@Witzbold: Thanks! I mostly read about the healing process, etc... And didn't read if any of the healing/ressing was somehow limited or not...

thinlebowski

I'm getting this after work. This is how my boyfriend and I spend quality time together. <3

Pandamanda

@Azeron:

where does it say that?

finelicker

If you're from Europe I'd reconsider buying this game. EA region locked it so Europeans can't play with/against America or any other part of the world with the NTSC version, pretty much leaving me unable to play with my friends. For a game based on coop this is just unacceptably bad, especially because the only mention of this is a single line in the manual. >:(

Azeron

@thinlebowski: Apparently you can res eachother. Its the whole point of the games "buddy" system and all.

Witzbold

To import, or not to import. That is the question.

FranUnFine

Can someone tell me if dying in coop is like:
1. Gears of War: When you die, your buddy can res you
2. Rainbow Six: When you die, you're dead

Reason being that I play with a friend who loves games, but isn't good at them - just a gorgeous dentist with a two-year old baby who loves to kill things. The ressing feature in GoW was just fantastic for us (me effectively soloing it).

thinlebowski

@DoomDragon6: Nice try man... but... you're not really making much sense. It's a graph, it's either easy to read or not, there's no loot involved man, stop playing wow and making wow jokes.

And how do go from puzzle game to phat lewt? just stop man.

weenort

@Mark Wilson:

Only one is PS3 specific and it's from IGN who gave the exact same score for the 360 version. The other three reviews do not specify a console and Kotaku's review is of the 360 version. I just didn't understand the reason for it there considering it's a multiplatform game and there's probably little difference between teh two.

LittleBigPlaneteer

@OGHowie: Glad I'm not the only one that feels that way.

kcorbo

Just pretend the graph is a puzzle game.

You're all gamers right?

2D graphs are for newbs. The 3D graphs are the higher levels where all the good loot is.

You want the good loot right? You just gotta play harder. >_>

DoomDragon6

server has been down for about 45 mins, pissed off, has been fun otherwise :)

krztov

While the reviews are not bad it comes in only average for a $60 premium price, pretty much leaving this the "Army of 2 little 2 late".

Maybe endless Quality free DLC could fix it.

Devenish

@Torgen thinks AAA means "Costs $60": Thank you!

I enjoyed this game, even though I was highly biased against it to begin with. I believe that when Gears came out, one of the creators of AO2 said Gears had "zero innovation". I still vehemently disagree with that statement (How can you talk shit about a game that came out so much earlier and you clearly borrowed from?)

But, this game is VERY good if you play it with the right teammate. I played through the entire game split screen with my brother and we had a blast, especially laughing,etc., about the numerous gun upgrades and the "pimp out my gun" option.

RonJeremy4Pres

"We're not out to make the graph easy to read."

LMMFAO That's the craziest shit I've read in about 3 weeks. Am I stoned or something?

champ24 vamp_24(psn)

As a matter of fact, the median is a 74.5; meaning the scores range from +5 to -9 or so, which is actually a pretty wide gulf, assuming that I've read the chart's scores correctly That's 14 points difference from the best review to the worst review, and represents a more useful insight than the scores themselves, in this case.

gblock

It seems like the 3d graph situation is coming to a head. I thought it was an accepted Kotakuism, a subversive dig on review scores. Ah well.

scores die = gamers win

Madeira

Graph FTL. If you don't want us to see what it was, don't put it there, but don't waste screen real estate and my time making shit hard to read.

If you don't want it to be there, don't put it there. If you think we shouldn't need to know the scores, and that the text is enough, don't include the scores.

But don't ever, ever, ever do things that make things harder for your reader to decipher.

What you *could* have done instead is that instead of providing the actual scoring as an absolute number, show the position relative to one another, with the average being the zero line and bars left-and-right showing the deviation from the average as a percentage.

That shows us how much variation there is between review scores without actually showing us the review scores, which is probably a more interesting comparison *anyways*.

I'd certainly be more interested in seeing the variance graphed than the scores themselves; a wide variance would show dissonance between reviewers, which in and of itself is interesting.

gblock

Take any Prob and Stats class and the professor will slap you if you use a 3D bar graph. Graphs are not meant to look cool, they are meant to provide information. Awesome two-player gun games ARE meant to look cool, and from the Frankenreview it looks like Army of Two just might have pulled it off. I'll have to give it a look when I get a 360/PS3. Until then I'll be spending too much time playing WoW and SSBB...heh...

FeendRendor

Look outside the bar... and into the box. These 3d bar graphs are very easy to read with experience and if you are getting worked up over a graphical representation of a game that is stored on a piece of plastic you couldn't possibly decipher without a computer that you couldn't possibly design you need to take a deep breath, step back from your computer, and prioritize yo-self!

invictus

"We're not out to make the graph easy to read."

What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're trying to de-emphasize the importance of exact numerical scores by making them artificially difficult to see? Are you serious?

dusty_p_42

@Torgen thinks AAA means "Costs $60": You are a gentleman and a scholar, sir.

FadedEchos

I think this game is so fun.

