Army Men Sarge's Heroes

by 3DO

Product Features

• Sarge is back and BETTER THAN EVER!

Product Details

• ASIN: B00001TZYD
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,059 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Product Description

Sherman was right: war is hell. Just ask the green plastic toy soldiers in Army Men Sarge's Heroes. Day after day, they face destruction from an arsenal of dastardly weapons, ranging from rays concentrated by a magnifying glass, explosive skyrockets, spray cans, and the ultimate weapon--the garbage disposal.

In this version of the popular game series, players lead Sarge through 15 missions filled with dangerous objectives, ultimately attempting to thwart General Plastro's ghastly plans with his newly acquired weapons of mass destruction. Players can experience the action from "our world," fighting through seven levels set in a suburban home's living room, kitchen, bathroom, and backyard garden. To get closer to the action, players can jump into the frontline in the "plastic world," a land of mountainous terrain, arctic wastelands, forests, and towns. Six multiplayer missions and a family mode allow players to recruit freedom-fighting friends of all ranks.

GameSpot Review

The first game in 3DO's Army Men series for the console systems, Army Men 3D for the PlayStation, lacked a great deal of spit and polish but had enough going deep down to make you hope for a sequel, albeit one that was much improved. That sequel, Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, came out for the Nintendo 64 last year and has now arrived for the PlayStation, but not much, if anything, has been improved upon, and it contains even more problems. You once again take the role of Sarge, a soldier on the Green side of a world full of plastic army men. The Green are in a war against the Tan forces, who have recently begun importing terrible weapons from our own world, such as magnifying glasses, which they use to melt your men down to plastic puddles. Your mission is to gather your troops, a la John Belushi in The Blues Brothers, to create a unit capable of stopping them. Your arsenal is made up of weapons from Army Men 3D, such as a machine gun, a flamethrower, and grenades, with new additions like a sniper rifle and mines. The game camera in Army Men 3D's single-player mode was near perfect because it stuck right behind your back, but in Sarge's Heroes for the N64, it floated behind you, and when your character turned, it took a few seconds to catch up. You'd sneak around the corner of a barracks and confront an enemy, who would then fire on you immediately, only he wouldn't come into view for a few seconds. Luckily, the camera in the PlayStation version of AM:SA stays put right behind you, although it also zooms into the sky for dramatic effect at times. Another fix is that it's now very easy to strafe in the game - not having this option was one of the main complaints about the original Army Men 3D. Also, expected differences between the PlayStation and N64 versions, such as improved sound and CG movies between levels, are of course present. You probably won't need to get close to too many troops though, since the autotargeting is set so you can pick off enemies situated in towers simply by firing in their general direction. That was in place in Army Men 3D, but you weren't really able to get away with just running around blasting opposing forces because you'd get eaten up by machine-gun fire. Now, while enemies still fall with one or two shots, your character is a lot tougher, and health-restoring power-ups can be found all over the place. One pitfall that you'll have to worry about though is that you'll stumble upon an odd patch of land where the collision detection has decided to go wonky, and while you are trying to unstick yourself, you might get mowed down by a machine gunner. This is a strange but real concern. Somehow the graphics in Army Men: Sarge's Heroes for the PlayStation have turned out worse than in the original game. Pop-up and fog are plentiful, the textures are repeated often, and the world generally looks very sparse and bland. Instances where you'll end up floating in midair or observe enemies walking through buildings are frequent. The sound effects are also similarly bad. Explosions, weapon fire, and your character's Duke Nukem-esque chatter all sound muffled, and the military-themed music is tinny. The multiplayer mode has been trimmed back to two players from the N64's four, taking any fun out of it. . Those hoping for a more polished sequel to Army Men 3D will be disappointed to hear that this title is even more shoddily produced than the original and that it retains little of its embarrassing charm. Within minutes of playing Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, you will be surprised at what Sony will approve for final release these days.--Joe Fielder--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inferior to the first Army Men and Medal of Honor, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Army Men Sarge's Heroes (Video Game)

Compared to the first Playstation version of Army Men, the graphic presentation of the topography is no where near as good. The Snake Canyon scenario in the original game was a beautiful example of how programmers can simulate physical topography. The scenarios in this version are poorly rendered and VERY limited. The playing field is small and the number of scenarios is a dissapointment. The arrow used to show enemy location is a poor substitute for the small radar map on the original. The aiming reticule for Mortars and Grenades is also not as good as in the original. The original version's aiming reticule was easier to use and in head-head mode this translates into FAST! The weapons/ammo icons are also inferior in this version, they are too small to see at a distance compared to the first game which used large crates with symbols on them. Weapons choices have also suffered in this latest version, Mines are no longer available, a SERIOUS omission in head-head mode. 3DO had the opportunity to add weapons such as bayonet, garrot, artillery, poison gas etc. and did not. Please, if you have not tried Medal of Honor or the original version of Army Men do so. They were light years ahead of this cartoonish version. If you want realistic combat action, the original AM or MOH cannot be beat. If you are looking for a "nice" game for your 8 year old this is it. I think most adults who like military history and war gaming will find this one a dissapointment. 3DO give us what we want, the first 20 min. of SAVING PVT RYAN, PLATOON and FULL METAL JACKET, not Beetle Bailey.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Its fun, September 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Army Men Sarge's Heroes (Video Game)

I don't understand why everyone is giving this game such a bad review. I recently bought this game and I am having a great time with it. Granted the controls are a little lacking, but once you get used to them they really aren't that bad. Everyone is saying how impossible the controls are, these are the people who believe the controls should be catered to them, part of the game is adapting to the game. The story line is funny and I got to tell you, Sarge just cracks me up. I really enjoy this game because of the real life battle fields because when I was a kid I used to spend hours playing with my little plastic army figures, and creating mock battles in my mind. Now I can play that battle. Most of the bad reviews probably come from people who automatically don't like games that they are not good at right away, don't let them fool you, this is fun.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a games "Should Be", March 3, 2000

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 Sarge's Heroes (Video Game)

As the Father of a 9 year old, searching through the demonic and gorish offering by the gaming industry, I find this game to be entertaining and less grusome. I appreciate the lack of blood letting and screaming. This Game is still not for the meek, the blow torch does what a blow torch did. My son and I enjoy playing this together. I find solace in knowing that I don't have to look over his shoulder when he's playing this one alone.