The AI commands make Army of Two that much more enjoyable to play. Prior to launch, EA emphasized their next IP would be reliant on team work and strategy. To supplement this, Electronic Arts included various command functions which you can utilize to your advantage. Using the directional pad, you can dictate the actions of your AI partner; regroup, advance and hold position. Each command has a secondary function as well. When selecting the blue “regroup” icon, your AI partner will come to your side immediately. He will not aggress and only fires on the run. If you press the icon on the direction pad once more it turns from blue to red indicating he will Rambo his way to your position. Your partner may also “advance” and “hold position” either in default blue (defensive) or red (aggressive). Using these commands is important. For example, if you advance the AI with aggression, nine times out of ten he’ll get his cap peeled back so use each method intelligently. In the unfortunate event of your demise, you do not die immediately. Similar to Gears of War, you become incapacitated and must wait for your partner to heal you. However, in Army of Two, you may be incapacitated but you’re not unconscious. You are still able to use your weapon and provide cover fire as the AI or your co-op partner heals you.
If you find yourself in an area swarming with AK wielding whack jobs, the incapacitated player can be pulled away and placed behind cover. You can then be healed but only if the process is uninterrupted. If the healer is taking any fire, the heal time will reset which usually stands at about 5 seconds. Once completed you are back in the thick of things but beware, there is a time limit. If you or the AI is not healed in a specific amount of time you eventually kick the bucket and the mission is over. Teetering precariously on the brink of death, you can also “Feign” or pretend you have been eliminated. It only works on present company so when used make it count and auto heal before rising. Lastly, when you really begin popping things off an additional ability is granted, Overkill. Reminiscent of F.E.A.R. - once activated by pressing the A button, time slows although your response time is enhanced. A damage multiplier of two is also gained making it seem as if you were shooting fish in a barrel, a nice addition if I might say so myself.
All of the aforementioned actions are paramount in successful mission execution but the most important method of using each command is taking advantage of the Aggrometer. Succinctly, the Aggrometer gauges which of you has the enemies’ attention. A bar is provided at the top of the screen which reads like a tachometer. The center of this bar indicates neither one of you has any enemy attention. If you were to command the AI to lay down suppressing fire the bar will tilt towards his name, be it Salem or Rios. The further the bar extends to one name the less attention is received by the counterpart. In practice, once you or the AI has a large or full Aggrometer, the other becomes somewhat transparent as the enemy focus is on the aggressor. This proves to be extremely useful as it enables you to flank or proceed forward without much danger to yourself. While proceeding forward, if you choose to begin laying down your foes the Aggrometer will shift and the aggressor will lose enemy attention. This makes strategy much more crucial being that if you are not the aggressor you must select targets wisely and take them down quickly. Mastering commands and the Aggrometer will ensure victory but the enemy AI will not go down without a fight.