JoDi

@Danj3ris: man of many overlooked ideas.: I thought that was what Eurogamer was for. Can't remember the last time I agreed with their determination to be unimpressed. Ever.

I do thoroughly enjoy this game, though. It's not meant for hyper realism, or any similar complaints found throughout the reviews. Seems the style of game detracts some from it, which I suppose I understand.

Don't understand the 'gimmick' effect, either. Boosting your partner up on a wall and watching them hang their gun over the ledge to mow people down doesn't get old. The back-to-back is so over the top that it's amusing, too.

JKPierce

Torgen thinks AAA means “Costs $60”

Yeah, kill the 3D graphs. 2D was always superior (so many levels of meaning in that statement).

Yuki

While this looks like another ordinary shooter, I like the small team play. Much better than getting your ass killed as soon as you spawn.

nxp3

I lost interest in this article the second I had to squint my eyes just to try and piece together the review scores. It's not so much that I really care what number sites are giving this game, but more that turned off by actually having to expend effort just to understand the basics of what this post is trying to convey.

PaulHunter

@Danj3ris: man of many overlooked ideas.: Insomnia closed down so that they could create a newer site, a newer design where they could push their creative emoism and closed mindedness to new levels unfounded by net citizens the world over.

Ampillion, now with the hair stylings of TVs Frank

2d or 3d, these frankenviews in my opinion have really help me out..

zeropoint.0

Hey, where's Insomnia's review? Because you know that no Frankenreview is complete unless you have a reviewer that completely disagrees with the reviews that actually matter.

Danj3ris: man of many overlooked ideas.

@Mark Wilson:

Why wouldn't you want the scores to be easy to read?

OGHowie

@onidavin: It has local (split screen) co-op. If you want to play co-op over a lan, both consoles need gold accounts. Hopefully this isn't a trend.

J-Fro

@Mark Wilson: Wait, really? So you're trying to make it more difficult for your readers to get accurate information? I'm not sure what the point is at all, then, other than to mislead.

I propose a switch to a ratings system of puppies in a kennel. For instance, Army of Two could get twenty-three dalmation puppies in a kennel. Halo 3, obviously, was worth thirty-two pembroke welsh corgis in a kennel.

Also, if the color scheme of the site could be changed to white text on cream background, that'd be great.

EmTeeZ

I guess I should clarify my question -- I was considering buying this to play local co-op for the campaign, not multiplayer online.

onidavin

Didn't they do the bullets-through-the-car-door thing on Mythbusters? Which was horribly busted because it went completely through the car door and into the opposite door?

Hmm...

Konatsu

Apparently it does not have local multiplayer? Can anyone confirm this?

onidavin

@LittleBigPlaneteer: These are PS3 version reviews.

Mark Wilson

@velvet396: We're not out to make the graph easy to read. If we wanted to list precise numbers, we'd do that.

Mark Wilson

I had fun with it last night for a few hours but its no where near a 9/10. Its pretty rough around the edges and the controls are not perfect. The reviews comparing it to gears are very inaccurate its a unique game but not a great one.

ascully

+1 3d graph hatred.
(in ones) made me lol though...

rkr215

Count me in on the 3D graph hate. I had to squint like I was looking at a Magic Eye book before I could figure out what the scores were.

J-Fro

Seconding that this graph is very misleading at a glance.

dosboot

@GodzillaVsJapan: I'm hoping Resistance 2 will raise the co-op bar. I've been playing Army of Two yesterday and I wasn't overwhelmed at all. The little interactions between players are fun but merely a gimmicky relief from the dull and repetitive action. Although it had some great moments, the level where you have run up a sinking ship avoiding objects was a fun part. I had great expectations when this was announced but later when they stated it was going to be delayed because of unsatisfied pretesting and early reviews, I knew it was going to fail.

In the end I don't wanna discourage people, this game is still fun when in the right mood and with a good mate to enjoy it. The one thing that makes me wanna play it, is the amount of weaponry and the customization. But overall I guess it just isn't what I was hoping for. Maybe I got my hopes up.

bOOmStiCK83

I think part of it is that a good deal of humans read left to right, not front to back :P

diablodevil2

If this is going to be the thread where all the graph-related venting is done, I have to throw in: Please, switch to 2d graphs.

dusty_p_42

I don't really want to add to the 'graph rants' but, it would do a lot if the scale was moved to that rear-right edge instead of the front-left edge.

Then you get shiny 3d-ness and a more functional graph!

Zegridathes

@metallicorphan:

At least the delay helped the game. If it had came out when it was supposed to it'd probably be all under 50

Sparx

Looks like a rental at best to me. Can't say I'm sad to see it get mere "good" review scores...after one of the devs was talking trash about Gears of War, I had a feeling Ao2 would be somewhat of a letdown.

KaneRobot

@Barbara: I agree but I also hope it sells well so shooters and other genres focus more resources on co-op campaigns and missions.

