Army Men

Army Men
Composers	Jason Tai (Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2) Barry Blum: (Army Men 2, Sarge's Heroes, Toys in Space, Army Men 3D) Brian Min: (Army Men: Air Tactics)
First release	Army Men 1998
Latest release	Army Men: Mobile Ops 2010
Spin-offs	Portal Runner

Army Men is a series of video games developed by 3DO^[1] and Global Star Software. It is based on various conflicts between four kinds of plastic army men, distinguished by their color: the Green, the Tan, the Blue, and the Grey. Two other factions, the Red and the Orange, as well as a much smaller army, the Black, also contribute to the story. Two additional factions, the Galactic Army and the Alien Army, were introduced in Army Men: Toys in Space.

Factions

• Green – The protagonists in the series, the Green are toy soldiers physically modeled after the Vietnam-era U.S. Army. In the first few army men games, the political balance is unstable, and they are fighting against the Tan and the Blue, with the Grey being sometimes allies, sometimes enemies. In Army Men: World War, the Green side with the Blue against the Tan. In Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, the Blue are spies for the Tan, and the Grey are allied with the Green.
• Tan – The Tan are the usual antagonists of the series. They started the war with the Green when they invaded three main areas of the Green Nation: the Desert, Alpine, and Bayou regions. Tans often have internal conflicts: In Army Men II, Major Mylar attempted to overthrow the Tan commander-in-chief, General Plastro. In Sarge's War, Lord Malice makes yet another coup d'état attempt and assassinates Plastro.
• Grey – The first encounter with Grey forces is in the original PC game, especially in the Bayou campaign, but not common. While the Tan and the Grey are both at war with the Green, they are also at war with each other and Sarge finds himself in a three-way combat.
• Blue – The Blue Army (often with a French influence) seem to have very fluid alliances. They are rarely seen on the front lines. The Blue Army's real talents lie in espionage, sabotage and other kinds of covert missions. The Blue Nation is often depicted as working toward anything they see beneficial, often meaning that they offer their services for a charge. In some of the games, they have an alliance with the Green Army, but in others they are on the opposite side. Once in the original game and twice in its sequel, the Green rescue a Blue spy. The high-ranking officers of the Blue army are purple, although they are rarely seen.
• Gold – They only appear in the Multiplayer mode of Sarge's War.
• Red – They appear in the Multiplayer mode of Sarge's War. One of them is rescued from Dr. Madd's castle. Additionally, in Sarge's Heroes, there is a cut-scene where Shrap is rescued from the spider machine.
• Orange – They are mentioned only in Sarge's Heroes 2, when General Plastro is bragging about conquering all the nations in the plastic world. Not related to the Orange Aliens. They appear in the multiplayer mode of Army Men RTS.
• Black – Like the Orange, they are not involved in any of conflicts. Black civilians are seen in a mission in Toys In Space. Zombies in Army Men II, which are composed of components from different random factions, may occasionally sport a black-colored limb or head.
• The Aliens – They appear only in Portal Runner and Toys in Space and are the antagonists of the latter. The game begins with the aliens forming an alliance with the Tan, providing a whole new range of lethal creatures and deadly new weapons.
• The Galactic Army – Appear in Toys in Space as the allies of the Green. The Galactic Army is light blue in color and employs female soldiers as well. (Before Toys in Space, there were no female soldiers in the game.) Their led character in the game is Tina Tomorrow. The Galactic Army provides a number of unique weapons to assist Sarge through Toys in Space.
• The Cult – Only appears in two levels of Army Men II. It is composed of deranged soldiers and suicide bombers from the Blue, the Green, the Tan, and the Gray, led by an AWOL Colonel from the Green army. Sarge was originally tasked to locate the Colonel, but after learning of the Colonel's insanity, he is ordered to kill him instead along with his cult followers.
• Dr. Madd's Creations – The demented Grey doctor's creations range from the walking dead to mutated, mutilated varieties of insects. The doctor is often seen working for the Tan nation, however, due to his mental instability, it is believed that his reasons for experimentation stem from his state of mind, rather than to please Plastro's desires. These creatures are trained to attack only the Green Army and their allies, though they may sometimes harm the enemy.
• Bugs and insects – They are not a faction, but rather the bugs and insects that are present in the real world. Starting with Army Men II, the toy soldiers use portals to travel between the real world and their own plastic world; as such they occasionally run into these creatures which are hostile to every army and pack some heavy firepower. Their appearance in the game is context-dependent; e.g. cockroaches may appear in a kitchen while ants may appear in a garden.Other Toys – Other everyday toys, such as action figures, robots, and even Lego figurines make an appearance in the series. Other species of plastic include (or sometimes include metallic) creatures. They are used and controlled by every nation. These toys are very commonly used in the Air Attack games.
• Knights, Dragons, and Dinosaurs – They appear in Portal Runner.

