Army Men


Army Men is a series of video games developed by 3DO and 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 .

History

Studio 3DO era

The idea of a strategy game using plastic army men arose from the developers' desire to avoid censorship issues when publishing the game in Germany. Chris Wilson, producer of the original Army Men, explained:
Army Men used cutscenes done in the style of Movietone News clips.

Global Star era

was the last Army Men game to be released by The 3DO Company before they filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy. The major franchises were auctioned off, and Army Men was purchased by Global Star Software.
In 2004, Global Star 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. Army Men: Mobile Ops is the latest game in the series.

Other games

A 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.

Games

TitleRelease datePlatformsGenreNotes
Army Men1998Microsoft Windows, Game Boy ColorReal-time tactics
Army Men II1999Microsoft Windows, Game Boy ColorReal-time tactics
Army Men 3D1999PlayStationThird-person shooter
'1999Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft WindowsThird-person shooterThe first installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries.
'1999Microsoft WindowsReal-time tactics
'1999PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Microsoft WindowsThird-person shooterNintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions are re-titled Army Men: Air Combat.
'2000PlayStation, Microsoft WindowsThird-person shooter
Real-time tactics
The first installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Operation Meltdown in PAL regions.
'2000Microsoft WindowsReal-time tactics
'2000PlayStationThird-person shooterThe second installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Land, Sea, Air in PAL regions.
'2000Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, PlayStation 2Third-person shooter
'2000PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCubeThird-person shooterTitled Army Men: Air Attack - Blade's Revenge in PAL regions. GameCube version titled as Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions
'2001PlayStationThird-person shooterThe third installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Lock 'N' Load in PAL regions.
'2001PlayStation 2, PlayStationShoot 'em upTitled Army Men: Omega Soldier in PAL regions for PlayStation.
Army Men Advance2001Game Boy AdvanceTop-down shooter
Portal Runner2001PlayStation 2, Game Boy ColorPlatformSpin-off of Sarge's Heroes subseries.
'2001PlayStationThird-person shooterThe fourth and last installment in the World War series. Titled Army Men: Team Assault in PAL regions.
'2001Game Boy AdvanceIsometric shooter
'2002PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCubeReal-time strategyA 3D real time strategy game.
'2002Game Boy AdvanceIsometric shooter
'2004Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCubeThird-person shooterThe third and last installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries.
'2006Xbox, PlayStation 2Third-person shooter
'2008Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2Third-person shooter
'2010MobileIsometric shooter

Reception

During its later years, the Army Men series was criticized by X-Play and Seanbaby of EGM, 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.