rmy of Two’s blend of co-op gameplay and over-the-top action has earned it a following amongst fans of hardcore shooters, but the game is not devoid of questionable game design decisions. This month, GI readers ask executive producer Reid Schneider about some of their hang-ups with the game.

How much did you change the game from the original version to the retail version on store shelves now?
– thedoc.duc

A decent amount changes from the initial vision of the project to the final release. Anytime we create something from scratch this is to be expected. The core of the game though, which is a game completely focused on co-op, did not change.

Did you obtain inspiration from any other specific games or movies to make this game co-op?
– theorangebox

Definitely, we took a lot of inspiration from movies like Bad Boys, The Rock, even the Miami Vice movies. We also looked at a variety of different types of games in different genres from RPGs to shooters, as well as the great co-op games of the past including Double Dragon, Contra, etc.

With a co-op experience so great, why was the single-player AI so weak?
– babychance

I don’t think the single-player AI is weak per se, however he requires more management than a game like Gears of War, Call of Duty 4, or Halo. We wanted a partner AI that would feel like playing with another human. I think now when people play with a partner AI though, they don’t want any management responsibility for him. We’ll be closely evaluating gamer feedback for how to craft future games.

Why did EA chose to cut the local play option and make it a requirement to have two separate Gold Live Accounts? Would they update this in a future patch?
– Super Pat Balls

In terms of the Gold Accounts, this is something we’re looking at with the team at EA Online. As you can see with our Playstation 3 version it can be played by anyone.

Was there anything you couldn’t include in the final game that you think could have made the game better?
– thehouse

I don’t think you can ever look back at a game and not want to change things. I think we have a lot of features in Army of Two, but it would have been cool to use some of them more often. For example, it could have been cool to use the heat-sinking stingers in a boss fight, or use co-op snipe more.

If there were one thing you could change about the game what would it be?
– guildwarsfan

I think we began hyping the game really early. The expectations for the game also skyrocketed as well. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if the game is not everything to everyone some people can feel disappointed. I also really want to streamline the versus mode for future iterations and make it easier to join a game.

I’ve heard you’re planning to offer an “avalanche” of downloadable content. Can you share any specifics?
– aubradley84

Definitely. We are starting with what we call “SSC Challenge.” This mode is like an obstacle course for two players. It’s really different as an experience. We’re also going to be coming out with some more traditional DLC in a few months: traditional campaign mode maps and versus maps.

Were there any special gun ideas you wanted to include in the game, but weren’t able to?
– supersnake

Not really. I think the gun customization really blew people away with the depth of it.

Why did you ship so few multiplayer maps? Only including four is kind of a rip off.
– Ninjadamus

We would have liked to ship with more of them, but it was a question of how many we could build to the right standard of quality and within the development time.

Why can’t I play with people from other regions? I have a lot of friends in Europe that I cannot play the game with, which is frustrating.
– wingman

In AO2 we have many synchronized animations that require peer-to-peer (deterministic) networking. This is less of a problem in co-op Mode (as you tend to play with friends), but in versus mode, when you’re playing with people you might not know, performance is brought down by the guy with the slowest connection. In a deterministic networking model, the person with the slowest connection brings everyone down to his/her level. Now, if we take that one step further and have you playing with people on another continent, you could have really slow connections and high lag. We did this to limit lag potential.

When I play versus online and someone from the other team bails because we’re winning, we get nothing– no Achievements, no cash, no stats. Is this something you plan to fix?
– dagunna77

Yes, we’re actively fixing this. It will be part of the first
title update.

This article was originally printed in Game Informer Magazine issue #181