Recently announced, the Army of Two franchise is coming back for a third helping, but there seems to be a lot of big changes coming this time around. Now being developed by Visceral Games (of Dead Space fame),Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel  has the developers re-inventing the series with a darker, grittier tone. Instead of featuring previous protagonists Salem and Rios, newcomers Alpha and Bravo will be taking the center stage as they head to Mexico and take part in a drug war.

Executive Producer Julian Beak had something to say regarding the matter:

“We wanted to refresh the Army of TWO franchise for a new generation of action gamers, and at the same time, stay true to the core concept that really made the first two games fan favorites. With meaningful, seamless co-op gameplay at its core and explosive new tag-team features, gamers will have to work together tactically and strategically as they push through a city dominated by one of Mexico’s deadliest drug cartels.”

General Manager of Visceral Games Steve Papoutis added:

“Our goal with Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel is to apply our key design principles — immersive, challenging gameplay, intense narrative and focus on quality — to help improve a franchise we feel has always had a lot of potential.”

AoT: The Devil’s Cartel will feature online/offline co-op, and a deeper upgrade and customization system that will allow players to customize Alpha and Bravo as they see fit.

Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel will be available in March 2013, for the PS3 and Xbox 360.