Army Men
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Wikipedia-Article "Army Men"
Army Men was a series of video games made by The 3DO Company.
The series was based on a war between four main sets of plastic toy soldiers - the Green, the Tan, the Blue, and the Grey. The hero of the series was Sarge (also know as "SGT. Hawk" in Sarge's Heroes 2).
The series was started with Army Men (PC) in 1997, then the sequel Army Men 2 (PC) was released in 1998. Around that time the first console game, Army Men 3D, was released for the Sony PlayStation.
The series continued with Army Men: Toys in Space (PC). Later the series continued on with the World War series, for both PC and console (mainly the PlayStation 1 & 2). At around the same time period Sarge's Heroes was released, a sequel was released a year later.
Other variations and spin-offs of the series were also released. They included the helicopter themed games Air Tactics, Air Attack (1 & 2), and Air Combat. They also included the World War series.
The only spin-off of the series, was Portal Runner. A spin-off of Sarge's Heroes 2, it was released just a year-and-a-half after the original game.
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Characters
- Sarge (SGT. John Hawk) - The main character of the series. He is supposedly the "leader" of the Green Army, although this changed in Sarge's Heroes, in which he assumed command of Bravo company (the actual membership of Bravo Company, consisted of less than a squad's worth of men).
- General Plastro - The main villain of the series. He was the leader of the Tan army, although he may have controlled the Grey and Blue armies as well. 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.
- Col. Jack Grimm - The real leader (or another leader) of the Green Army. In Sarge's Heroes is stated that he adopted Sarge, but the manual of Army Men stated that Sarge did live with his father (although this may have been a referace to Col. Grimm). Col. Grimm also had a daughter named Viki Grimm.
- Vikki Grimm - The main character of Portal Runner, and a supporting character in Sarge's Heroes and Sarge's Heroes 2. She is the daughter of Col. Jack Grimm, and the main love interest of Sarge (which is odd considering that Col. Grimm adopted Sarge). She was also a reporter for Green Plastic News.
- Bridgette Bleu - A Blue spy working for General Plastro in Sarge's Heroes 2. She is the main villain of Portal Runner.
- 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 2). He also created a serum that reverses the effects of plastification (Sarges Hero's 2)
- Major Mylar - Another villain in Army Men 2.
- The Colonel - The Colonel was a Green officer who was sent on a Special Forces mission, and while on the mission went insane (this was a spoof of the movie Apocalypse Now). The Colonel was a leader of a cult, that consisted of soldiers from the four main armies, and suicide bombers.
- Major Gooding/Lord Malice - Leader of the Heroes when Sarge was a private. During a mission in the kitchen, he was shot and left to die 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 the all of the green and tan armies (apart from his personal tan army, and Sarge). Sarge then set out on a mission to destroy him.
- Riff - The anti-tank specialist of Bravo Company, he was Sarge's best friend.
- Thick - The machine gunner of Bravo Company.
- Shrap - The artillery specialist of Bravo Company. Like Lance in Apocalypse Now he was a surfer.
- Scorch - The flame-thrower operator of Bravo Company.
- Private Hoover - The mine-sweeper operator of Bravo Company.
- Tina Tomorrow - The leader of the Galactic Army. She only appears in Army Men: Toys in Space.
- 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.
Factions in Army Men
Green - The 'good guys' in the series. In the first few games, they were fighting against the Tan, Blue, and Grey. This changes in Army Men: World War when the Green ally with the Blue. In "Army Men: Sarge's Heroes", the Blues are Tan spies, and the Gray's are Aliies with the greens.
Tan - The main enemy in the series. They start the current war with Green when they invade in three main areas of the Green nation (the Alpine, Forrest, and Bayou regions). They supposedly control the Grey and the Blue at the beginning of the series. According to Sarge It isn't that they're evil, kid, just because they want to conquer everyone else and steal everything they have. I think they just don't know any better. It's a tragic flaw in their character, that's beyond their control. That's why they're better off being dead.
Grey - Again, to quote Sarge. The Grays are a bunch of hit-and run guerrillas; when I was little, my dad used to scare me at night by telling me stories about the Grays. You don't have to like the Grays, but you gotta respect them.
Blues - The Blues on the other hand are stinkin' cowards. They make better sneaks then they do soldiers. They're more likely to ambush you then shoot you in open combat. The Tan's put up with the Blues because they can use them as couriers, saboteurs, and spies - Sarge.
Reds - Appear in Multiplayer in "Sarge's War," and you rescue one in Dr. Madd's castle.