Games

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Title	Release date	Platforms	Genre	Information
Army Men	1998	Windows, Game Boy Color	Real-time tactics	The first game of the series. It was originally released for PC in 1998, then later ported to Game Boy Color in 2000. 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 and white spoofs of World War II-style newsreels), and the fact that it often depicts fighting that doesn't involve the main characters. The game allowed the player to carry out challenging missions, such as breaking friendly captured forces out of POW camps and laying siege to enemy bases and towns. Weapons featured in the game included flamethrowers, cannons, machine guns, grenades, and bazookas. Another feature was the driving of vehicles, such as tanks, jeeps, half-tracks, and cargo trucks, which could run over or fire at enemy soldiers. The game features 28 missions in three different terrains. The player can call for air strikes, paratroop drops, and air reconnaissance. The game included multiplayer support for up to four players using an Internet, LAN, Modem, or Serial connection. For its day, the game had stunning graphics. Many fans of the series as well as reviewers rate this game the highest.
Army Men II	1999	Windows, Game Boy Color	Real-time tactics	This game is a direct sequel to the first game. The enemies in this game are diverse, ranging from suicide bombers, to zombies, cult members or cockroaches. There is also a wide range of battlefields, such as a kitchen in a representation of our world, where the soldiers are depicted according to realistic dimensions relative to their environment, referred to as the "Big World", or a tank factory in the "Plastic World", the world from which the soldiers originate, with everything being scaled to their size.
Army Men: Toys in Space	1999	Windows	Real-time tactics	This sequel introduces two new armies: the Space Troops and the Aliens. It introduced a science fiction element not present in any other Army Men games. It also reorganized the control of squads and brought in new weapons and units such as Alien Laser Troopers, Tina's Freeze Ray and her Mini-gun Troopers as well as a small selection of new vehicles.
Army Men: Air Attack	1999	PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Windows	Third-person shooter	The main character in this game is a Green Air Cavalry pilot named Captain William Blade. This game has 16 missions with three extra helicopters to unlock. The available helicopters are a Huey, Chinook, Super Stallion, and an Apache. There are also four co-pilots to unlock. Their names are "Woodstock", "Rawhide", "Hardcore", and "Sgt. Hawk". This game was also known as Air Combat on the Nintendo 64.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes	1999	Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast	Third-person shooter	This is a console to PC port of the PlayStation game of the same name. This is the first game in the series to appear on Nintendo 64 or Dreamcast. In this game, Sergeant Hawk must reassemble his squad of captured soldiers. General Plastro unveils his new "Super Weapons" (household items and toys) that were taken from the "Big World" through portals that connect to the "Plastic World". Sergeant Hawk must use his Bravo Company Commandos to help him defeat General Plastro and the Tan Army.
Army Men: Air Tactics	1999	Windows	Real-time tactics	In this title, the player controlled character was Captain Blade of the Green Airborne Cavalry. This is an overhead view flight simulator in which the player can fly a number of different helicopters. Captain Blade's main responsibility is to act as aerial support for Sarge and his men. This game introduced abilities such as lifting heavy objects and transporting them to other locations, landing on the ground to load/unload soldiers and features unique airborne combat not seen in any of the other games.
Army Men 3D	1999	PlayStation		This installment is a 3-dimensional remake of the original "Army Men" game. The main character's goal is to collect the tinker toy keys which lead him to a Portal to the Big World.
Army Men: World War	2000	Windows, PlayStation[2]		The first of the World War titles. This game focuses solely on combat in the "Plastic World", with most of the missions being based on World War II. The PC game starts with a D-Day style landing after which there are a number of missions that all have themes from World War II lore, such as "A Bridge Too Far". This is the only game in the series where vehicles can not be controlled by enemy forces. This game is the only PC game in the series without an appearance by Sarge. This game also has an in-depth system for organizing large numbers of soldiers under the player's command. This game was also known as "Operation Meltdown" outside the US and Canada.
Army Men: World War - Land, Sea, Air	2000	PlayStation		This installment is a sequel to "Army Men: World War". The game is made up of five operations with three missions in each one.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2	2000	PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64		This is the sequel to Sarge's Heroes. It introduces several new characters, and the concept of "Plastrification". Plastrification, according to Dr. Madd, is a condition that occurs when a soldier from the "Plastic World" spends too much time in the "Big World" causing the hardening of the limbs and the forming of a plastic base. However, the character Bridgette Bleu has developed a serum that reverses the effects of plastrification.
Army Men: Operation Green	2001	Game Boy Advance		In this game, the player can take control of a generic Green soldier in a 3-D isometric world. This title is set almost exclusively in the Plastic World, and several vehicles are available to drive.
