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Preview  Army Men Advance
- By Mike Schneider [Editor In Chief]
First Impressions:
I’m really surprised with this game, wow! I still had some bitter tastes left in my mouth from the N64 Army Men games, but thus far, Army Men Advance has alleviated much of the indigestion those previous games brought me.
So far, Army Men feels like a gritty old school shooter, in many respects. I love the action that the game has presented, since the bullets from enemies move slow enough to give you the opportunity to try and dodge them. When incorporating strafing into your attack, the action is second to none and really enjoyable.
Utilizing strafing properly did take a little getting used to, being that you’re controlling your character in the third person, but it’s very doable. All the other controls are very easy.
I really like the sound in Army Men, especially when headphones are plugged into the rig. Weapons have a very powerful sound, and the Yankee Doodle-esque theme song is a joy for my ears to listen to. A few other GBA games I’ve played have a sort of grainy effect to them that results in sound lacking any crispness, but I’ve yet to experience that sensation from Army Men.
Thus far, Army Men is very good. I can’t wait to continue progressing in the game. I’m looking to see whether it offers much of a challenge and how long it takes to get through, as well as seeing if there is much variety in the missions of the two selectable characters.
Original Preview, May 2, 2001:
3DO has made Army Men into one of the most commonly used game franchises around, of which the little toy figurines are set to appear on the Game Boy Advance for the first time.
Once again, the diabolically evil General Plastro has intentions of obliterating all greens from the face of existence, and will stop at nothing to avail. So then you, as either Sarge or a tiny female lady by the name of Vicky, must put an end to General Plastro and the Tan’s plans.
Using one of the two aforementioned characters, you’ll navigate across a large variety of terrain. Half the time, you’ll be in the ‘human world,’ where everything is sized as it should be in comparison to little green army men. You’ll come across stuff such as faucets in bathrooms, tables, plants, and more. The rest of the time you’ll be traversing the ‘plastic land,’ with environments shrunken down and making the army men come off more human-like. To survive, it’ll be essential for you to interact with the environment in various ways.
Unlike other Game Boy Army Men outings, this GBA version flaunts an entirely unique style to the series. First, as evident in the screenshots, the graphics are very, very cartoonish. Other versions at least attempted to convey a realistic setting; however, here, the entire intention is to create a world akin to a Saturday morning cartoon.
On the gameplay front, the controls will allow for movement in 8-directions – horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. This is a change from the control style of other Army Men games. Additionally, the game is now an overhead action game, another difference.
The Army Men series has always been most enjoyable on handhelds, and come GBA launch, we’ll see if this trend will continue.
- 6.12.2001 |
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INFO |
Developer: DC Studios
Publisher: 3DO
Number of Players: 1
Release Date:
06.11.2001
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