Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2

UPC: 790561509219

Platform: PlayStation 2

Publisher: The 3DO Company

Developer: The 3DO Company

Category: Shooter

Style(s): Third-Person 3D Shooter

Synopsis: In Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2, you lead Sarge or Vikki and the Green Army through eighteen dangerous missions that include a toy store, graveyard, and inside a pinball machine. Use an arsenal of assault rifles, flamethrowers, sniper rifles and special air strikes to battle the Tan Army, or go against three human opponents in a multiplayer mode. ~ All Game Guide

Package Contents: Registration Card

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The instruction manual is the finest part about this game. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

The graphics are not only uninspired, but they're rather ugly, as well. Some of the "our world" locations look slightly interesting, but beyond that, the game is blandly colored and animated. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 is the sequel that someone must have asked for, although after playing it, one has to wonder exactly who that was. This isn't due to the fact that Sarge's Heroes 2 is a bad game, although it fails to amount to anything impressive. It has more to do with the fact there's no real difference between this game and its predecessor, making it feel like an extension of the original Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, which wasn't that impressive in the first place. The Army Men franchise is one that will not die, it seems, despite the issue that none of its titles seem to be very good. With that in mind comes this title, a sequel to a third-person action game originally released for the PlayStation, among other platforms. While the first game featured mission after mission of uninspired action involving the shooting of plastic army men, the second game...well, it's pretty much the same. The biggest addition to this sequel is a new enemy army, this time colored blue, meaning the game's artists had to add one more color to their enemy portfolio. This army is explained in the game's plot, which is already as weak as can be imagined. Once again Sarge and his girlfriend must charge into enemy territory to save his men, only this time he's fighting blue guys instead of just tan. If that sounds like a memorable and worthwhile enhancement to you, then the game just might capture your interest. While the objective types and main opposition have stayed the same, there are a few additions here that are welcome, such as the expansion of the "real world" missions, where your character is dwarfed by items such as refrigerators and toys. In some of the game's more memorable scenes, you'll get a chance to confront giant toy robots. Unfortunately these sequences are few and far between. Everything else tends to bleed together, thanks to some unimaginative texture work and generally boring level design. The action tends to get repetitive, which is not helped by the lack of enemy variety. And since action is the main thrust of this game, it quickly becomes tedious to play. There are a number of weapons to use, but you'll probably end up using a select few. The game doesn't inspire you to use the extras, since it never branches out into any innovative, challenging, or puzzling areas. It's just "shoot tan guy, move, shoot blue guy, move, repeat." Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 lives up to the Army Men tradition, which cannot be considered a positive in the game's favor. There are far more entertaining action titles available on the PlayStation 2, and your money would be better spent on those, rather than encouraging 3DO to continue this tired franchise. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

There's nothing engaging about the title to make you want to play it for an extended period of time, even for first timers. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

The music and sound effects are loud and booming, but there should have been more variety. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

Another Army Men game has come and gone, and the series still can't shake the perception of being anything more than rental material at best. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.