Army Men: World War - Final Front sometimes referred to as 'Lock N load'	2001	PlayStation		This game features four fronts with three missions in each one. The Tan Army once again launches an unprovoked attack upon the Green Army, so the Green retaliate by attacking the Tan capital. When they discover that the Tan have created weapons of mass destruction, they declare a full-scale war against the Tan and deploy their forces worldwide to destroy the revived Tan Army and its new weapons. This game introduces submarine warfare to the World War titles.
Army Men: Green Rogue sometimes referred to as 'Omega Soldier'	2001	PlayStation, PlayStation 2		Set during the time of "Sarge's Heroes", the Green Army creates a super soldier composed of DNA spliced from all the members of Bravo Company. Plastro tries to capture the super soldier, but the crash-landing of the helicopter transporting it inadvertently awakens Omega Soldier, causing a one-man rampage against Tan forces. Unique to this game is the fact that all of Omega Soldier's weapons are made of metal instead of plastic.
Army Men: Advance	2001	Game Boy Advance		The player can choose between Sarge, or Vikki, and receives several objectives by radio, such as recruiting fellow squad members, escaping from prison, or breaking into enemy installations.
Army Men: Air Attack 2 sometimes referred to as "Blade's Revenge"	2001	PlayStation, PlayStation 2		The sequel to Army Men: Air Attack. It includes 2 new helicopters, the "King Cobra" and the "Osprey", in addition to the Chinook and Apache. There is a new co-pilot named "Bombshell". In this game each co-pilot has a special secondary weapon which can only be used by that co-pilot.
Portal Runner	2001	PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color		This spin-off of Sarge's Heroes focused on Vikki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu. In this game, Bridgette Bleu traps Vikki Grimm in another dimension through the use of a portal. Vikki and a lion named Leo must find the right portal to take them back to the "Plastic World".
Army Men: World War - Team Assault	2001	PlayStation		The last game released in the World War series and the last one released for the PlayStation.
Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions	2003	Nintendo GameCube		The Final game in the air combat series gave gamers the same experience from the N64 original with upgraded features, graphics, and new levels.
Army Men: RTS	2002	Windows, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube	Real-time strategy	This game was one of the last Army Men titles released before The 3DO Company filed for bankruptcy. This Army Men installment is a 3D Real Time Strategy game. It provided a brand new perspective on the Army Men game - base building, and a fully 3D camera. The game does provide some unique elements such as collecting the melted plastic after a battle and recycling it to create a fresh supply of troops. It is also unique (along with Army Men: Sarge's War) in that all of the soldiers in these games are equipped with metal weapons, grenades and minesweepers as opposed to most other games in the series, which offer plastic weapons. This may have been used to give clarity to what the individual soldiers were holding, which would be more difficult with colored weaponry.
Army Men: Turf Wars	2002	Game Boy Advance		This is a shoot 'em up game for the Game Boy Advance. The Tan Army has struck once again and has taken over a Green Army base. Colonel Grimm has formed a two-man team: Sergeant Hawk and a blue spy to fight the Tan Army.
Army Men: Sarge's War	2004	Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube	Third-person shooter	Sarge's War is the sequel to Sarge's Heroes 2 and last game to follow the main series. Lord Malice has formed a secret militia of Tans, who have attacked the Green and Tan nations at the Green-Tan peace ceremony by detonating a massive bomb smuggled within a commemorative statue. Everyone, including Colonel Grimm, Vikki, and General Plastro, have been killed. However, Sergeant Hawk and Malice's militia have survived. Sarge then seeks revenge on Lord Malice. This game was initially developed by the 3DO Company, but after 3DO filed for bankruptcy, the game was purchased, completed, and released by Global Star Software. The game's tone is darker and more realistic than its predecessors; for example, when Sarge is shot, holes will appear in his body.
Army Men: Major Malfunction	2006	PlayStation 2, Xbox		Major Malfunction was released by Global Software. The main character is a soldier named Private Anderson and the villain is a character named "Major Malfunction", The game received largely negative reviews,[3] although graphically it is regarded as the "best looking" game in the series.
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune	2008	PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS		Soldiers of Misfortune was published by Destination Software, Inc. The plot of Soldiers of Misfortune is a major departure from the rest of the series. No reference is made to the regular Army Men characters, or to any of the events that occurred in past games. The player assumes the role of a young boy named Timmy, who imagines himself as a toy soldier and uses weapons such as a miniature dart. This game is not officially part of the series, and is not considered canonical. The game received largely negative reviews similar to Major Malfunction, fans consider Soldiers of Misfortune to be the worst game in the series.[4]
Army Men: Mobile Ops	2010	Mobile		The newest mobile game brings back the original story: the war between the Green and the Tan army.

