Army Men is a series of video games originally developed by The 3DO Company[1] and then by Global Star Software. It is based on various conflicts between four kinds of plastic army men, distinguished by their color: the Green, the Tan, the Blue, and the Grey. Two other factions, the Red and the Orange, as well as a much smaller army, the Black, also contribute to the story. Two additional factions, the Galactic Army and the Alien Army, were introduced in Army Men: Toys in Space.
| Army Men | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | The 3DO Company (1998–2003) Global Star Software (2003–2007) Twistbox Games (2008) (Mobile Ops) Volcanic Force Studio (2017) (Army Men Strike) |
| Publisher(s) | The 3DO Company (1998–2003) Global Star Software (2003–2007) Connect2Media (2008) (Mobile Ops) Volcanic Force Studio(2017) (Army Men Strike) |
| Composer(s) | Jason Tai (Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2) Barry Blum (Army Men 2, Sarge's Heroes, Toys in Space, Army Men 3D) Brian Min (Army Men: Air Tactics) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Game Boy Color PlayStation Nintendo 64 PlayStation 2 Dreamcast Game Boy Advance GameCube Xbox Wii Nintendo DS Mobile OS X |
| First release | Army Men 1998 |
| Latest release | Army Men Strike 2017 |
| Spin-offs | Portal Runner |
History
editStudio 3DO era
editThe idea of a strategy game using plastic army men arose from the developers' desire to avoid censorship issues with the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle ratings board when publishing the game in Germany. Chris Wilson, producer of the original Army Men, explained:
The Germans are extremely uptight about realistic violence, so Command & Conquer, for instance, changed all its units into robots and changed some of the cut scenes. But we didn't want to have to do two versions, and very early on in the design process we'd been planning things out with little plastic army men, so we suddenly realized that this was what everyone always likens a game like this to anyway![2]
Army Men used cutscenes done in the style of Movietone News clips.[2]
Global Star era
editArmy Men: RTS was the final game in the series to be released by The 3DO Company. Their major franchises were auctioned off when the company filed for bankruptcy, and Army Men was purchased by Crave Entertainment.[3]
In 2004, Global Star Software published Sarge's War. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were completed by some members of the original Sarge's War development team from 3DO. Global Star then released Army Men: Major Malfunction for the Xbox and PlayStation 2, and planned a Nintendo DS version, which was not released. Both Major Malfunction and Soldiers of Misfortune were unfavorably received by critics.[4][5] Army Men: Mobile Ops was released for mobile phones in 2010. The series is currently owned by 2K after buying out Global Star in 2007.
Other games
editA fan made Army Men III was under development by Neotl Empire, but was cancelled and resulted in an open source release of the unfinished game in April 2018.[6] In December 2017, a licensed mobile game in the series was made by Volcano Force Studios under license from 2K Play under title Army Men: Strike [7] that incorporates characters from the Sarge's Heroes subseries.
Games
edit| Title | Release date | Platforms | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Men | 1998 | Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color | Real-time tactics | |
| Army Men II | 1999 | Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color | Real-time tactics | |
| Army Men 3D | 1999 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | |
| Army Men: Sarge's Heroes | 1999 | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter | The first installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries. |
| Army Men: Toys in Space | 1999 | Microsoft Windows | Real-time tactics | |
| Army Men: Air Attack | 1999 | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter | Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions are re-titled Army Men: Air Combat. |
| Army Men: World War | 2000 | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter (PS) Real-time tactics (WIN) |
The first installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Operation Meltdown in PAL regions. |
| Army Men: Air Tactics | 2000 | Microsoft Windows | Real-time tactics | |
| Army Men: World War - Land, Sea, Air | 2000 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The second installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Land, Sea, Air in PAL regions. |
| Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 | 2000 | Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |
| Army Men: Air Attack 2 | 2000 | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube | Third-person shooter | Titled Army Men: Air Attack - Blade's Revenge in PAL regions. GameCube version titled as Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions |
| Army Men: World War - Final Front | 2001 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The third installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Lock 'N' Load in PAL regions. |
| Army Men: Green Rogue | 2001 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation | Shoot 'em up | Titled Army Men: Omega Soldier in PAL regions for PlayStation. |
| Army Men Advance | 2001 | Game Boy Advance | Top-down shooter | |
| Portal Runner | 2001 | PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color | Platform | Spin-off of Sarge's Heroes subseries. |
| Army Men: World War - Team Assault | 2001 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The fourth and last installment in the World War series. Titled Army Men: Team Assault in PAL regions. |
| Army Men: Operation Green | 2001 | Game Boy Advance | Isometric shooter | |
| Army Men: RTS | 2002 | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCube | Real-time strategy | A 3D real time strategy game. |
| Army Men: Turf Wars | 2002 | Game Boy Advance | Isometric shooter | |
| Army Men: Sarge's War | 2004 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube | Third-person shooter | The third and last installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries. |
| Army Men: Major Malfunction | 2006 | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |
| Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune | 2008 | Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |
| Army Men: Mobile Ops | 2010 | Mobile | Isometric shooter | |
| Army Men Strike: Toy Wars | 2017 | Mobile | Real-time strategy | Volcano Force Studios. |
Reception
editDuring its later years, the Army Men series was criticized by X-Play[8] and Seanbaby of EGM,[9] for the frequency and declining quality of each new title. The Official UK PlayStation Magazine awarded six games in the series a score of 3/10 or less.[10]
3DO released over 24 games within 10 years, leading to speculation that the company was rushing production, with little time and effort put into each title.[11] Former creative director Michael Mendheim said in 2021 that after the success of the early Army Men games, the executives at 3DO pressured the team to ship a new game every quarter. 3DO co-founder and designer Trip Hawkins even wrote a letter to GamePro magazine to defend Portal Runner's harsh reception, describing the editors as “angry young men” and threatening to reduce their advertising.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Army Men Review - GameSpot.com". www.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ a b "NG Alphas: Army Men". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. November 1996. pp. 161–2.
- ^ "Slashdot". 8 August 2003.
- ^ "Army Men: Major Malfunction for Xbox Reviews - Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ "Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune for DS Reviews - Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ Army Men III Now Open-Source! on the game's IndieDB page (April 30, 2018)
- ^ "Army Men Strike: Toy Wars - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ^ Uzuki, Heero (2012-10-07). "Video Game Feature". G4tv.com. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ^ "EGM's Uncensored Greatest Hits". Seanbaby.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ^ A-Z ratings, Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Future Publishing issue 108, March 2004
- ^ Press Start To Continue. "What Happened To The Army Men Games?". YouTube. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Handley, Zoey. "Army Men: Sarge's War: The eulogy for an entire series". Destructoid. Retrieved 7 October 2024.