EA's first original next-gen title

By Tom Bramwell Published 2 May, 2006

A co-op action game.

EA's announced that its first original title for next-gen systems is a principally co-operative action game called Army of Two.

The first game from EA's Montreal studio, it's been in development for the past year on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and should be out during 2007.

Army of Two "will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current day headlines," says EA, where they will use two-man strategies and tactics, transitioning between playing with an AI partner or a live player.

We're told that EA's wanted to make this for ages, but until now it's felt that the hardware couldn't deliver a suitably believable co-operative AI player.

"ARMY OF TWO is a first for EA in many ways. This is the first EA studio to be built entirely from the ground-up. This is EA's first original title for the next-gen systems," says EA Montreal general manager Alain Tascan. And "ARMY OF TWO is the first game to put players inside tactical warfare involving Private Military Corporations."

Expect to hear more about Army of Two in the coming weeks and months. There's no direct word on an E3 showing, but we wouldn't be all that surprised.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ChrisOTR #1 6 years ago

    I've got a lot of time for co-op games. Keeping an eye on this!

  • kangarootoo #2 6 years ago

    "ARMY OF TWO is the first game to put players inside tactical warfare involving Private Military Corporations"

    Thats a bit of a suspect claim too. Though its a general marketing type statement, so its hard to tell what they actually mean by it.

    And please EA, get your cocking menus in order for this one. I don't want to have to watch bullet belts unroll everywhere for five second before I can start a game or change the brighness setting. FN3 took ridiculous animated menu screens to great new heights, but then Black's menus were surprisingly restrained so it can be done.

  • reality_cheque #3 6 years ago

    There needs to be more co-op missions in games, especially if they'll be as fun as GR:AW.

  • dsmx #4 6 years ago

    Witchcraft EA doing an origional game? Next thing you know ea might actually do something innovative.

  • Baz_Dude #5 6 years ago

    "Witchcraft EA doing an origional game? Next thing you know ea might actually do something innovative."

    Not a chance my friend ;-)

  • Sko #6 6 years ago

    I can't remember seeing the first "Army Of" game and now they're doing sequel already?!

    *badom-tish*

  • Steroyd #7 6 years ago

    Wow EA doing an orignal game.

    I never thought i would have the honour to type a sentence like that ever.

    What next EA creates their own innovative Genre that nobody's thought up yet?

  • Roamer #8 6 years ago

    Online or offline co-op, I wonder?

  • HarryB #9 6 years ago

    maybe both but the online will be broken and disconnect all the time? just an idea.

  • gizmo #10 6 years ago

    Interesting. Love co-op.

    On that note, why oh why was counter-op dropped from perfect dark? It was bloomin superb. And on the N64 too :p

  • tiddles #11 6 years ago

    ARMY OF TWO is the first game to put players inside tactical warfare involving Private Military Corporations

    Thank God for that - if I had to play against another public military corporation I think I would go crazy...

  • Blerk #12 6 years ago

    Army of Two "will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current day headlines,"

    They're not off to a good start. :-(

  • dsmx #13 6 years ago

    If it isn't good they will just put fifa infront of the name and every idiot will buy it.

  • _wii #14 6 years ago

    Army of Two

    not quite as good as Rambo then - a one man army

  • Steroyd #15 6 years ago

    If it isn't good they will just put fifa infront of the name and every idiot will buy it.

    lol that's so true it's not even funny.

    How do you get the italics on these comments?

  • RedPanda #16 6 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Furbs #17 6 years ago

    Loving the cliched EA hate here fellas.

    /applauds

  • _wii #18 6 years ago

    was in game only last week, 2 chav types walked by complete with the rustle of shellsuits speaking loudly, Godfather, supposed to be good the other replied looks shit!

  • dsmx #19 6 years ago

    You know whats worse than them making this game?

    The fact that we have to buy it and it has to sell as well as EA's other francises or they will never do another origional title again.

  • Steroyd #20 6 years ago

    Let me tell you a scary thought, next thing you know EA might announce this as... *gasp* EXCLUSIVE.

    Whoa crapped my pants there.

  • space_ace #21 6 years ago

    original ea games? so that's what next gen is about? :)

  • w00t #22 6 years ago

    /wanders in

    Army of Two, bizarrely, was the name me and my mate had for our team in the pub quiz this week.

    /wanders out

  • kazuya69 #23 6 years ago

    Surely it will just be Mario & Luigi with guns..?