Fan-made Games

Released fan-made games based on the series.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Title	Release date	Platforms	Information
Army Men III	2013	Windows, Mac	This game was developed by independent developer Neotl Empire and is the final installment to the original Army Men trilogy. Like the previous game, the enemies in this game are also diverse, adding newer enemies and returning enemies from the previous games. An alpha version was released in 2011 and was well-praised for its enormous improvement on its gameplay direction. Unlike Army Men II, the game's campaign continues the rest of the story in the "Plastic World". According to the indie game's developer, the first beta was released on April 30, 2013 to celebrate the 15th annual Army Men anniversary, including a fully functional skirmish mode with various "Real World" battlefields, overhauled voice acting and an overhauled campaign. Because of packaging issues and bugs that sometimes crashed the game, A critical update was released on May 13, 2013 to fix the issue.[5]

The Plastic World

Much is unknown about the Plastic World, mainly because it is never shown on a map or discussed for an extended period of time, though there are certain things that can be inferred.

There is a Pacific island area (stated in "World War"). The eastern part of the world houses the Blue Nation (a border is seen but it is unknown if this is another country), while the Western part houses the Tan. It is unknown where the Green, Orange, and Red Nations reside, as it is never stated.

The Gray Nation is in the western area as well because it borders the Tan nation according to Army Men. The only thing known about the Green Nation's homeland is that it contains desert, alpine, and bayou regions.

As seen in Army Men (the first game in the series) during the beginning movie, it is revealed that the Green Nation is almost completely surrounded by Tan territory. The bayou is in the south.

