SAN FRANCISCO—Electronic Arts recently showed off the latest build of EA Montreal’s first studio offering, Army of Two. The new Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game, which ships early in 2008, puts players in the roles of private military contractors (PMCs) in hostile areas. EA consulted with a real PMC, Woodie Mister, in creating the game, to ensure that what players experience in combat is accurate. I talked to the game’s producer, Reid Schneider, at the EA event.

In the wake of the Blackwater media frenzy, can you talk about how Army of Two’s missions are set up?

The game is set up with missions around the world. You have to complete missions and you’re also offered sub missions, which you’re paid more to accomplish. Woody brought that to the table. They’ll have one master contractor but there will be subcontractors out there offering additional missions and money. The whole objective of the game is to accrue money, which you can use to buy new gear and weapons. It really is the modern age of mercenaries. Woodie would tell us stories about how there would often be one master contractor and then levels of subcontractors under that so that you never really knew what you were doing things for. For us, that was a really interesting concept and we tried to bring as much of that into the game as we could,

What are some locations players will explore in the game?

We have a level in Afghanistan and in the outskirts of China. We even have a level that takes place on a hijacked aircraft carrier. You’re charged with going in to rescue some of the hostages on the carrier and ultimately destroying it.

Can you talk about the modern battlefield where enlisted and private soldiers are fighting the same enemy?

You have this dynamic in the modern battlefield where you have guys working for PMCs who are better equipped and better paid right next to these enlisted guys who are making a quarter of what they’re making and don’t have great equipment. It does create this sort of tension on the battlefield. PMC contractors are immune to persecution. They’re not held responsible for anything they do like enlisted men are. And that’s a really interesting dynamic and that’s something we play with.

Can you talk about the cooperative gameplay aspect of Army of Two?

One of the core design principles of Army of Two was that co-op was not a mode, it’s the game. There have been some amazing co-op experiences like in Gears of War and Halo 3, but co-op in those games was more of an add-on as opposed to the focus of the game. In Army of Two, you can’t succeed without thinking about your partner and playing cooperatively. You really need to work together. Running in guns blazing by yourself will result in early death.

Who are the protagonists of this game?

Tyson Rios is the more experienced and more grounded soldier. Eliot Salem is younger and brash and he’s served time in jail. He was looking for an exciting lifestyle.

How do they interact during the game’s original story?

What really sells co-op in this game is the banter between these two characters. These guys are always talking back and forth and this really brings the characters alive. We’ve pushed the envelope a bit. I think people will laugh out loud at some of the references, like Britney Spears, the Wu Tang Clan and making fun of organized religions.

Will we see more Army of Two down the road?

We want this to be a huge franchise and we’d like to do sequels and more stuff down the line.