Army Men

The Army Men series was created by 3DO and it was known for its unique cast of characters and universe, where plastic men wage war against one another. Sarge is portrayed as the main protagonist in the series who leads his faction of Green Army to defeat the evil Tan Army lead by Plastro.

Army Men Series

• Army Men (1998)
• Army Men 3D (1999)
• Army Men II (1999)
• Army Men: Toys In Space (1999)
• Army Men: Operation Green (2001)
• Army Men: Major Malfunction (2006)
• Army Men III (Unofficial fan made) (2011)

Sarge's Heroes Series

• Army Men: Sarge's Heroes (1999)
• Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 (2000)
• Army Men: Green Rogue (aka Omega Soldier) (2001)
• Army Men Advance (2001)
• Portal Runner (2001)
• Army Men: RTS (2002)
• Army Men: Turf Wars (2002)
• Army Men: Sarge's War (2004)

Air Attack Series

• Army Men: Air Attack (1999)
• Army Men: Air Tactics (1999)
• Army Men: Air Combat (1999)
• Army Men: Air Attack 2 (aka Blade's Revenge) (2002)
• Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions (2003)

World War Series

• Army Men: World War (aka Operation Meltdown) (2000)
• Army Men World War: Land Sea Air (2000)
• Army Men World War: Final Front (Lock n Load) (2001)
• Army Men World War: Team Assault (2002)

Others

• Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune (2008)

Criticism

The first few Army Men games were well received by critics but as time went on, the series began to decline in quality. While the cutscenes and voice over stayed consistent and original, the biggest downfall was the gameplay and graphics, which hardly changed over the years. The newer games (mostly for the consoles) seemed to recycle the same game engine and graphics from previous titles with very little improvements. This made them looked outdated in newer consoles.

It is speculated that the reason behind the downfall is because of its rushed development. Between 1999 and 2002, over 19 titles were released every few months, meaning that they were being developed concurrently and released around the same time. This can lead us to believe that 3DO were trying so hard to publish as many Army Men games as possible that they put little time and effort in each title.

Other criticism includes punishing difficulty and confusing timeline between each game. Army Men RTS was the last Army Men game to be released by 3DO before they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The major franchises were auctioned off, and Army Men was purchased by Global Star Software (Now 2K Play).

With some original members joining Global Star, they released Sarge's War and Major Malfunction but even with a fresh start, these games were still criticized for being poor in every aspect. In 2008, Big Blue Bubble and ZOO Digital Publishing released Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune, which looked nothing like the original series because of its child-like characters and settings.

On December 1st, 2011, indie developer Lord Iheanacho Productions developed and released an unofficial sequel to Army Men II called Army Men III. It utilized the Unreal Engine and over-the-shoulder perspective. Though only Alpha released, Army Men III was well received by fans and indie developers alike.

Number of Releases by Year

1998: 1

1999: 7

2000: 3

2001: 5

2002: 4

2003: 1

2004: 1

2006: 1

2008: 1

2011: 1