Characters

Protagonists

• Sarge (SGT. Hawk) is the primary protagonist in Army Men series. Initially represented in the PC games as just another nameless trooper, Sarge however sees several redesigns through the series. Initially he is given little more than a handful of men and a set of orders from HQ, but in later games, especially Sarge's Heroes, he is seemingly given command of large factions of the Green Army and idolized as a super trooper commanding entire battle fronts with his elite squad from Bravo Company although the earlier Sarge may be a totally different character.^[6] Character design later changes to reflect an almost cartoony war veteran look, complete with chin clefts and a nose bandage.^[7]
• Colonel "Happy" Jack Grimm is an Officer Commanding, Bravo Company - thus Sarge's direct Commanding Officer. In Sarge's Heroes it is stated that he adopted Sarge, but the manual of Army Men stated that Sarge remembered being told stories by his father.^[8] Col. Grimm also had a daughter named Vikki Grimm.^[7] He makes minor appearances in the Sarge's Heroes series, Air Tactics "Army Men Sarge's War" and Army Men: RTS. Depicted as a sympathetic officer who has probably seen combat in some forgotten war.^[7] Although it has not been proven, Colonel Grimm may have been the Sarge in the PC games and later worked his way to Colonel.
• Vikki Grimm - The main character of Portal Runner and a supporting character in Sarge's Heroes and Sarge's Heroes 2. She was the daughter of Col. Jack Grimm, and the main love interest of Sarge (which would be odd considering the possibility that Col. Grimm adopted Sarge).^[7] She was also a reporter for Green Plastic News.^[9] She is depicted as a flesh colored doll rather than being a single molded color like the soldiers She also wears a ponytail and (as seen in "Sarges Heroes") often fights alongside Sarge and also in "Sarges Heroes" she once bribed Gen. Plastro into believing that she was allied with him to reveal information for the Green Army and was eventually saw through by Plastro and was captured only to be rescued by Sarge.^[6]
• Tina Tomorrow - The leader of the Galactic Army. She only appears in Army Men: Toys in Space. After crash landing her space craft, she is quickly overwhelmed by Tan forces. Saved by Sarge, she then pledges an alliance between the Green and Galactic armies to free the universe of all evil. If it is true that Col. Grim is Sarge from the PC games, this means that Tina Tomorrow could be Vikki's mother.^[10]
• Captain William (Bill) Blade - A Green helicopter pilot and the leader of the Alpha Wolf Squadron. He was the main character in the games Air Tactics, Air Combat, and Air Combat 2. Capt. Blade sports a cowboy hat bearing the mark of the Union Cavalry.^[11] A member of the Airborne Cavalry, Blade is the player character of all the helicopter games. Main duties involving either transporting Sarge's men or providing aerial fire support to assist Sarge's ground operations.^[11] He makes a cameo appearance in Sarge's Hero's when he destroys a Tan tank for Sarge.
• Omega Soldier - A supersoldier spliced from the DNA of all five members of Bravo Company. Shortly after his creation, Plastro tries to have his Tan army capture Omega.^[12] He makes his only appearance in Army Men: Green Rogue for the Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2. He is the only male of the series to wear pants and equipment that aren't molded to him.
• PVT/PFC/SPC/CPL/SGT/LT/CPT Green - The character in the Army Men World War series. Although the player could change his last name, it is still considered to be Green, as it is mentioned when a player is promoted.
• Green President - Not much is known about him, except for the fact that he is the president of the Green nation. Captain Blade rescued him from a Tan assault.
• Sam - The green army's radio ops specialist for air units. he appears only in air tactics, and is a flight school teacher. He also briefs Captain Blade with his objectives, and helps guide him to points of interest or provides him with helpful or useful information.
• Private Anderson - A main character & a green soldier in: Army Men: Major Malfunction, who is forced to fight his way through the house to defeat Major Malfunction.
• Timmy - Timmy is a young soldier and is the main character in Army Men: Soldiers Of Misfortune. Timmy's objective is to find supply crates and free his captured green allies.

Bravo Company Commandos

Thick, Riff, Shrap, Bullseye, Scorch, Sarge, Hoover, and Vikki

Each member of Sarge's five-man squad was based on a classic army men pose.^[7]