  • Xerx3s #24 6 years ago

    If this title is so original, howcome the title lacks anything resembling such?

  • SeesThroughAll #25 6 years ago

    EA's definition of original: Just not a sequel.

  • Furbs #26 6 years ago

    List me a dozen new games from the last 6 months which have a) sold well and b) been totally original c) been actually any good.

    Seriously guys, the usual jibes are getting boring now. The fact EA are the largest publisher in the world, can almost make or break a system with their support and usually make up over half the top ten says they are delivering what people want.

    If that doesnt fit in with what *you* want, dont bitch and moan about it. Just dont buy the games. Its really not going to make one blind bit of difference to them if some self appointed "hardcore gamer" types on the internet like their output or not.. Whining just makes you all sound like 14 year olds who use a dollar sign in "MS" and have cool names like "gheystation", "gheymcube" and so on.

  • GitSomE_UK #27 6 years ago

    Since when has M$ not been cool?

    Army of 2 eh? As long as they don't have those damned EA Trax straining in the background it may be worth a look.

    EA Trax is Ghey! :-)

  • Sko #28 6 years ago

    "If that doesnt fit in with what *you* want, dont bitch and moan about it."

    Hey, wouldn't it be funny if your own advice could be applied to your views on people complaining about EA? Oh, wait...

  • spazmo #29 6 years ago

    Furbs is the resident EA fanboy.

  • Furbs #30 6 years ago

    Sko, I have no issues about people moaning - EA are up there to be shot at, it would just be nice to have some originality in the bitching that people do.

    Maybe they should think about that irony.

  • The-Bodybuilder #31 6 years ago

    I wonder what the number of 360 owners here who are bashing EA, also have FN3 in thier collection.

    Hmmm.....

  • miiiguel #32 6 years ago

    MHO: EA dosen't do original games at all, they just want to make money, and that's shamefull, because they have the tools to make outstanding products. Take a look a FNR3 (wich I own), it could have been an awsome game, it has everything, but "polisheness". Would it be so difficult to make a "Carrer Mode" wich one could care a bit ? would it be so hard to increase drastically the amount of lines the speaker has ?, and so on...
    FIFA ? They think it's enough to have the licenses, and shamefully, in a financial point of view, maybe it is. PES is ridiculously better.

    Furbs: you got to admit they should put some passion in their products, this is an artistic buisness. You speak about sales figures: do you have the obligation to like the movie "Titanic" ?, wich has the biggest ticket-office sales ever ?, I (proudly) don't.
    Edited by 1 at 03/05/06 @ 14:46

  • Furbs #33 6 years ago

    "hey just want to make money, and that's shamefull"

    Sorry miiiguel, I had to stop reading there :)

  • miiiguel #34 6 years ago

    I know what you mean, but if I worked just for the sake of the money, there were some old fellows, children and alike that would suffer with my lack of comiitment (I work as a sysadmin for the Social Security), I know it's a lame analogy, but I hope you understand.

    One should be proud of their jobs...
    hey, but that's just me...

  • The-Bodybuilder #35 6 years ago

    >" it could have been an awsome game, it has everything, but "polisheness". Would it be so difficult to make a "Carrer Mode" wich one could care a bit ? would it be so hard to increase drastically the amount of lines the speaker has ?"

    It IS an awesome game. Sure it has flaws, shows me game which hasn't (except for shenmue, and anyone who disagrees is blind to the truth forever).

  • miiiguel #36 6 years ago

    A game with excusable flaws: obviously... "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivon". (IMHO).

    I'm no anti-EA, but I can't believe you guys don't agree with the general idea that EA could and should deliver, aesthetically and technically better games - they have the finance and knowledge power to do it, as far as I know.

    I don't know any EA game that lives beyond its lauch window-time, in a gamers mind, like Halo, or FF, or Oblivion, or GTA.

  • azizur #37 6 years ago

    I dunno.... The Sims sticks in my mind :)

    Seriously, though - EA, like most 'big' companies, seem to operate on a kind of autopilot, where they think they can put out any average fare and it'll sell. Case in point: the FIFA franchise. I think this will continue until everyone suddenly stops buying EA games, and then they'll have no choice but to put out quality games to regain their market share.

    As for creating iconic, memorable games, well that's pure luck. It takes some skill to make an average game, a lot of skill to make a really good one, and pure luck to make a Halo/Tomb Raider/Final Fantasy that people really connect to.