Gaming is always more fun when a friend is around. No matter how complex, deep or challenging an AI might be, it'll never be the same as having a buddy sitting right next to you. Co-op play can be especially rewarding, going all the way back to titles like Contra that pioneered the concept to more modern games like Halo that built a reputation around accessible co-op play.

Well, now EA has gone and created an entire game built almost entirely around the concept of co-op play: Army of Two. The game also features a focus on private military companies (PMCs), which is another increasingly popular theme in games nowadays. Despite an abundance of shooters, Army of Two has come out and sold well, helping to bolster EA's plans to create new and successful IPs.

We caught up with Reid Schneider, Senior Producer of Army of Two, and talked about how two is company.

I'm in the business of kickin' butt, and let me tell you, business is booming.
According to the NPD, Army of Two for the Xbox 360 and PS3 were the third and tenth best selling games for the month of March, respectively. This made the game the second best selling Xbox 360 title and the best selling PS3 title during that same period. Overall, Army of Two sold in excess of 830,000 copies during the March period.

"We are happy with how Army of Two has performed to date," said Schneider simply.

The level of success that Army of Two received is remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, when the game was delayed from a late 2007 release, it ultimately displaced itself from some of its own hype, so the game succeeded despite the initial release delay. Secondly, the game came out on the heels of Call of Duty 4's success and in the same month as Rainbow Six Vegas 2. You might think that a market saturated with military shooters could have a negative impact on a new IP like Army of Two, but that was obviously not the case.

There's no "I" in Army of Two
As could probably be surmised about Army of Two from its title, the game is primarily about two soldiers. These two mercenaries are typically out in the field by themselves, so they're dependant on each other to provide cover fire, drive vehicles or rescue each other when one person is injured. While the computer can control the second guy competently, Army of Two's gameplay is enhanced when another player jumps on for co-op running and gunning.

The fearsome duo

"I think the team really nailed this aspect of the game; they deserve all the credit for the game's success," said Schneider when asked about the co-op emphasis. "From the start, we were 100% focused on creating a fully co-op experience and this resonated with the audience. Making a game with this much of a niche focus was obviously something that was a risky proposition, but ultimately the game demonstrated that co-op play has a strong fan-base amongst gamers. When we began building the game we analyzed a lot of trends related to broadband penetration and Xbox Live. This helped us to make the decision that this was the right way to go in the long term."

To complement the co-op play, Army of Two has what's called the "aggro meter." Essentially, the system allows the player who goes balls out to get all the attention from nearby enemies. This allows their teammate to sneak up from behind and perform a flanking attack, and is something that's vitally necessary during certain parts of the story campaign.

"The aggro meter is really about two things at the core," explained Schneider. "The first one is that it links both players together all the time since it's based on a roughly 100 point scale. If one player has 80 'points' the other has '20 points' or '50 vs 50' etc. We determined early on that co-op moves alone would not be enough to create a co-op focused game. We needed to integrate the aggro system to really link players all the time. The second thing aggro does is allow players to create their own tactics. We ultimately wanted people to build strategies as they worked together and advanced on the battlefield. As they manipulate aggro, and alternate between stealth and aggressive they can accomplish their goals. We built the game so that if a player was not manipulating aggro towards the middle/end of the game they could not succeed."