• Riff - The anti-tank specialist of Bravo Company, he was Sarge's best friend.^[7] Riff's character almost appears to be a spoof on early war movies and the obvious political attempts to always include a healthy mix of racial backgrounds. He is typically depicted carrying an M1 Bazooka though sometimes the anti-tank weapon sometimes appear to be a German Panzershreck.^[6]
• Thick - The machine gunner of Bravo Company. Thick's character is the token over-muscled brawn of Bravo Company's A-Team.^[7] He is typically depicted carrying an M60 General Purpose Machine Gun.^[6] He seems to have slight mental retardation.
• Shrap - The artillery specialist of Bravo Company. Like Lance in Apocalypse Now he is a surfer. He is not shy of using the term dude. He has long hair and tends to irritate Hawk.^[7] Typically depicted carrying a mortar.^[6]
• Scorch - The flame-thrower operator of Bravo Company.^[7] He enjoys melting things, even though he is made of plastic. He is usually one of the less seen heroes.^[6]
• Private Hoover - The minesweeper operator of Bravo Company.^[7] He is very nervous, but he is also heroic when he needs to be. He also sounds similar to Don Knotts. He wears a bow tie on his shirt.^[6]
• Bullseye - The marksman of Bravo Company. Introduced in Army Men: RTS, Bullseye wears a leaf on his back and is able to hit targets at extreme range. He is the Ice-Man of Bravo company, always keeping a cool head.^[6]

Army Men: Team Assault Commandos

• Xhado - Not much information can be compiled about this wagerer of quiet aggression. Silent and deadly, Xhado's expertise as a hunter means that his targets will most likely never know what hit them. Xhado is one of the best commandos to use because of his high stealth and speed. He wears a ski mask/balaclava.
• Speed: 5
• Stealth: 6
• Hit Points: 8
• Special Skills: Sniper, Mechanic
• Dante Hernandez - Dante's keen savvy on how anything mechanical works means that there isn't an engine in the world that he can't fix...with the right tools. Long days spent overhauling huge tank engines have also given him an imposing physical presence with outstanding strength and endurance.
• Speed: 3
• Stealth: 3
• Hit Points: 8
• Special Skills: Mechanic, Heavy Weapons
• Armand "Flambé" Nestor - Armand Nestor learned his trade from his family at the young age of eleven. The Nestor Demolition Company is world-renowned, and has an impressive wake of dust and debris behind it. Armand's clear understanding of his "art form" (as he describes it) and his confidence in his abilities is often mistaken for a disregard for his own life. Armand has some of the highest hit points.
• Speed: 4
• Stealth: 4
• Hit Points: 10
• Special Skills: Explosives, Communications
• Bjorn "Boomer" Thorson - Bjorn Thorson born to an ambassador and into a household where different languages were spoken daily. This being the case, Bjorn has an aptitude for language. He studied demolitions when he joined the service and often finds himself at odds with his compatriot, Armand, who prefer his instincts to Bjorns by-the-book approach. This attitude also permeates Thorson's views on personal appearance and social behavior. Boomer, like Armand, has some of the highest hit points of the commandos.
• Speed: 3
• Stealth: 5
• Hit Points: 10
• Special Skills: Linguist, Explosives
• Gib "Squirrel" Farrell - Gib is a self-confessed klutz, except when it comes to his job. "Squirrel", as he is commonly referred to, is a crack shot. However, he'll fumble through everything else he comes in contact with and probably make a lot of noise along the way. He is a competent communications officer, but don't ask him to juggle. As his bio states Squirrel is not very stealthy, but he is the fastest commando.
• Speed: 6
• Stealth: 1
• Hit Points: 9
• Special Skills: Sniper, Communications
• Tyke "The Tank" Morgan - Tyke enjoys poetry and long walks on the beach, and you'd do well not to make fun of that fact. Tyke's obvious physical prowess makes him an easy candidate to handle "the heavy stuff". However he'd prefer a good book to a howitzer any day. Because of this adoration for the written word, "The Tank" has dedicated much of his time to studying foreign languages in order to read these works in their native tongue. When in battle, Tyke wastes little time dispatching the enemy so he can concentrate on "the finer things." Although slow, Tyke is a great soldier because of his massive hit points.
• Speed: 2
• Stealth: 2
• Hit Points: 12
• Special Skills: Heavy Weapons, Linguist

