View source for Army Men

{{Short description|Video game series featuring toy soldiers}}
{{other uses|Army men (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox video game series
| title          = Army Men
| image          = Army Men logo.png
| caption        =
|developer = [[The 3DO Company]] (1998–2003)<br />[[2K Play|Global Star Software]] (2003–2007)<br />Twistbox Games (2008) <small> (''Mobile Ops'')</small><br />Volcanic Force Studio (2017)<br /><small>(''Army Men Strike'')</small>
|publisher = The 3DO Company (1998–2003)<br />Global Star Software (2003–2007)<br />Connect2Media (2008) <small>(''Mobile Ops'')</small><br />Volcanic Force Studio (2017)<br /><small>(''Army Men Strike'')</small>
| composer    = Jason Tai (''[[Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2]]'')<br />Barry Blum (''[[Army Men 2]]'', ''[[Army Men: Sarge's Heroes|Sarge's Heroes]]'', ''[[Army Men: Toys in Space|Toys in Space]]'', ''[[Army Men 3D]]'')<br /> Brian Min (''[[Army Men: Air Tactics]]'')
| first release version  = ''[[Army Men (video game)|Army Men]]''
| first release date     = April 30, 1998
| latest release version = ''Army Men Strike''
| latest release date = 2017
| genre          =
|platforms    = [[Windows]]<br />[[Game Boy Color]]<br />[[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]<br />[[Nintendo 64]]<br />[[PlayStation 2]]<br />[[Dreamcast]]<br />[[Game Boy Advance]]<br />[[GameCube]]<br />[[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]<br />[[Wii]]<br />[[Nintendo DS]]<br />[[Mobile phone|Mobile]]<br />[[macOS|OS X]]<br />[[Android (operating system)|Android]]<br />[[iOS]]
|spinoffs = ''[[Portal Runner]]''
}}

'''''Army Men''''' is a series of [[video game]]s originally developed by [[The 3DO Company]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/army-men/reviews/2538043/army-men-review/platform/pc/ |title=Army Men Review - GameSpot.com |website=www.gamespot.com |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123173951/http://www.gamespot.com/army-men/reviews/2538043/army-men-review/platform/pc/ |archive-date=23 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and then by [[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]]''.

==History==
===Studio 3DO era===
The idea of a strategy game using plastic army men arose from the developers' desire to avoid censorship issues with the [[Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle]] [[Video game content rating system|ratings board]] when publishing the game in [[Video games in Germany|Germany]]. Chris Wilson, producer of the original ''Army Men'', explained:{{blockquote|The Germans are extremely uptight about realistic violence, so ''[[Command & Conquer (1995 video game)|Command & Conquer]]'', for instance, changed all its units into robots and changed some of the cut scenes. But we didn't want to have to do two versions, and very early on in the design process we'd been planning things out with little plastic army men, so we suddenly realized that this was what everyone always likens a game like this to anyway!<ref name="NGen23">{{cite magazine|title=NG Alphas: Army Men|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=23 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1996|pages=161–2}}</ref>}}

''Army Men'' used cutscenes done in the style of [[Movietone News]] clips.<ref name="NGen23"/>

===Global Star era===
''[[Army Men: RTS]]'' was the final game in the series to be released by [[The 3DO Company]]. Their major franchises were auctioned off when the company filed for bankruptcy, and ''Army Men'' was purchased by [[Crave Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://games.slashdot.org/story/03/08/08/1423223/major-game-companies-bid-for-3do-assets |title = Slashdot| date=8 August 2003 }}</ref>

In 2004, [[Global Star Software]] published ''Sarge's War''. The [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Xbox (console)|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 and PlayStation 2, and planned a [[Nintendo DS]] version, which was not released. Both ''Major Malfunction'' and ''Soldiers of Misfortune'' were unfavorably received by critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/army-men-major-malfunction/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox |publisher=metacritic.com|title=Army Men: Major Malfunction for Xbox Reviews - Metacritic |access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/army-men-soldiers-of-misfortune/critic-reviews/?platform=ds|publisher=metacritic.com|title=Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune for DS Reviews - Metacritic|access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref> ''Army Men: Mobile Ops'' was released for mobile phones in 2010. The series is currently owned by [[2K (company)|2K]] after buying out Global Star in 2007.

=== Other games ===
A fan made ''Army Men III'' was under development by Neotl Empire, but was cancelled and resulted in an [[open source]] release of the unfinished game in April 2018.<ref>[https://www.indiedb.com/games/army-men-3/news/army-men-iii-now-open-source/ Army Men III Now Open-Source!] on the game's IndieDB page (April 30, 2018)</ref> In December 2017, a licensed mobile game in the series was made by Volcano Force Studios under license from [[2K Play]] under title ''Army Men: Strike'' <ref>{{Cite web|title=Army Men Strike: Toy Wars - Apps on Google Play|url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hts.ams&hl=en_US&gl=US|access-date=2022-01-11|website=play.google.com|language=en}}</ref> that incorporates characters from the ''Sarge's Heroes'' subseries. As of 2025 The game has since been re-titled as ''Toy Wars'' (stylized in all caps), indicating that the license to use the ''Army Men'' title might have been discontinued by 2K.

