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Army of Two: The 40th Day
- Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
- Price: $59.99
- Genre: Third-person shooter
Common Sense Media says
Bloody shooter provides plethora of moral choices.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Army of Two: The 40th Day is an extremely violent third-person shooter. It is filled with excessive blood and gore. Characters spurt blood and their heads often explode when struck by weapon fire. What’s more, an array of profanity is peppered throughout each chapter. The player’s characters -- Rangers turned private military contractors -- are presented as rough but essentially good men. They face difficult moral quandaries throughout the game that are left up to the player to resolve. Consequently, just how “good” they end up being and their reputation among civilians is in large part up to the player.
What's it about?
The follow-up to Electronic Arts' extremely violent co-operative shooter about a pair of military men-turned-mercenaries, ARMY OF TWO: THE 40th DAY is set in a Shanghai that has come under massive terrorist assault. Our two heroes are caught in the middle and spend most of the game simply trying to survive and find a way out of the chaos. They climb up and down skyscrapers that are hit by airplanes and fall to the ground -- sometimes with them still inside -- and through streets crowded with the rubble of toppled buildings. They kill hundreds of terrorists along the way and are presented with several moral choices that allow players to determine whether to, say, save civilians or let them be shot. Like its predecessor, the game is designed from the ground up to be a co-operative experience (though you can play alone with a computer-controlled team mate), and allows players to join others either in local split-screen or online modes.
Is it any good?
The original Army of Two was a commercial success but received lukewarm reviews from the press, who criticized the game’s artificial intelligence and middling co-operative mechanics. It seems Electronic Arts has taken these criticisms to heart, because the sequel is a fun, witty, Hollywood-style action adventure that outdoes its predecessor in almost every way. The co-op play in particular is terrific. Players must work together to provide covering fire and achieve flanking positions, and the creative level design -- one scene actually has players running across the face of a building that has toppled into another -- often lets each player forge his or her own path.
To top it all off it has an excellent blend of humor (the subjects of jokes between our two leading men range from Bruce Willis to bestiality) as well as some more sober narrative sequences in which the player must make hard moral decisions. Do you enlist the aid of a nearby boy to get a much needed sniper rifle lying nearby? Do you execute the man who led you safely through chaotic streets just because you were ordered? You might be surprised at how much this action game makes you think.
Online interaction: Players can play co-operatively or against each other online. Open voice chat is supported, which raises the potential for players to share personal information. It also means that players may be exposed to inappropriate language, ideas, and verbal abuse. Common Sense Media does not recommend online play for pre-teens.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the idea of private military contractors (PMC). PMCs are currently employed by various governments, including our own, throughout the world. Are they a preferable alternative to using army forces? Do you think that they are somehow more or less capable? Can you think of any moral or ethical issues that could arise from their use?
Families can also discuss the idea of presenting a player with moral choices in a game. Do you think choosing whether or not to, say, let digital civilians die in a game says something about the player? Or is it just a game with no meaning? How would you choose?
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AGE
A Great Game
The game follows two ex-Rangers who form their own PMC in Shanghai after the first game. According to the bios, Salem and Rios are great friends who want to try to make a good difference in the world, but find it harder than they think, which is true. Shanghai is attacked by a group of soldiers who quarantine the city and start killing civilians. You earn money through gameplay and can use it to purchase and customize weapons. Some of the customization is unrealistic, as it matches up barrels for guns that don't fit the caliber round, but it's fun to virtually make your own weapon. You HAVE to work together to survive, unlike the Call of Duty lone wolf theme. As it says in game, "You're an army of two, not one" The only truly violent part is headshots make heads explode, but it's not too graphic and you get used to it. The characters are "good guys" or "bad guys" depending on cooperative choices. Smaller ones involve choosing whether or not to save civilians, larger ones are quite difficult to perfrom. For example, when a man who rescues you is about to rape someone and offers you a bribe, do you shoot your ally to save the woman or take the money and leave? The "right" thing isn't black or white in this game. A BIG decision is at the end *SPOILER* where you encounter the antagonist and are given a choice, kill oyur loyal partner to make him leave, or just shoot the antagonist who claims to have the trigger to a nuclear weapon that will destroy all of Shanghai? It's a fun, entertaining game with some dark humor, but it really gives insight to the fact that life isn't good or bad. You'll really get two "bad" decisions for "good".
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AGE
Violence is the only bad aspect.
Once again, Common sense goes over the top. There are no exploding skulls and that rubbish. I was renting this game because I liked the look of it. And i mildly liked it. Its got a lot of mods for the guns and is not violent AT ALL
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AGE
Great Job EA
Wow........ I spent $60 on this? This game will take you around 3.5 hours to complete. The online is UNPLAYABLE. Constant lag, and it's not fun at all. Also the campaign ends so abruptly that you probably will be annoyed at the 3.5 you just wasted.
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AGE
very good game a few swears here and there is a good friendship between the two
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AGE
Should be T. This game encourages good behavoir. In this game not that many people are killed, most of them are taken down. Only includes cusses such as d*mn and hell. When shot at there can be some blood shown on-screen. However there is no blood from enemies.Enemies surrender easy and teamwork is encouraged and good role models are shown.
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Kid, 11 years old
November 20, 2010
AGE
The 40th Day
It's awesome. It's not just some bad guy killing people for no appearant (did I spell that right?) reason. It shows a good friendship between them, too.
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AGE
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Very easy to play. The first Army of Two was much better, but this is just as good.
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AGE
Good for mature pre- teens
There is close to no gore in this game, the only gore I see is the nub enemies leave when they are killed by a headshot. There is no F- bomb in this game and if there is, one I can't hear it, and two it would be rated " strong language" if the game had it. The only problem is that the story stinks. It's just an excuse to blow stuff up. The weapon customization is great and so is the gameplay. If your child is over 13 or even 12 and they are mature, it's a game to consider buying.
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| Platforms: | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows |
| Available online? | Available online |
| Genre: | Third-person shooter |
| Developer: | Electronic Arts |
| Release date: | January 12, 2009 |
| Price: | $59.99 |
| ESRB rating: | M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language |
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