Alpha Wolf Battalion

• Cpt. William Blade Commander of the Alpha Wolf Battalion who is very attractive (according to the intro to Air Attack) and is known to disobey direct orders. There is some tension between him and Hawk, because Blade is very cocky. Almost nothing is known about his character until Air Attack 2.
• Lt. James Marshall - A.K.A. "Woodstock" - Captain Blade's best friend and in Air Attack works best with the Machine Gun. He is an African American with an afro and likes to be cocky in the battlefield.
• Lt. Tyrone Livingston - A.K.A. "Woodstock 2" - The second Woodstock and is a Jamaican styled pilot his special ability is the ability to call in Paratroopers who drop from the sky and suicide bomb any Tan vehicles, troops, or structures.
• Lt. John Lawless - A.K.A. "Hardcore" - British copilot who excels with homing rockets. In Air Attack 2 he turns into Hooligan, although his name doesn't change. In Air Attack 2 his special skill are a swarm of rockets falling from the sky.
• Lt. Jason Larkin - A.K.A. "Hardcore 2". - Jason is the second Hardcore, after the first became Hooligan. He has a resemblance to Rawhide, but has no relation. He only appears in Air Attack 2. His special ability is the swarm rocket.
• Lt. Dave Parker - A.K.A. "Rawhide" -Southern style rancher who works best with the winch according to Air Attack's bio in the manual.
• Lt. Felicity Wanamaker - A.K.A. "Bombshell" -Blade's main love interest who is not in the first Air Attack but appears in Air Combat, the N64 version of Air Attack. In the first and second one her special skill is napalm.
• Hooligan - The first Hardcore and he appears to be a rebellious, punk character (spiked hair, spiked dog collar, etc.). The version of the character is only featured in Army Men: Air Attack 2.

Alpha Wolf Helicopters

• UH-1 Huey
• CH-47 Chinook
• Super Stallion
• AH-1 King Cobra
• AH-64 Apache
• V-22 Osprey

Antagonists

• General Plastro is the primary antagonist in Army Men series. whose name is a play on that of Fidel Castro. He was the leader of the Tan army, although he may have controlled the Grey and Blue armies as well.^[7] He is often pictured with a cigar. In the first games of the series he was seen only in cut-scenes, but in later games he was occasionally seen during the game. His death was in Sarge's War, when Colonel Malice's vengeance device blows up Greentown, leaving Colonel Grimm, Plastro and Vicki dead (but Sarge, the remnants of the Green army, Malice and his Tan army remain).^[7]
• Colonel Blintz is an ex-officer in the Green army. Blintz was in charge of a Green-held region when he was shot in the head; the injury was described as a "massive, disfiguring head wound." After that, he disappeared, only to resurface later as a member of Tan's army.^[6] In Army Men: RTS, Blintz is intent on dominating the Real-World and is using Green's own tactics back against them. He is defeated and is a sap about it until Sarge peeled off the paint after beating Blintz up.
• Baron von Beige - A tan pilot who flies Fokker Dr. I like The Red Baron. He wears a cape, and oxygen mask, even when on the ground. His voice sounds as though it is a machine which may hint at a possible wound. Although assumed dead by Captain Blade after the battle at the end of Air Attack 2, he isn't, but is never seen again. This is probably because of the bankruptcy of 3DO.
• Bridgette Bleu - A Blue spy working for General Plastro in Sarge's Heroes 2. She is the main villain of Portal Runner.^[9] Ms. Bleu is also depicted as a fashion doll, though dressed in a blue dress that resembles the female lead/temptress from early detective films (She Somehow Allied Herself With Colonel Grimm).
• The Insane Grey Doctor (Dr. Madd) - A Grey scientist who appeared in Army Men 2, Air Tactics, and Sarge's Heroes 2. He is one of the most formidable villains in the series due his experiments, which included a zombie factory (in which the remains of dead plastic soldiers are melted down, and remade into zombies), and giant insects and spiders (a soldier-to-spider machine is seen in Sarge's Heroes). He also created a serum that reverses the effects of lamination (Sarge's Heroes 2).^[13]
• Major Mylar - Another villain in Army Men 2.^[14] Mylar was leading operations in the newly discovered real world and was tasked with leading a large faction of Tan Forces to secure this new territory and eliminate Sarge, who had been trapped. Unfortunately for Mylar, the Green Army was able to send reinforcements and Sarge instead defeated Mylar.
• Major Gooding/Lord Malice - Leader of the Heroes when Sarge was a private. During a mission in a kitchen, he was shot and accidentally left for dead in the kitchen sink. The tan army found him, re-built him, and he took on the identity of Lord Malice. He detonated a bomb at a Tan/Green Peace ceremony, killing all of the green and tan soldiers at the ceremony including Sarge's squad. Sarge then sets out on a mission to destroy him.^[15]
• Field Marshal Tannenberg - The leader of the Tan Army in Plastro's absence. He is seen in Sarge's Heroes 2, where in one mission the player must infiltrate a Tan base and capture him alive. He also appears in a scene from Green Rogue. He is captured and is about to sign a peace treaty with the Green Nation when Plastro (And His Army Of Robots) bursts in (With Gunfight Between The Green, Tan & The Robots) and (One Robot Soldier) kidnaps Vikki stopping the signing. It is unknown what happens to him next, though it is assumed that Plastro is either angry with him for signing a treaty and kills him, he escapes back with the Tan army to continue serving as a commander, or he completely escapes from everyone.

