Small Soldiers

by Electronic Arts

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002STK5
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,777 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

In the world of video games, there are three great truths: Eating food you find on the ground makes you healthier, criminal masterminds leave plenty of loaded weapons lying around, and games based on movies suck. Small Soldiers is no exception.

Loosely based on last summer's equally disappointing movie, Electronic Arts' Small Soldiers casts you in the role of Archer, a peace-loving creature who must defend his homeworld of Gorgon from Chip Hazard and his band of GI Joes from hell, better known as the Commandos. As you journey through the game's 15+ levels, you'll find ten deadly weapons, controllable war machines, and a few friendly faces from the film, who can be called upon for assistance. There's also a two-player mode that lets you and a friend slug it out mano a mano.

Just as side-scrolling platform games were during the 8- and 16-bit eras, the 3D action-adventure has become the genre of choice for quickie movie adaptations in the age of 32 bits. More often than not, this one-size-fits-all approach leads to disaster (Acclaim's Batman and Robin). Such is the case with Small Soldiers. Since the movie is about a legion of toys that ransack a quiet suburb, why not create a comical, kid-friendly real-time strategy game? Instead, developer DreamWorks Interactive delivers a lackluster 3D action/shooter with sloppy control, mindless puzzles (green key opens green door, red key opens red door...), and unimaginative level design. Toss in subpar artificial intelligence and an extremely shallow depth of view, and not even an orchestral soundtrack and the voice talents of Tommy Lee Jones are enough to keep this soldier from going AWOL. --Gary Mollohan
--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.

Product Description

This is the game Small Soldiers for the Playstation 1. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A retrospective look, May 9, 2011

By 

T. Franson (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Small Soldiers (Video Game)

Has singleplayer(average) and 2-player(good).
The game is based on the characters in the film, as opposed to being based directly on the film.
MobyGames summarizes it well: "Instead of dealing with the toy Commandos and Gorgonites from the movie, the game uses the characters in an imaginary environment as described on the back of the toy figures' packaging."

Singleplayer:
The story mode has you, as Archer, trying to save the Gorgons from The Commandos, led by Chip Hazard(who seems to die only to return again in later areas, which kind of fits the toys-come-to-life-and-fight theme more than the rest of the game's plot).
The single player's a bit average from what I played. Parts of it are almost too simple or abstract to be taken seriously, and the long load times don't really help it either. But it's not a terrible experience, I would recommend it only to those wanting a dose of nostalgia. There's segments where you play as Chip Hazard but I never got around to those, for the reasons previously stated. I think I had more patience for Tiny Tank's load times.

Multiplayer:
The multiplayer on the other hand, I found to be pretty fun. You can play either 2 player deathmatch, or capture the flag. One player is Archer, and the other is Chip Hazard, and they both get access to different weapon sets.(Chip's are arguably better)
If you're feeling lonely or out-gunned, there are some options beyond just the gun upgrades and grenades. You can get items that summon an AI controlled helper. My favorites are the robot for Chip and the farting helper Stench(created just for this game apparently) for Archer.
There are stationary turrets you can hop on and use, and ridable robots/mechs to make some chaos and otherwise harass your enemies, but they make you a sitting duck if you're not careful. The mech walker seems to be more fun, of course. It's a shame that there aren't robot walkers in every level, or a walker-only mode.

Summary:

Pros
+Fun split-screen multiplayer
+Soundtrack from acclaimed veteran video game composer
+Nostalgic
+Awesome ridable robots that shoot missiles

Cons
-Single player experience lacking, long load times
-Not as fun if you don't have someone to play multiplayer with
-Noticeably limited draw distance, thick black fog
-Awesome robots only in select levels

Overall, it's a nice game to dust off and get a few multiplayer rounds in.
I think the only other PlayStation games I played more multiplayer of were Future Cop: LAPD, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, Army Men 3D, Bomberman, and Worms Armageddon. Small Soldiers is definitely in my list of top multiplayer PlayStation games.

I just felt like digging out the game and writing a more balanced review for it than the other dated ones.


Other Thoughts:
If you're looking for a Small Soldiers game based on the film, try Small Soldiers: Squad Commander for Windows instead, though it's more of an overhead tactical squad game(micro-management is the technical term I think)
Another title to check out is Small Soldiers: Globotech Design Lab(also for PC), which seems to be more of a 3D fighting game, but I haven't had experience with it so I can't really say much other than it seems to keep with the toys-come-to-life-and-fight theme of the film.
There's also a GameBoy Small Soldiers title. Apparently plays music on the SNES sound chip when used with the Super GameBoy(check YouTube), but other than that I know little about it other than it being somewhat decent though having clunky controls.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Huge Dissapiontment, January 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Small Soldiers (Video Game)

This game looks like a fun movie based game. I beg you please do not make the same mistake i did and purchase this game. The graphics are horrid (not to mention the awful veiws)and The sound is the worst. It may look cool from the cover, but looks can be decieving.Please DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best game ever, November 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Small Soldiers (Video Game)

My name is Jake Grass. This is the best game ever I ever played. It is just like the movie.All of the action is really neat and fun.I found a way how to get some tips on how to play better.I also found out how to be different soldiers.It is really really really really hard but fun.It is really cool how they can throw their grenades and shoot their guns.I think Allen the kid is the coolest of all of them.My favorite level is the last one where Allen is on the electricity pole and the sergeant trys to stop Allen from getting the electrity back on.It is cool how the sergeant flys up to Allen in a toy helicopter.I also like when all of the soldiers berke out of their boxs at the beging of the game .I dont likethat it takes so long to load and it is really loud.