''Army of Two'' is a

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

series developed by

EA Montreal EA Montreal is a Canadian video game development studio owned and operated by Electronic Arts. The studio is based in Montreal, Quebec. It was inaugurated by EA on March 17, 2004. The studio was founded by Alain Tascan a former Ubisoft and BAM ...

. The first game in the series, ''

Army of Two ''Army of Two'' is a third-person shooter video game series developed by EA Montreal. The first game in the series, '' Army of Two'', was released on March 6, 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. Focusing on cooperative strategies, ...

'', was released on March 6, 2008 for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and PlayStation 3 consoles. Focusing on cooperative strategies, ''Army of Two''s main feature is the necessity to use coordinated teamwork to accomplish the game's goals. While the game is meant to be played with another human as a partner, a "Partner Artificial Intelligence" (PAI) is also included and programmed to follow the player's strategies. Dependence on a partner (whether human or PAI) is so pronounced that most objectives are impossible to complete without it. A sequel, '' Army of Two: The 40th Day'', was released in January 2010 in North America and Europe. The third game in the series, '' Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel'', was released on March 26, 2013 by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

for the

and PlayStation 3.

Games

''Army of Two'' (2008)

''Army of Two: The 40th Day'' (2010)

''Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel'' (2013)

Characters

*Tyson Rios - Tyson Rios originally worked as a mercenary for the private military contractor SSC (Security and Strategy Corporation) with his long-time partner Elliot Salem. They later left SSC to form their own private military firm called T.W.O (Tactical Worldwide Operations). Rios' life of combat eventually came to a tragic end from a car explosion, leading to a badly injured left leg and the presumed death of Salem. Unable to continue to work in the field, Rios commands T.W.O operatives as an executive. *Elliot Salem - Elliot Salem, together with his long-time partner Tyson Rios, originally worked as mercenaries for the private military contractor SSC (Security and Strategy Corporation) and later founded T.W.O. (Tactical Worldwide Operations). His actions appear by choices in ''Army of Two: The 40th Day''; the ending is chosen from Jonah and is canon for ''Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel''. Salem went insane after a seemingly fatal incident caused his partner and two other T.W.O. operatives, Alpha and Bravo, to abandon him to save hostage Fiona. This caused him to become a villain alongside his boss Bautista in ''The Devil's Cartel''. *Alpha - One of the two playable characters in ''Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel'' . His name is not revealed so that the player may "project themselves into the character a bit more". Alpha is considered the de facto leader of the pair since he is often the one who comes up with the ideas and battle plans. He also keeps his hot-headed partner Bravo in check during tough situations and does his best to steer him in the right direction in order to complete the mission. *Bravo - The other playable character in ''Army of Two:'' ''The Devil's Cartel''. His name is not revealed so that the player may "project themselves into the character a bit more". While Alpha is focused, calm and collected in battle, Bravo is the complete opposite: he's gung-ho, tough as nails and always ready for a fight. Besides that, he is mostly a funny, wise-guy comedian who loves to cracks jokes and make fun (especially of Alpha).

Other media

Graphic novel

''Army of Two: Dirty Money'', written by

John Ney Rieber John Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. Career John Ney Rieber's first professional work in comics was scripting over the finished pages of the graphic novel '' Tell Me, Dark'', conceived by his late friend and mentor Karl Edward Wag ...

and illustrated by Brandon McKinney, is a 2008

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

which follows Rios and Salem through some of their earliest missions together working as private military contractors. The plot follows the corruption of the company they work for them. Rios and Salem work together as an "army of two", trying to stay alive and uncover the conspiracy within the company that employs them.

Comic

A six-issue miniseries called ''Army of Two: Across the Border'' was released in January 2010 by

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly rec ...

and coincided with the release of the sequel game '' Army of Two: The 40th Day'', with events taking place between the first and the second game.

Film

In 2008, there was a report that

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

had picked up the film rights to the game, citing Universal's desire to "fast-track the project to begin production in 2009" and hiring

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films '' Thief'' (1981), ...

to write the script and direct. Nothing came of it and the project is cancelled.

References

External links

* {{Electronic Arts Video game franchises Electronic Arts franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2008