Army Men Air Attack

by The 3DO Company

Product Details

• ASIN: B00000K3R6
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,651 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

3DO has been milking the whole concept of little plastic army men as real-life soldiers for quite some time now. The PC has seen a couple of Army Men strategy games, while the console systems have received some weak games, such as Army Men 3D and Army Men: Sarge's Heroes. But you shouldn't give up on the Army Men series just yet. Army Men: Air Attack is a mission-based helicopter shooter that actually makes the little green guys fun to play with again.

Remember the Strike series, Electronic Arts' line of mission-based helicopter shooters? Remember how bad the last few Strike games were? Air Attack plays a bit like the old, good Strike games. You, as a helicopter pilot for the Green army, embark on several missions in an attempt to defeat the insidious Tan army, led by General Plastro. Some levels take place in the plastic world, while some take place in the real world. Certain items act differently in each world. For instance, a lifeless real-world teddy bear becomes a valuable attack bear when brought through the portal and into the plastic world. The mission design is varied, with a heavy emphasis on "wipe out every enemy in sight" levels. Other missions will have you guarding trains, freeing colonies of bugs, and defending your base from an ant invasion. You'll have some pretty standard weaponry on your chopper, including machine guns, missiles, homing rockets, and napalm. But you can also use various objects in the environment as weapons. Don't like the looks of the well-defended Tan base up ahead? Pick up an apple, or perhaps a pinecone, and drop it on the enemy defenses. As you progress through the game, you'll earn new helicopters, each of which is rated in armor, mobility, weaponry, and winch speed. Your copilot selection also has an effect the accuracy of your guns, missiles, and winch. Each copilot has a "personality," which manifests in three or four different one-liners.

Army Men: Air Attack makes good use of the analog controller. The left stick controls speed and heading. The right stick can be used to strafe left and right, but the L1 and R1 buttons accomplish this just as well. By combining turning and strafing, you can effectively circle-strafe around your enemies, making short work of them before most of them can even draw a bead on you. The winch works great, and items are easy to grab and drop, unlike in the later games in the Strike series, where you must have pinpoint accuracy.

With the exception of your copilot's chatter, which gets a little grating after a few levels, the sound effects are well done. Nothing too special or realistic-sounding. Little touches - like the bugs shouting, "We're free!" (in voices reminiscent of the little man insect at the end of The Fly) when liberated from their roach motel prisons - give the game a little more flair. The graphics are about as good as you can expect from a game based on a collection of green and tan plastic toys. Each unit has a bit of plastic shine. The terrain looks like grass, dirt, and mud without looking too blocky.

The main flaw of Air Attack is a general lack of difficulty. There are really only two or three missions that pose a real challenge; the rest of them are cakewalks once you've gotten the control down well enough to dodge bullets. But even though you'll be able to skate through most of the game, there are a couple multiplayer modes that keep the game interesting. Cooperative mode lets you go through the main game with a friend. Flag Nab-It is a game of capture the flag, where you must infiltrate your opponent's base, steal his flag, and take it to your base to score.

While it may not completely wash away the bad taste left by Army Men 3D and Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, Army Men: Air Attack is a fun little mission-based shooter that is worth checking out. The ease of the game makes it a good rental, but the multiplayer is good enough to warrant purchasing the game. Fans of the 16-bit Strike games will be pleasantly surprised, also. --Jeff Gerstmann
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-stop action with challenging and intricate levels!, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Army Men Air Attack (Video Game)

Army Men Air Attack is a challenging and fun to play addition to the Army Men series. With well thought out levels and challenging mission goals. Plan on doing each level at least 3 times before you figure it out. All in all, don't listen to the nay-sayers, if you liked Army Men 3D, you'll love this fast action sequel!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MORE FUN THAN I EXPECTED, December 5, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Army Men Air Attack (Video Game)

What a blast! I had never played the first Army Men title so I wasn't sure what to expect. The game takes you on a toy war were you control tiny toy helicopters on various missions. I couldn't help but feel like I was playing with the little army men from the Toy Story movies. The controls are easy to learn and feel appropriate for the game. Any gamer whose wrestled with difficult controls knows how important that is. The missions are varied from finding the pieces to a toy helicopter, escorting a teddy bear floating down the river, to trying to destroy a wind up toy robot. The humor is apparent throughout, as is the attention to detail which makes you feel you're flying through the yard past the sprinklers. An additional note: my fiance' usually only plays puzzle games but with the 2 player cooperative mode she got into the game because it was one we could play together without trying to annihlate each other. All in all a fun ride that made me remember why I like games. My only gripe is that there are only 16 missions so it can feel a little short.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good gameplay, could be harder, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Army Men Air Attack (Video Game)

I bought the first Army Men 3D first thing after it hit the market. The graphics weren't the most refined, but I loved the gameplay. This newer version, Air Attack isn't the same type of game. If you didn't like the first one, you may like this, and vice versa. Now you're piloting various helicopters through missions. Why is there no difficulty setting? I cruised through the first 12 or so missions RIGHT AWAY! There are a couple tough ones, and the last one is a challenge. The graphics and movement is terrific. I only wish my money was spent on something that would challenge me more than one night.