End of 3DO

Army Men: RTS was the last Army Men game to be released by the 3DO Company before they filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy. The major franchises were auctioned off, and Army Men was purchased by Global Star Software (now known as 2K Play).

In 2004, Global Star published Sarge's War. The PS2 and Xbox versions were completed by some members of the original Sarge's War development team from 3DO. Global Star then released Army Men: Major Malfunction for the Xbox (as well as for the PlayStation 2 in limited regions), and planned a Nintendo DS version, which was not released. Army Men: Mobile Ops is currently the latest game in the series. Future installments are possible, but unlikely, due to the poor critical and commercial performance of Major Malfunction and Soldiers of Misfortune.^[3][4]

Criticism

While originally well-received, the sequential titles seemed to decline in quality. The Army Men series has been heavily criticized by several parts of the video game media, including X-Play^[16] and Seanbaby of EGM,^[17] for the frequency and declining quality of each new title. The Official UK PlayStation Magazine awarded six games in the series a score of 3/10 or less.^[18]

Reviews frequently emphasize the series' lack of consistency. Gameplay constantly changed in a game from version to version. There is also an inconsistency in the time period in which the series takes place. Many of the games, such as the Sarge's Heroes games, employ World War II and Vietnam war era weaponry (Ex. the M16 assault rifle and the M2 flamethrower), whereas the Air Attack/Air Combat games use helicopters from the Vietnam War era. However, this is likely due to the fact that the 'modern' plastic soldier came around during the Vietnam War, and thus, many iterations of plastic soldier employ weaponry from this time period.

Developers By Year

• The 3DO Company 1998-2004,
• Digital Eclipse Software 1998-1999,
• Saffire Corporation 2000,
• Fluid Studios 2000,
• GameBrains 2000,
• 3d6 Games 2000,
• Pocket Studios 2001,
• Handheld Games 2001,
• DC Studios Games 2001,
• Pandemic Studios 2002,
• Mobius Entertainment 2002,
• Coyote Developments LTD. 2004,
• Tactical Development 2004,
• Team17 Software 2006,
• TwistBox Entertainment 2010,

Publishers By Year

• The 3DO Company 1999-2004,
• Midway Games 2000,
• Global Star Software 2004-2006,
• 2K Games 2006,
• Destination Software Inc. 2008,
• Zoo Games 2008,
• Connect2Media 2010.

References

1. http://www.gamespot.com/army-men/reviews/2538043/army-men-review/platform/pc/
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQkQO0tlVW0
3. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/army-men-major-malfunction
4. http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/army-men-soldiers-of-misfortune
5. Army Men III
6. Army Men RTS manual
7. Interview with Michael Mendheim
8. Army Men manual
9. Review of Portal Runner on IGN
10. Publisher's Description of Army Men: Toys in Space at Download.com
11. Army Men: Air Tactics manual
12. Review of Army Men: Green Rogue on Game Revolution
13. Review or Army Men: Sarge's Heroes on Game Revolution
14. Army Men 2 at MobyGames
15. Sarge's War at MobyGames
16. Uzuki, Heero (2012-10-07). "Video Game Feature". G4tv.com. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
17. "EGM's Uncensored Greatest Hits". Seanbaby.com. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
18. A-Z ratings, Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Future Publishing issue 108, March 2004

External links

• Army Men series at MobyGames