Army of Two Producer Q&A with EA Montreal.  Most of you have read my review of Army of Two and it turned out to be a review that received some amazing feedback. 

“Your review should be the benchmark for this game because it’s objective, and puts the game in perspective from a Gamers point of view.” – Bumble14. 

Now I have even more of the coverage you love.  I had a chance to submit a Q&A to EA Montreal made up of community questions about Army of Two.  I took all the Aggro for the Q&A so that you all could relax and simply read.   And here are the groovy results. 

Army of Two
Developer: EA Montreal
Publisher: Electronic Arts

The Players

Matt Turner, Assistant Producer

The Interview

New IPs are always a challenge with any company. Where did the inspiration for AOT come from and is it an IP we can expect more of?

The inspiration came from many places. We really saw a gap in the shooter market. And that gap was a game that truly was COOP. Many games had COOP features but they weren’t built for COOP and that’s what we wanted to make. We pulled inspiration from a few classic titles. Contra and Double Dragon were two of the major influences of the game and so was counter strike. We definitely have ideas and plans for future content under the AO2 banner but first we have to wait and see how our first one does.

The setting of the game deals with some real world events. Any concern on AOT stirring any controversy?

Not really. We were very careful on how we approached and addressed the touchy subjects. I think we managed to remain tasteful and relevant and people will appreciate that.

How were the two main characters chosen?

We chose characters that had relevance, and believability. They had to be archetypes of expected personas.

Was there any significant research done from a technical standpoint to make the two characters seem believable?

Yes. In fact, we hired a real PMC to consult on the lives of mercenaries. He was really helpful and an extremely interesting guy. We had some really fun conversations about the whole crazy world.  His name is Woody Mister and we are really thankful for all his help.

An early article had Reid Schneider saying that the game could essentially not be completed by ‘doing your own thing.’ It makes completing the game without good commuication sound impossible. Is your Partner AI (PAI) system reliable enough to not frustrate players?

Absolutely. You have a certain amount of control over the PAI so if he is ever getting a little silly or not doing what you want; just bark some orders at him. He’s actually pretty satisfying to play with.

How important is the Aggro system in the game?

Aggro is everything. You need to use Aggro in order to get anywhere in the game.

How will Alice work in single and co-op? Will she be issuing any relevant information to each player?

No. Nothing changes from single player to COOP regarding Alice.

What would you say are AOT’s main differences from other co-operative play games?

The difference is that AOT is made to be played coop. All the mechanics and the core game play are based around coop. It really is a pure coop experience where the players are linked second to second.

Did delaying the game result in a better AOT for release?

Absolutely. There is no comparison.

Who’s the more bad ass character in the game?

I would have to say that Salem is the most badass of the two…he comes from a background of crime and is a little nuts all around. But Rios is definitely tougher.

What can gamers expect in terms of DLC content in the future?

I can’t go into at all but we are planning on hitting hard with the DLC in the coming months.