Army Men 3D
Army Men 3D
From Sony
65 new or used available from $0.45
Average customer review:
Editorial Reviews
GameSpot Review
Army Men 3D is a three-dimensional war game wherein you act as a commando-like soldier in a world gone completely Saving Private Ryan, plastic, and lilliputian. It's a world with some narrative behind it, so a history lesson is necessary before we proceed. After shifting solely to software development awhile back, 3DO introduced a lighthearted real-time strategy game to the PC revolving around little plastic army men named... Army Men, and since it sold well, the company developed the concept into a franchise. To date, another PC strategy game as well as this one (a third-person shooter) has been released, while a third-person N64 adventure game (Army Men: Sarge's Heroes) and a PlayStation helicopter game (Army Men: Air Attack) have been announced.
Army Men 3D places you as Sarge, a lone soldier whose missions involve rescuing captured troops and returning them across a minefield, taking on an enemy fortress unaided, retrieving sensitive documents from spies in the field, sabotaging bridges and radar dishes, and the like. You're in the Green army, which is at war with the Tan, and you've got an arsenal ranging from machine guns and bazookas to flame throwers and grenades - all of which you use to fight the good fight. There are even jeeps and tanks for you to drive around and over people.
Sound like a good concept? It is. There are a few really neat things about the game. Sneaking around as a commando and ducking behind rocks to avoid enemy fire can be very fun, and a number of the missions present some enjoyable challenges. Likewise, the mechanics behind the grenades and mortars is great. When you press the fire button, a square-shaped target moves away from you to the maximum distance the mortar or grenade can be shot or thrown and continues back and forth until you let go of the button to launch the shot. However, there are a number of factors that pile up and drag Army Men 3D way down.
The graphics are the main offender here; they are muddy beyond even those in Sega's House of the Dead on the Saturn. This is less an aesthetic complaint than a practical one, because you'll often not be able to distinguish an enemy soldier from a cactus or brush, and the terrain often has inexplicable sticky spots, both of which can get you shot. The later levels in the bayou look better than the desert stages (where pop-up runs rampant) and save the game from getting an even lower graphical score. There are some control and gameplay problems at work, as well. The control set-up feels somewhat incomplete because of the lack of a gun sight in the look mode and no strafe button at all. The gun sight is substituted by a computer-controlled intelligent aiming function that hones in on foes in the area toward which you've pointed your muzzle, but sometimes it gets confused when enemies are clustered together. If an enemy is farther away and not shooting at you, you might choose to ignore him for a moment, but the aiming function won't always let you. The prerequisite strafe button is replaced by the ability to roll left and right, which is probably a bit more realistic, but the need for more precise control becomes apparent the first time you get caught in a crossfire.
As it might sound, it's very easy to get killed in Army Men 3D. You can be right near the end of a level, walk around a corner, and get eaten right up by a machine gunner. It actually happens a lot, so it makes you start wishing for less powerful bullets or mid-level save spots. The way it stands, there are a lot of instances when you'll quit the game out of frustration, only to continue later out of stubbornness - meaning that the game is often maddening, but at least it does provide compelling enough reasons to continue.
Other items worth mentioning: The music and sound aren't very strong, and the game is a little bit on the short side. The game camera is near perfect in the single-player mode because it sticks right behind your back, but since it's trimmed back toward the horizon in the two-play capture-the-flag game, it's too hard to see around. Beyond all that, the only thing left uncovered is probably the enemy AI, which alternately seems either too smart or not smart enough.
It's obvious that there is a good game buried under all this, but it just seems to be down a little too deep to get any sort of recommendation. With some major spit and polish, plus several more months of development time, Army Men 3D could've turned out a lot better. Still, we haven't seen enough commando-type war games like this, and it leaves me wanting more. Let's hope a superior sequel will come along or that another company will build upon what we've seen here. --Joe Fielder
--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.
Army Men 3D is a three-dimensional war game wherein you act as a commando-like soldier in a world gone completely Saving Private Ryan, plastic, and lilliputian. It's a world with some narrative behind it, so a history lesson is necessary before we proceed. After shifting solely to software development awhile back, 3DO introduced a lighthearted real-time strategy game to the PC revolving around little plastic army men named... Army Men, and since it sold well, the company developed the concept into a franchise. To date, another PC strategy game as well as this one (a third-person shooter) has been released, while a third-person N64 adventure game (Army Men: Sarge's Heroes) and a PlayStation helicopter game (Army Men: Air Attack) have been announced.
Army Men 3D places you as Sarge, a lone soldier whose missions involve rescuing captured troops and returning them across a minefield, taking on an enemy fortress unaided, retrieving sensitive documents from spies in the field, sabotaging bridges and radar dishes, and the like. You're in the Green army, which is at war with the Tan, and you've got an arsenal ranging from machine guns and bazookas to flame throwers and grenades - all of which you use to fight the good fight. There are even jeeps and tanks for you to drive around and over people.
