One of the developers for EA Montreal teamed up with Gametrailers to show the world what changes have been made to Army of Two: The 40th Day with respect to the first instalment in the series, as well as features that are entirely new to the game. For the Dev Walkthrough and a summary, please follow the link.
The first part of the Dev Walkthrough shows the expanded weapon-customization option. Rather than being limited to weapon-specific components, players now have to the ability to mix and match weapon parts from all weapons currently in their position. Besides being able to customize the barrel, stock, clip and scope of every weapon, players are also able to add several less-than-serious features to their weapons such as a screwdriver or kitchen knife as bayonet and a soda can as a sound suppressor. The first part of the walkthrough is included below.
The second part of the walkthrough shows a little more familiar scene. The vid is set in the Shanghai zoo where apparently, terrorists have set up shop. The developer emphasizes that enemies, unlike what was seen in the previous instalment, now have their own mission and are not placed at a location specifically to kill you. That means that players will encounter enemies that are not expecting you to be there. The second part concludes with a shootout between the Army of Two and several terrorists.
In the third part of the Dev Walkthrough, the developer reveals that enemies will generally have the same abilities as the players. Rather than just drop dead, they will be able to crawl to their allies to be tended to as well. Additionally, developers have tried to give each weapon a unique look and feel, although it remains to be seen how well this will work out when combined with the weapon customization options shown earlier.
The final part of the walkthrough shows a new feature that allows the player to ‘identify’ enemies while out of combat. After the Dev identified one of the enemies as the Corporal in charge and took him hostage, he forced the remaining enemies surrender whou could then be tied up without resorting to violence. While doing so, a small message “Morality +” appeared on screen, suggesting that The 40th Day is another game to include morals into the equation. The first instalment in the series received criticism for the fact that some actions were seen as immoral in the game, such as the two main characters discussing a ball game later that day seconds after having massacred a small army of Korean soldiers.
Army of Two: The 40th Day is currently scheduled for a release on the 12th of January 2010. It will release on Playstation 3, Xbox 360. An adapted version will also be released for the Playstation Portable.