing graphics highlight the diversity of the city of Shanghai as it literally crumbles around you, adding to the effect and intensity.

With The 40th Day co-op and multi-player modes are the preferred mode to play. After all it’s a team based game where you are dependent upon your partner for success and what could be better than playing with other humans whether split screen or online. But serious upgrades in single-player mode over the first title contribute to make The 40th Day vastly superior in this area. The AI, including the enemies, are much smarter and will mimic your tactics, making single-player far more challenging and entertaining. Your AI partner will now play along and follow your lead as you forge your way through. Fake surrender and your partner will, too. And will fire only when you do so first. Change waepons class and “he” will, too, giving you the freedom to vary your tactics without worrying about the AI “not playing along”. And even though there are a few glitches and bugs, they are relatively minor.

A new morality system is also featured in The 40th Day. The choices you make will affect what types of items you receive. Use restraint and save the npc “locals” and you can be rewarded with weapons parts or money. Go on a rampage and blow up everyone and everything and you just might get nothing. You are even given cutscenes showing you the short and long term ramifications of your actions. Unfortunately this morality system refreshes with start of every chapter meaning you can be a mass murder in one chapter and be a hero in the next with equal fervor. Overall these choices do affect what items you get, though this doesn’t greatly affect the gameplay.

Overall Army of Two: The 40th Day is a fantastic game that keeps what worked from the first title and improved what didn’t. All that and it still feels fresh with additional features that enhance the franchise. Amazing graphics and cutscenes highlight the action making it easy to envision the making of a motion picture epic based on this game. The teamwork bound gameplay is interesting and takes this game beyond the boundaries of your typical shooter. It’s fun, whether in single or multi player mode with the new morality feature giving it good replay value. Maybe not quite a classic but a great game and definitely worth playing.

Available on: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PSP