Sound like a good concept? It is. There are a few really neat things about the game. Sneaking around as a commando and ducking behind rocks to avoid enemy fire can be very fun, and a number of the missions present some enjoyable challenges. Likewise, the mechanics behind the grenades and mortars is great. When you press the fire button, a square-shaped target moves away from you to the maximum distance the mortar or grenade can be shot or thrown and continues back and forth until you let go of the button to launch the shot. However, there are a number of factors that pile up and drag Army Men 3D way down.
The graphics are the main offender here; they are muddy beyond even those in Sega's House of the Dead on the Saturn. This is less an aesthetic complaint than a practical one, because you'll often not be able to distinguish an enemy soldier from a cactus or brush, and the terrain often has inexplicable sticky spots, both of which can get you shot. The later levels in the bayou look better than the desert stages (where pop-up runs rampant) and save the game from getting an even lower graphical score. There are some control and gameplay problems at work, as well. The control set-up feels somewhat incomplete because of the lack of a gun sight in the look mode and no strafe button at all. The gun sight is substituted by a computer-controlled intelligent aiming function that hones in on foes in the area toward which you've pointed your muzzle, but sometimes it gets confused when enemies are clustered together. If an enemy is farther away and not shooting at you, you might choose to ignore him for a moment, but the aiming function won't always let you. The prerequisite strafe button is replaced by the ability to roll left and right, which is probably a bit more realistic, but the need for more precise control becomes apparent the first time you get caught in a crossfire.
As it might sound, it's very easy to get killed in Army Men 3D. You can be right near the end of a level, walk around a corner, and get eaten right up by a machine gunner. It actually happens a lot, so it makes you start wishing for less powerful bullets or mid-level save spots. The way it stands, there are a lot of instances when you'll quit the game out of frustration, only to continue later out of stubbornness - meaning that the game is often maddening, but at least it does provide compelling enough reasons to continue.
Other items worth mentioning: The music and sound aren't very strong, and the game is a little bit on the short side. The game camera is near perfect in the single-player mode because it sticks right behind your back, but since it's trimmed back toward the horizon in the two-play capture-the-flag game, it's too hard to see around. Beyond all that, the only thing left uncovered is probably the enemy AI, which alternately seems either too smart or not smart enough.
It's obvious that there is a good game buried under all this, but it just seems to be down a little too deep to get any sort of recommendation. With some major spit and polish, plus several more months of development time, Army Men 3D could've turned out a lot better. Still, we haven't seen enough commando-type war games like this, and it leaves me wanting more. Let's hope a superior sequel will come along or that another company will build upon what we've seen here. --Joe Fielder
--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
This is a awesone game
This game is a total BLAST!! Shoot some Tan's, lay some mines, squish 'em with your tank, chuck a few gernades, play sevaral differnt terrains, and just have fun. Army Men 3D has great animation. You have a awesome 3rd person view with great grahics and lot of weapons. Mutiplayer is so much fun. I don't think that there is a downside to any part of the game. If you have Playsation this sould be the first game you buy!! Have fun.
INCREDIBLE
Army Men 3D has to be the best game I own. As soon as I bought it I was instantly absessed! It has over 15 missions which are all cool and interesting. Whether its rescueing men or blowing up towers, some times just plain out wiping out armies, its all out fun. fire rifles, mortars, bazookas, or throw grenades. Sometimes when feeling frustrated you can always lay down some explosives! Drive 4 different vehicles including jeeps or tanks!
The only downside to this game is the graphics. they sure aint perfect but they are not as bad as some people would say. You can always easily make out your charachter but some times the tean enemy can camoflauge with the terrain.
This shouldnt be enough to keep you from buying this nearly perfect game!
Best two player military game
This game is one of the best head to head military games out there. The animated player movement is smooth and the topographic/graphics are good. Weapons available include M-16, M-60, Tank (great for grinding your screaming opponent into pulp), jeep mounted 50 cal., flamethrower, bazooka, mortar, grenades, and landmines. This version is far superior to the later versions. The aiming reticule for the mortar and grenades is smoother and easier to use and the damage inflicted seems more realistic than the later versions. I would like to see a couple of weapons added (posion gas [delivered by artillery], bayonet, garrot, command detonated claymores). The only real complaint about this game is the lack of different scenarios in the head to head mode. It would be nice to see 3DO add some scenarios depicting Urban/Jungle/Mountain warfare to the two player mode. Those complaints aside, this game is one of the best, it allows for some rudimentary strategy and tactial planning, then compells the players to resort to brute force to wear your opponent down.
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