5 reasons to play Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel

Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel released to a pretty quiet response. Maybe it was the fact that it released in the same week as Bioshock Infinite, or maybe it was the Metacritic score that pushed people away; however, EA’s third shot at the series is definitely worth playing.

On Metacritic, the game has scores of 59 and 54 for PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, with GameRankings’ percentages sitting at 57.07 and 54.76 for the same respective platforms.

While the international critics did find the game fun, many of the reviewers accused the game of having a weak story, uninteresting characters and following every third-person shooter trend; but this is Army of Two, and its all about big explosions, environments strewn with bullet casings, and over-the-top one liners, and my experience playing the game was great, as I put aside all presumptions about the The Devil’s Cartel and enjoyed it for what it is.

Here’s 5 reasons why you should check out Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel:

Frostbite 2 works wonders

The Army of Two series has always had great gun fights in awesome scenarios, and The Devil’s Cartel shines in that department, not to mention that the Frostbite 2 engine makes it look glorious, and throws in some impressive destruction and environmental effects.

Bullets tear up pillars, kick up dust and blow holes through walls, making the locations throughout the game into war-torn battlefields.

Pulls no punches

The series hit a high with Army of Two: The 40th Day, as the second game literally blew up Shanghai and made you fight your way out of the ruins. The Devil’s Cartel amps up the action and events, throwing Alpha and Bravo into some pretty insane situations.

Nothing from the story is held back, and while there are some foreseeable twists, the game makes some pretty bold moves in the narrative, keeping you guessing and shocked throughout the campaign.

Insane gun customisation

No one does gun customisation likes the Army of Two series, and the third game really allows you to craft the weapon of your dreams.

You can alter the stock, magazine, sight, under mount, side mount, barrel, muzzle, and even the skin of your gun, allowing you to put a nice shiny gold coat on your death-dealing weapon.

Co-op FTW

Co-op games (especially local ones) are rare these days, and having a game built for a solid co-op experience is an absolute treat.

To be fair, a few of the really great co-op elements (such as the back-to-back manoeuvre) don’t feature in the third game, but the co-dependence that exists in the success of the team still makes the game a great bonding experience for friends or siblings.

Bodycount

In my playthrough of Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel (alongside my brother), we racked up almost 3000 kills, so if you’re looking to indulge in mowing down hordes of cartel scum, this game will scratch that itch.

While you will fight a lot of generic henchmen, you do have to take on some brutes (packing heavy armour and weaponry), which will surprise you when they burst out when you least expect.

Verdict:

As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs – Army of Two is all about the Hollywood blockbuster action, ridiculous dialogue and deep weapon customisation, and The Devil’s Cartel delivers that in heaps.

A few of the series’ co-op features were removed, and they were missed, but the game is one of the more solid and intense third-person shooters I’ve played in a while.

In terms of its value, the Devil’s Cartel is currently retailing between R400 and R500, with it currently being R399 at Marko for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

The price has already been slashed since its release, and maybe waiting for another R70 – R100 being cut off will make The Devil’s Cartel a great bargain for its quality.