Army Men (video game)

Army Men
Windows cover art
Developer(s)	The 3DO Company
Publisher(s)	The 3DO Company
Producer(s)	Nicholas Earl
Designer(s)	Keith Bullen
Programmer(s)	Nicky Robinson
Artist(s)	Keith Bullen Walter Ianneo
Series	Army Men
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color
Release	Windows NA: April 30, 1998[1] EU: 1998 Game Boy Color NA: February 25, 2000[2] EU: 2000
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single-player

Army Men is a real-time tactics video game developed and published by The 3DO Company for Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Color.

Plot

At the beginning of this game Sarge is tasked with a simple recon mission on the front line - locate some documents - that takes place in 3 regions: Desert, Alpine and Bayou. At the end of this game, Sarge finds a strange portal that leads to the next dimension - the Real World - and the next game. Regarded as a classic by fans, this is one of the few games to actually display Sarge and his squad as merely pawns in a bigger battle. Two features that make this game almost unique in the series are its storytelling (Black-White spoofs of old-time, World War II-style newsreels) and the fact that it often depicts a frontline or other fighting that doesn't involve the main characters.

Development

Army Men was originally in development for the Panasonic M2, but that version was never released due to the system's cancellation.[3][4] The game was showcased at E3 1997.[5]

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	GBC	PC
GameRankings	75%[6]	61%[7]

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GBC	PC
AllGame	[8]	N/A
CNET Gamecenter	N/A	4/10[9]
Computer Games Strategy Plus	N/A	[10]
Computer Gaming World	N/A	[11]
Edge	N/A	4/10[12]
EP Daily	N/A	7.5/10[13]
Eurogamer	N/A	6/10[14]
GameRevolution	N/A	D+[15]
GameSpot	6.9/10[16]	7/10[17]
IGN	8/10[18]	4/10[19]
Next Generation	N/A	[20]
Nintendo Power	5.9/10[21]	N/A
PC Gamer (US)	N/A	77%[22]

The Game Boy Color version received favorable reviews, while the PC version received mixed reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[6][7] Next Generation called the latter version "a solid, fun example of the genre, and anyone looking for a new strategy game with a very nice graphic twist should seriously consider this."[20]

References

1. "News for April 30, 1998". Online Gaming Review. April 30, 1998. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019. April 30, 1998: 3DO announced that two of their titles should be hitting store shelves...Army Men, their action, strategy game featuring the little plastic guys...
2. "3DO Ships Army Men For Game Boy Color; Highly Successful Brand Debuts on Fourth Platform". The 3DO Company. February 25, 2000. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
3. "News - E3 '96: 3DO? - M2 Dream List". 3DO Magazine. No. 12. Paragon Publishing. July 1996. p. 4.
4. "Preview - Coming Soon - M2". 3DO Magazine. No. 12. Paragon Publishing. July 1996. p. 34.
5. Fielder, Joe (May 16, 1997). "3DO's PC, PlayStation, and M2 Games Showcased". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on February 8, 1999. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
6. "Army Men for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
7. "Army Men for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
8. Knight, Kyle. "Army Men (GBC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
9. Chick, Tom (June 16, 1998). "Army Men (PC)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
10. Altman, John (May 18, 1998). "Army Men". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on April 18, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
11. Coleman, Terry (September 1998). "Plastic Explosives (Army Men Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 170. Ziff Davis. p. 229. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
12. Edge staff (July 1998). "Army Men (PC)" (PDF). Edge. No. 60. Future Publishing. p. 100. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
13. Lucas, Victor (November 17, 1998). "Army Men (PC)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on May 6, 1999. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
14. Bramwell, Tom (April 27, 2000). "Army Men (PC)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 7, 2001. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
15. Cooke, Mark (June 1998). "Army Men Review (PC)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 13, 1998. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
16. Provo, Frank (April 3, 2000). "Army Men Review (GBC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
17. Dultz, Marc (May 8, 1998). "Army Men Review (PC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 5, 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
18. Harris, Craig (March 16, 2000). "Army Men (GBC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
19. Bates, Jason (July 31, 1998). "Army Men (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
20. "Army Men (PC)". Next Generation. No. 44. Imagine Media. August 1999. p. 98. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
21. "Army Men". Nintendo Power. Vol. 132. Nintendo of America. May 2000. p. 126.
22. "Army Men". PC Gamer. Vol. 5, no. 9. Imagine Media. September 1998.

Further reading

• McDermott, Will (September 1998). "Not your father's Army Men". The Duelist. No. 29. Wizards of the Coast. p. 93.

External links

• Army Men (Windows) at MobyGames
• Army Men (Game Boy Color) at MobyGames