The Aliens - The main enemy in Toys in Space. They appear only in Portal Runner, and Toys in Space
The Galactic Army - Allies of the Green Army in Toys in Space. They only appear in this game.
The Cult - Only appears in Army Men 2, in two levels (one of which seems to be an adaptation of Apocalypse Now). It is composed of Blue, Green, Tan, and Gray soldiers, as well as suicide bombers.
PC games
Army Men - The first game in the series. At the end of this game, Sarge finds a portal that leads to the next dimension and the next game.
Army Men 2 - Starts where the last game ended. This is perhaps the most varied game in the series, with enemies ranging from suicide bombers to zombies to cult members to cockroaches. There is also a wide range of battlefields, such as Kitchen's in the "Real World, and tank factories in the "Plastic World". This game also introduced the concept of 'Portals'. Which were connections between the "Plastic World" (The Army Men world), and the "Real World" (our world).
Army Men: Toys in Space - This game adds two new armies, the Space Troops, and the Aliens. This game continues is exclusive, in that all the missions take place in the "Real World", or in outer space.
Army Men: World War - This game focuses solely on combat in the "Plastic World", with most of the missions being based on World War Two. This game was also known as "Operation Meltdown".
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes - A Console-to-PC port of the PlayStation game of the same name.
Army Men: Air Tactics - A game that focused around a Green helicopter pilot.This game was also known as "Air Attack".
Army Men: RTS (Real Time Stategy) - This game was one of the last AM titles released before 3do filed for bankruptcy. Like Toys in Space it took place only in the "Real World", although the focus was on the characters from Sarge's Heroes.
Army Men: 3D - A version of Army Men that had been adapted for the Sony PlayStation.
Army Men: World War - The sequel to Army Men 3D. Like its PC counterpart (which goes by the same name), it took place in the 'Plastic World".
Army Men: World War, Land Sea Air - The sequel to Army Men: World War
Army Men: World War, Final Front - The last of the World War titles.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes - This is a more cartoonish game. It focused heavily on Portals, and the "Real World".
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 - The sequel to Sarge's Heroes. It introduced several new characters, and the concept of "Petrification".
Army Men: Air Combat - Like Air Tactics it focused on a Green Helicopter pilot.
Army Men: Air Combat 2 - The sequel to Air Combat
Army Men (Game Boy Color) - Another clone of Army Men, that was adapted for another platform.
Army Men: Advance - Yet another clone of Army Men, that was adapted for the Game Boy Advance, hence its name.
Portal Runner - This spin-off of Sarge's Heroes focused on Viki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu. In this game, Bridgette Bleu, trapped Viki Grimm in another dimension thru the use of a portal. In this game, Viki and a lion named Leo, must find the right portal, to take them back to the "Plastic World". It was released on September 11, 2001.
Army Men: Sarge's War- The final game in the series. All green and tan exept for Sarge and Malice's tan are killed. Sarge Engages In a one man war against Malice.
Trivia
Plastrification, according to Dr. Madd in Sarge's Heroes 2, is a condition that occurs when a soldier from the "Plastic World" spends too much time in the "Real World". The soldier afflicted with this condition becomes paralyzed and grows a plastic base, ending up like the green armymen commonly sold at toystores.
If you look carefully, you can see references to several famous movies scattered through out the games. One of these is a level in Army Men 2. In that level you must find a patrol boat on a jungle island, and hunt down an insane Green special forces colonel.
Viki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu are the only characters to have flesh colored skin. All the other characters have either tan, green, grey, or blue skin.
There are armies other then the Tan, Green, Blue, and Grey. In Sarge's Heroes 2 General Plastro make a reference to the 'Orange Army', and later in the game, Sarge rescues a red soldier from Tan soldiers, in Dr. Madd's castle. In Sarge's War, in the multiplayer mode, you can play as a 'Red Soldier'.
Most of the titles of the levels are named after old war movies. For example, in Sarge's War there's Das Drain, an obvious reference to Das Boot.
End of 3DO
Army Men: RTS and Army Men (Game Boy Color) were the last Army Men games to be released, although a sequel to Sarge's Heroes was completed for GameCube, but was not shipped before the bankruptcy. The sequel was titled Army Men: Sarge's War.
In 2003, 3DO filed for chapter seven bankruptcy. The major franchises were auctioned off, and Army Men was purchased by Crave Entertainment.
In 2004, Crave Entertainment published Sarge's War. The PS2 and Xbox versions were completed by some members of the original 3DO Sarge's War development team.