Written by Meagan Lemons
EA had a big presence at PAX this year with so many games to show that it was hard to decide what we wanted to see. So when we found the PR person with whom we had our appointment (it was hard with so many people everywhere), we just let him do the talking.
Title: Army of Two: The 40th Day
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PSP
Game developer: EA Montreal
Link: http://www.ea.com/games/army-of-two-the-40th-day
Release date: January 12, 2010
First he showed us Army of Two: The 40th Day. I didn’t have much of a basis for comparison as I didn’t really have any experience with the first Army of Two, but he told us there were a few new features that the first one didn’t have. One is, since the game is played cooperative, an agro meter in the center of the screen that shows how aggressive the opposition is toward you or your comrade. It seemed handy to at least have some proof when screaming, “I swear it’s like I’m a bullet magnet to these guys!”
But what was really intriguing about Army of Two was the gun customization system. When you find guns in the game, they go into a database. From there, you can take individual parts from guns you have stored in your inventory and make new guns, like a rifle with a pistol grip and so on. Besides that, it looks good, it feels good, and it boasts original environments in which to fight, such as a zoo complete with animal carcasses everywhere.
Title: The Saboteur
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Game developer: Pandemic Studios
Link: http://www.pandemicstudios.com/thesaboteur/
Release date: December 8, 2009
Then we saw The Saboteur. I was first surprised by the fact that the game is in black and white, but it made more sense when the premise for the story was explained. Your goal is to help the resistance against the Nazis in 1940s France. The game’s suppressed color represents the Nazis’ oppression of the citizens of France. When you foil the Nazis’ plans and inspire the citizens in a particular area, that area of the game world becomes infused with color. When the Nazis are pushed out of France completely, presumably the entire map will change from black and white to color.
The Saboteur seems pretty open as far as how you can go about helping the resistance. You can infiltrate them through stealth or by disguising yourself with a German’s uniform, go in with guns blazing, etc., but no matter how you enter, they will definitely know when you leave. For instance, the objective we were walked through was the blowing up of a huge German cannon on a tower. The end result, of course, was the cannon exploding into a million tiny fiery pieces and the world around becoming brighter and colorful. It felt like a good day to be a Frenchman.