GodzillaVsJapan

@LittlestLamshi:

I'm not sure that it's done on purpose, but looking at it, yea, I thought it was getting 90's and whatnot until I started reading the comments on the graph o.o;

Ah well. Anybody knows that the 'review' should be in the text. The number just helps set the tone of the review, while the article is the actual objective content.

Er, well, not anybody, but...makes sense to me. o.o

diablodevil2

wow,is that 3d chart showing what i think its showing?...all under 80s score...shame,instead of a good game that i was expecting it seems that we have a average game

woah..actually,hang on a minute....i forgot,i dont trust reviewers anymore after lost odyssey<<

i think playable demos or internet forums are the best way forward for me

metallicorphan

You mean there's actually a PS3 review of a multi-plat game? I must be dreaming because that never happens.

Sparx

At least put the the actual review scores in the excerpts for each website.

cronotrigger913

Yeah, the Frankenreview graphs are annoying.

Bishmon

From Gametap: "...slinks around and ends fools like a ninja is pretty great."

Too good. This kind of journalism really speaks to my generation. <3

00000000

I am confident I'll get this game in a few weeks after it launched. It's not really a number one title for me but it looked like fun and the graphics are crisp.

Candlejack

I have to agree with the graph issues -- when I glanced at it, I immediately thought, "WTF, how did it get such high scores?!?!" -- then I took the time to trace the lines. Either put the numbers on the flat side or make it 2D ...

jayntampa

that graph is damn hard to read... think I said so last time they used a similar graph in a frankenreview :)

velvet396

I've been playing the game since last night and can vouch for its awesomeness. The enemy AI will punish you severely for not working as a team and using the Aggro mechanic to your advantage. Definitely a worthy purchase ...if you have a friend.

If you have to play with a computer controlled partner, may the lord have mercy on your soul. Another one of my buddies is playing the game on one player and when he got gunned down for playing for trying to be the hero, his AI partner dragged him clear across Somalia till he could be healed. To the AI's credit, he did single-handedly fend off the enemy while my buddy was out of commission.

So let that be a lesson to you who will play this on single-player: If you get pwned while trying to be Rambo, your AI partner will put you on timeout and drag you clear across the third world til you've learned your lesson.

Techknow

The 3D graph can also be misleading for me at first glance. By just a quick look it almost looks like the game got some really good scores, since I'm comparing it to the numbers on the left. But when I realize it's one of those 3D charts, I see that, instead of the 80-90s that I thought it got, it really got 70-80 with a couple in the 60s.

Well, doesn't really matter to me either way. I wasn't really looking forward to this game anyway.

romBox

@LittlestLamshi:

Hmmm, good theory.

OGHowie

@LittlestLamshi:

Kotaku does it even with highly rated games so that's not the reason. It's just for looks over functionality

LittleBigPlaneteer

@OGHowie: @ProfWho: I have to admit it's a little misleading. Especially when something like the DailyGame score looks like something in the 90s and not actually the 70s.

But hey, what does everyone else care?

I think I'll give this one a Gamefly!

7ucky

X-Play sung the game's praises. The only real complaint they had was in single-player your teammate's A.I. is pretty bad and gets you in a lot of trouble. I'd pick the game up, but I've found it hard to be online at the same time as my friends to play the game through from beginning to end in any reasonable amount of time. My gaming hours are pretty random. Playing through Gears on co-op was a great experience though and I'd really like to try this.

Sloopydrew

3D graphs FTL

dubz

@Norellicus: But why make it any harder than it needs to be to actually glean information from the graph? That is the point of graphs, right? To make the dissemination of information easier for the viewer?

Jangie

Might give it a Rent. It seems okay, but I always doubt the AI.

GM08

Actually, i just figured out why the 3d thing... it's simple... it actually looks like the game recieved much better reviews... kinda like selling things at 59.99

LittlestLamshi

@Norellicus:

It isn't easy either.

I'm having a hard time really figuring out why the PS3 was mentioned in the title though, most reviews cover both platforms not just the PS3 version.

LittleBigPlaneteer

@OGHowie:
if you look at the front, and imagine the thing as 2d it isn'hard to read at all... as to why they have a 3d rating thingy... the world may never know.

LittlestLamshi

@OGHowie: agreed

3inst3in

@OGHowie: Use the emboldened lines to determine the 10 marks, it's really not that difficult to read :P

Norellicus

Wow, another 3D graph that is hard to read. Really making 3D doesn't make it any cooler.

ProfWho

I'm glad it was saved from certain disaster with the delay. People should be less angry when they happen.

Car2oon

Very few things are funnier than a well timed fart.

Powerbuns

I hope this game sells well so other companies can see that shooting games aren't just for the niche crowd.

Barbara

Mark why did you put PS3 in the title?

LittleBigPlaneteer

For the review scores.

OGHowie

I think the 3d blocks need to be changed to just 2d. It's pretty hard to read?

OGHowie

the idea, the concept... AWESOME...
the actual game... uhhhhh

army of 2 in ones.... good one....

LittlestLamshi

i'm having so much fun with it. it's so great doing co-op with a friend. especially doing the "air guitar" high five move in the heat of battle.

ChibiKyKiske