==Games==
{{Expand list|date=December 2008}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Release date
! scope="col" | Platforms
! scope="col" | Genre
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| ''[[Army Men (video game)|Army Men]]''
| 1998
| [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Game Boy Color]]
| [[Real-time tactics]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men II]]''
| 1999
| Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color
| [[Real-time tactics]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men 3D]]''
| 1999
| [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Sarge's Heroes]]''
| 1999
| [[Nintendo 64]], PlayStation, [[Dreamcast]], Microsoft Windows
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| The first installment in the ''Sarge's Heroes'' subseries.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Toys in Space]]''
| 1999
| Microsoft Windows
| [[Real-time tactics]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Air Attack]]''
| 1999
| PlayStation, Nintendo 64, [[Game Boy Color]], Microsoft Windows
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions are re-titled ''Army Men: Air Combat''.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: World War]]''
| 2000
| PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
| [[Third-person shooter]] <sup>(PS)</sup><br />[[Real-time tactics]] <sup>(WIN)</sup>
| The first installment in the ''World War'' subseries. Titled ''Army Men: Operation Meltdown'' in PAL regions.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Air Tactics]]''
| 2000
| Microsoft Windows
| [[Real-time tactics]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: World War - Land, Sea, Air]]''
| 2000
| PlayStation
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| The second installment in the ''World War'' subseries. Titled ''Army Men: Land, Sea, Air'' in PAL regions.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2]]''
| 2000
| Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, [[PlayStation 2]]
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Air Attack 2]]''
| 2000
| PlayStation, PlayStation 2, [[GameCube]]
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| Titled ''Army Men: Air Attack - Blade's Revenge'' in PAL regions. GameCube version titled as ''Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions''
|-
| ''[[Army Men: World War - Final Front]]''
| 2001
| PlayStation
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| The third installment in the ''World War'' subseries. Titled ''Army Men: Lock 'N' Load'' in PAL regions.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Green Rogue]]''
| 2001
| PlayStation 2, PlayStation
| [[Shoot 'em up]]
| Titled ''Army Men: Omega Soldier'' in PAL regions for PlayStation.
|-
| ''[[Army Men Advance]]''
| 2001
| [[Game Boy Advance]]
| [[Top-down shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Portal Runner]]''
| 2001
| PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color
| [[Platform game|Platform]]
| Spin-off of ''Sarge's Heroes'' subseries.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: World War - Team Assault]]''
| 2001
| PlayStation
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| The fourth and last installment in the ''World War'' series. Titled ''Army Men: Team Assault'' in PAL regions.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Operation Green]]''
| 2001
| Game Boy Advance
| [[Isometric shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: RTS]]''
| 2002
| PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCube
| [[Real-time strategy]]
| A 3D real time strategy game.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Turf Wars]]''
| 2002
| Game Boy Advance
| [[Isometric shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Sarge's War]]''
| 2004
| Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], GameCube
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| The third and last installment in the ''Sarge's Heroes'' subseries.
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Major Malfunction]]''
| 2006
| Xbox, PlayStation 2
| [[Third-person shooter]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune]]''
| 2008
| [[Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]], PlayStation 2
| [[Third-person shooter]]
|
|-
| ''[[Army Men: Mobile Ops]]''
| 2010
| [[Mobile game|Mobile]]
| [[Isometric shooter]]
|
|-
|''Army Men Strike: Toy Wars''
| 2017
| [[Mobile game|Mobile]]
| [[Real-time strategy]]
|As of 2025 the game has been re-titled into ''TOY WARS''
|}

==Reception==
During its later years, the ''Army Men'' series was criticized by ''[[X-Play]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Uzuki |first=Heero |url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/features/44541/Army_Men_Sarges_War_GCN_Review.html |title=Video Game Feature |publisher=G4tv.com |date=2012-10-07 |access-date=2012-10-23}}</ref> and [[Seanbaby]] of ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly|EGM]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seanbaby.com/egm/armymenturfwars.htm |title=EGM's Uncensored Greatest Hits |publisher=Seanbaby.com |access-date=2012-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319194314/http://www.seanbaby.com/egm/armymenturfwars.htm |archive-date=2012-03-19 }}</ref> 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.<ref>''A-Z ratings'', ''Official UK PlayStation Magazine'', [[Future Publishing]] issue 108, March 2004</ref>

3DO released over 24 games within 10 years, leading to speculation that the company was rushing production, with little time and effort put into each title.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Press Start To Continue |title=What Happened To The Army Men Games? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAbviXzGp0 |website=YouTube |date=25 September 2018 |access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref> Former creative director Michael Mendheim said in 2021 that after the success of the early ''Army Men'' games, the executives at 3DO pressured the team to ship a new game every quarter. 3DO co-founder and designer [[Trip Hawkins]] even wrote a letter to [[GamePro]] magazine to defend ''Portal Runner's'' harsh reception, describing the editors as “angry young men” and threatening to reduce their advertising.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Handley |first1=Zoey |title=Army Men: Sarge's War: The eulogy for an entire series |url=https://www.destructoid.com/sarges-war-eulogy/ |website=Destructoid |date=27 June 2021 |access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|-group/army-men-universe|''Army Men universe''}}

{{Army Men series}}

[[Category:Army Men| ]]
[[Category:2K Games franchises]]
[[Category:Take-Two Interactive franchises]]
[[Category:Video game franchises]]