I'll just get to each gameplay mode the game offers and share my thoughts. I never played the first game in the series, so I can not compare this sequel to the original.

The campaign of Army of Two: TFD can be played either in solo mode or cooperatively via split screen or online. Solo mode is acceptable and functional but on the bland side, you really need to play this game on coop to have fun. Idealy you would want to play with a friend since there are so many hysterical moments to be had during all of the intense action but you can also enjoy yourself quite a bit if you can find a stranger online who is decent at the game and willing to work as a team. The game is centered around team work relying on a simplistic but rewarding formula of distract and flank. You have an "aggro meter" shown at the top of the screen for each character (Salem and Rios) which fills up when you fire at the enemy. The louder the gun, the quicker the aggro bar fills up and the more attention you get. The key is to manage these aggro bars effectively so the enemy's attention is on one of you while the other flanks them from one side, effectively surrounding them with only two of you. It works pretty well and even though it sounds simplistic in nature, you are put in some pretty tight binds where some serious thought is needed to get through alive. You can also lower your weapon aggro with silencers allowing one of you to quietly take out the enemy forces one by one as they rain fire on your buddy. If things get too hot for your partner, you can remove the silencer with a simple button press and call some of the attention off him.

Aside from the aggro system the coop moments are pretty basic and limited, but still fun. There are only two instances where you are separated and must work your way to a particular checkpoint to reunite. One of these was done quite brilliantly, I thought, where you must remain in constant communication with one another to point out where the enemy is in your path and hoping your partner can get in a position to provide some cover fire or clear your path. Otherwise the teamwork mostly consists of step jumps, combining your strength to open a door, latching onto your partner while he carries a riot shield and two odd segments in the game where you must fight back to back and fire at surrounding enemies. The first of these back to back segments is pretty cool, you really have no where else to go and have to stand back to back but the second made no sense as you are out in the open but are forced to stand there in one spot and just fire at enemies while exposed. You also have a countdown to coop snipe or can mock a surrender and quickdraw your pistols together but it's nothing we haven't done in other games without it being touted as a game mechanic.

The campaign is pretty short and not very difficult, though on Contractor mode some of the crescendo moments can prove quite frustrating. Still, I mainly got stuck due to my partner's lack of skill than game difficulty. The game has a cover system, use it! You will be amazed what a little brick wall can shield you from. I thought the cover system worked well enough and the controls took some getting used to but nothing I found myself wrestling with past the first level. The only real issue I had with the controls is partner revival. When your partner goes down, you have to wait a second or two for the game to prompt you to either tap button 'a' to grab your friend to drag him or hold 'a' to heal him. As you can probably imagine, waiting for this second or so is not ideal when you are being sprayed with bullets, especially when your partner was downed out in the open away from the safety of cover. I often found myself hitting button 'a' too soon which caused me to sprint away from my partner, and into certain death or to vault over an object exposing myself. These cheap deaths were quite frustrating but other than reviving my partner the controls were just fine, they just had somewhat of a rough feel which isn't surprising as the entire game feels and looks a little rough around the edges, the budget for this one was clearly cut compared to other EA games.

The best multiplayer mode by far is Extraction which is basically Ao2's version of Gears of War's Horde mode or Halo: ODST's Firefight mode. It is not as good as the modes offered in those games but it is still pretty fun and definitely looks and feels more polished than the other MP modes this game offers. There is a 50 point achievement to beat all 16 rounds of Extraction and though the difficulty certainly ramps up, it is doable. I nailed it on my 3rd try, almost got there on my first. You will find yourself camping in certain spots to escape death and notice that the A.I. is pretty stupid at times with enemies running right by you because they seem dead set on going after your friend instead, but this can be overlooked for the most part. Having the achievement already, I'd be more than willing to hop in to help others get the achievement.

The other modes offered in MP are Co-op Deathmatch where you and a partner take on other duos (you can also be your own one man team), Control where your team and an enemy team fight for a designated control point and Warzone which is a 5 round match of varying obectives from stealing intelligence, to protecting targets to arming bombs, pitting two teams of 4 against one another. These MP modes suffer from lag, disconnects, freezes and just odd little glitches too frequently not to be mentioned. The matchmaking is terrible where you can join a game and you are out numbered 4 to 2 but then 2 more prople join and the game adds them to the opposing team leading you to be outnumbered 6 to 2! It happens all the time. You also can't host your own public matches. The game modes themselves are not all that fun either, the graphics take a serious downgrade and it feels clunky and tacked on. There is an achievement where you have to win on every map (6 in total) in all three game modes but I can't seem to unlock the achievement. This is a common problem, nobody is really sure why it happens, but I feel as if I am laboring through these matches just to get the achievement. It is not worth it. I have won everything on every map, but with the constant disconnects and host disconnects, getting a win to count seems like a crapshoot.

So in short, Campaign mode on co-op is a lot of fun and it plays decent while looking pretty good too. I wish there was some form of interaction with the environment but slapping your friend on the buttocks or punching him in the kidneys is a nice little touch. Extraction may not be the best horde mode out there, but it is still a pleasant experience, if not rough around the edges while the rest of MP is just a big mess. I don't see this game having much longevity and with the low budget feel I don't see it as worth full price. Slash off 20 bucks or more and it's worth a look, definitely a rental.

As a letter grade I would give this game a "C".

This is no game of the year nominee but its pretty fun specially if you play it with a friend