A bad 007 clone?
Written: May 18 '00 (Updated May 18 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fun, fairly non-violent (if you can consider that a pro), challenging missions despite bad plot
Cons: the plot gets worse, camera angle, too difficult?, mediocre graphics
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| tag_1234's Full Review: Army Men Sarge's Heroes for Nintendo 64 |
Such first person shooters as Quake, Doom and 007 enjoyed almost unprecedented popularity. Hoping to capitalize on this success 3DO launched a line of "Army Men" games. This game: "Sarge's Heroes" is one of the newer versions and the only "Army Men" game for the N64.
The epic struggle.. Is it light and dark? Nature and man? How about green and tan.
Plot
Ah yes those little plastic toys seem to have come to life. In fact they've been there all along, living in their own world, fighting an eternal battle between the forces of good (green) and evil (tan). Out of this rather mythical, shaky basis we get Army Men Sarge's heros. This plot, while at first quite amusing, degrades as time progresses much like watching a kids TV show at 17. The plot has serious gaps and it appears that, despite rescuing teammates, all missions are solo (although I have not played the last few).
You play the game as "Sarge", a veteran soldier that escaped capture from a tan offensive push. You have to rescue your team mates and in general beat tan into the ground. Why? Because you're a good guy. So you start your journey as cut scenes update you on your progress. Perhaps a bit lacking for the avid gamer the plot does give you enough basis to start playing the game although the pointless mission briefings gradually wear away at this illusion, leaving me only with little plastic figures shooting at me, asking to be killed.
Controls
The controls in this game show that 3DO needed some outside help on the product, movement is fairly easy but anyone who has played another 1st person shooter will have a lot of trouble adjusting as the view takes a few seconds to change, causing confusion and restricting vision. If I get shot in the back I have to turn around and fire blindly till the camera pivots. I've died several times this way and it can really get annoying. Firing was handled pretty well (if you can see what you're shooting at) and really requires some skill (although auto-aim does help some).
Missions
The game consist of 14 different missions that will provide hours of fun. These are no cakewalk and really require a good deal of skill. Several difficulty levels allow for some adjustment but the game is always harder than most games in the genre.
Things that go BOOM!
The weaponry is actually quite well done. The standard weapon has infinite ammo but still persists to count down bullets. Why? I have no earthy idea. While the standard weapon is fine for polishing off normal enemies most little soldiers will want something heavier and this game delivers. A machine gun, shotgun and sniper rifle serve as nice additions against normal troops while grenades, a grenade launcher, a mortar cannon and of course, the bazooka provide hard hitting power for taking out tanks and helicopters. For the true death incarnate a flame thrower is available, melting enemy troops where they stand. Weapons, despite not measuring up to most similar other games (especially graphically) provide a good deal of variety (although some, like the shotgun, seem to have almost no purpose in the single player mode) and really add loads of fun. Despite graphical realism lacking (more than intended to that is) actual use of these weapons is indeed realistic. Tanks incur only minor scratches from gun fire, explosions cause people to go flying and as an enemy unit melts (from your flamethrower) it screams in agony.
The AI
The AI in this game seems really nice; soldiers wait in ambush (some with flamethrowers!), snipers shoot at you from towers and tanks quickly turn around and fire if they notice you. Alarms sound in some stages, enemies hide in bunkers and the enemy sure has better aim than I have. Despite these wonderful additions things can get a monotonous. When guards come for the 6th time after I set off the alarm it gets annoying. Tanks go on predictable paths and troops can be picked off (using a sniper rifle) right next to others without any consequences. It would also be nice if the friends you rescued would actually defend themselves in some meaningful way.
Multiplayer
In the multiplayer mode you can battle up to 4 human opponents, choosing a color for yourself as well as a person (which becomes available as soon as you find him). The selection of a character is almost pointless as they all look the same. Am I supposed to use my sniper rifle to see if that guy has a medium build or heavy one?
Multiplayer is really quite a bit of fun. A selection of several areas (7 in all I believe) along with a wide assortment of weaponry really add to the game. In a genre where the norm is simply to charge and inflict damage this is a very welcome change.
Multi-player does have problems, however. Players always pop up in the same location causing lots of vulnerability to start off. Someone always seems to think that its fun to bazooka my head as I come back and it can really be irritating. Aiming ranged weapons (especially the mortar) gives you away as the other player can see the target on his screen. While assisting you in aiming this ruins the "big surprise", normally causing the other player to relocate rather quickly. Some of the weapons are overpowered, some underpowered, in general, however, this still creates a fun little arena style rumble, especially with 3 or 4 people.
Graphics
Graphically this game is a pretty weak. The characters all look the same and the scenery looks like a bad jpeg file. This game has a playstation feel without the massive data storage and missions that a cd offers. Perhaps its just good to leave it as the worst of both worlds. When you get to 4 person Multi-player things actually look a bit better (because of the compressed graphics) but this game is nothing compared to the detail of 007 or Quake.
Sound
Sound in this game is mediocre. The one sound your character seems know is "urrgghhhh!" after being shot. The voices (in the briefings) are not as staged sounding as many other games but still don't quite fit in. The in game music seemed a step behind to the 8 bit Zelda game for Nintendo as annoying little 4 note instrumental pieces gave me a headache (da da dadadada...). Weapon sounds were quite well done. You could hear the sniper gun (which sounds almost identical to the one in 007). One could hear that several sounds were shared between different weapons (for example tanks and bazookas used the same exact sound). Overall the weapon sounds were quite realistic but it was hard to get over the background noise (oh wait I guess that'd be the music).
In general
This game can be a lot of fun. If you need graphics or a great plot to enjoy a game this one most likely isn't for you. If you're a parent and the kids have been pressuring you for a game you might want to consider this one. This game is really nothing special but would be a decent addition, especially if you really like games like DOOM, Quake and 007.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tag_1234
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Member: Jeremy Vancil
Location: Knoxville, TN
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 84 members
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