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That's a Wrap! E3 2009 Comes to an End...

Hey everyone, Community Manager Ron Yatco reporting live from Los Angeles where E3 2009 just wrapped up.  It was a great show with plenty of developers putting their best games forward.    I had the awesome opportunity of hanging out with the team from EA Montreal who were showing off Army of Two: The 40^th Day to all sorts of media behind closed doors during the event. 

A few weeks ago I saw firsthand how hard the team was pushing to get ready for the E3 event, and I can definitely say that after seeing and hearing the reactions from the demo, all that hard work definitely paid off. 

Executive Producer Reid Schneider and Creative Director Alex Hutchinson, along with Producers Sarah Stewart and Matt "McDopeblog" Turner (who will share his own E3 experiences next week once he gets some well-deserved rest) were on hand to show the media (as well as a few special guests ie: Steven Spielberg got a look at the game and was very impressed!) what Army of Two: The 40^th Day was all about. 

This event was the first time the team showed off one of the many "morality" moments in the game as well as the totally enhanced Weapons Customization feature.  Yes, pimping your gun is back, and is better than ever!  

At the start of the demo, you really get a sense that the game not only takes place in a disaster ridden area, but that you and your partner are there while the disaster is STILL happening.  The team really wanted to create settings for the game that were not conventional for most shooting games.  As Salem and Rios entered an office building, I noticed the roof of the building being completely blown off while they were in there.  NICE!

The team really hammered home the much more organic co-op features, which puts even more emphasis on co-op play than the original game.  You and your partner have a huge playbook of new features and an arsenal of co-op moves at your disposal at any time of the game.  What was really cool is that the way you and your partner play together really affects your surroundings and ultimately the overall outcome of the game.  You can sneak up and take capture of enemies, and if done properly you can free hostages with little to no casualties.  However, say you misfire when trying to co-op snipe an enemy; they can take cover and call for more backup, which definitely makes it a lot tougher for you and your partner to escape a situation.  Another great thing about the enemies is that they now have all the capabilities that you and your partner have, meaning they can mock surrender, as well as drag and heal their partners, just like you can. 

Where co-op play really becomes a key feature is during the many morality moments that you and your partner will come across throughout the game.  The team showed this off for the first time and throughout the many demos I watched, this definitely got some of the biggest and coolest reactions from the crowds.  In the demo, Salem and Rios come across an open weapons cabinet but are soon confronted by a nervous gun toting security guard.  The really cool moment of the demo is that Reid and Alex gave the crowd their choice of "Taking the Weapons" or "Walking away."  I don't think I saw any crowd that didn't choose to take the weapons.  The result ended in a bloody mess for the security guard, but after this happens you're treated to a short stylized vignette that hints of future repercussions of your decision. 

The great aspect of the morality decisions is that both you and your partner have to live with the consequences.  If one partner makes the decision, then the decision is made for the both of you.  It'll definitely be interesting to see a lot of partners arguing over each decision as they progress throughout the game.  And yes, your decisions will definitely have an effect over the ending of the game.

To end the demo off, the team showed off the totally enhanced Weapons Customization feature.  The best way to describe this, and I'll quote the team here, is that "it's like Lego with Guns!"  Every part of your weapon is customizable and interchangeable with parts from other weapons.  In addition, a lot of the customizable features are reflective of your disaster ridden surroundings.  Just like real-life PMC's, you'd have to work with what's around you, and I know I for one cannot wait until I slap my soda-can silencer on my Ak-47.  Yes, the team claims that through extensive research, this does really work. 

It's been a long but exciting and eventful three days here at E3 for me and the EA Montreal team.  The game showed great and I know that the team is getting really excited to bust out from behind closed doors and show The 40^th Day to all of you fans.  So, make sure to keep an eye out as there is tons more info to come soon from the EA Montreal team. 

 

For the latest updates make sure to follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/Army_Of_Two

 

 

Cheers,

Ron Yatco - Community Manager