Gameplay
Ok, so I wanted to play something different, & since the Army Men series has a reputation for being the worst war games on earth, I decided to give it a try. (What can I say; I'm always a sucker for the underdog type of stuff)
So what did I find out? I was pleasantly amused by the hybrid between a war sim & a 3rd person shooter that this game seems to be. The first 2 missions or so are far too easy & stupid, but stick with it & it'll grow on you. The controls do the job, they could be a bit more tweaked, but once you get used to them, its not so bad. You get to run around doing missions (saving folks, blowing stuff up & more of the usual army stuff). The levels start out easy, but tend to get bigger later on. Lots (well enough
) of weapons to pick up, from your basic machinegun, to grenade launchers, bazooka, blowtorch, sniper rifle, etc...You don't really have to aim, as soon as you face an enemy, you'll see a crosshair appearing on him & you just have to pull the trigger. You can walk/run, prone & crouch. I really liked the sneaking up on an enemy & then taking him out with your sniper rifle. The AI isn't all that smart, most guys are killed off very easily, but then you turn round a corner & there's a guy with an M60, or a bazooka who fires it at you at point blank range
.There are parts in this game when I really wanted to shoot myself in the foot (no pun intended), & other parts where I laughed a lot.
Graphics
Well, its an army men game, so there's the green army, who are green
, the tan army who are yellow & a few others too, but only every now & then, its mainly green vs yellow (tan). The graphics are a bit better than its n64 counterpart, but they don't do the dreamcast justice. On the other hand, although a little bit blocky here & there, it suits the game, creates the right athmosphere & gets the job done. Seems to run at a constant decent framerate too, even in the bigger levels with more enemies.Sound/Music
Very good in this department imo. Guns & explosions sound realistic. Music varies from point to point in the game; For example while in a forest, the music will be silent, to practically non existant; then suddenly you enter a minefield & the music that starts is suspense-like & really makes you wanna play it carefully.
Some (bad) army humor in the (fully spoken) cutscenes between the levels too.
Story
Its an army game, what do you expect? You blow everything up & get to save the girl.
Replay
And here's the bad part. I REALLY enjoyed this game, BUT I don't think I'll play it again any time soon. Its basically mission after mission shooting & blowing stuff up. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad game, perhaps its coz I finished it in a week or so that I don't want to play it again say in a month or 2. Story mode offers no replay imo. There is a deathmach mode however, where you get the blow up your friends & although I haven't had the chance to try it out, I'm kinda thinking this is where its replay value really lies.
Overall
6,5/10
I really want to give it a 7, but with no replay value...
Anyway, if you like 3rd person & blowing stuff up, I suggest you give it a try. But try to stick with it for a few levels, its stupid at first, but it really grows on you.
Sorry, not vids this time; we'll be moving soon & most of my camera stuff is already packed
