Introduction

Army Men II picks up where Army Men left off. Sarge is apparently stranded in the kitchen. This was a very enjoyable game, though I feel that the interface took a little getting used to.

Graphics

The graphics are rather nice, though they look grainy in places. It is a 2d representation of a 3d field. Once you look at it, it is easy to tell whether you can go up or down a field. The flamethrower looks fire-like though not as much as the original. The soldiers look like the Army men plastic figures we all know and love, complete with almost all the poses that we have with the real figures.

Game play

Single player is pretty good. The levels are difficult without being impossible, and they cover a wide range of areas. You go from the kitchen to the front yard to army men land and even more. It is enjoyable. The enemy AI is pretty good, but the friendly AI is rather stupid. They get stuck behind the simplest obstacles, and your flamethrower men will shoot right through other friendlies to hit an enemy. If they are in vehicles, they will run over your own guys. Multiplayer has the typical deathmatch, capture the flag, and king of the hill. It also has hold the black flag which is like KFS in Mysteries of the Sith. Black flag killer, in which you only get points for killing other players if you are holding the black flag. The AI, however, builds the same things the same way every time. They also cheat. They are able to drive vehicles without anyone in them.

Sounds/Music

The Music is generally classical, they have Wagner and Mozart throughout the game. The sounds are pretty good. Sarge sounds like a plastic John Wayne. Some of the other soldiers also have their own individual voice. The weapons and vehicles have realistic sounds.

Stability

Army Men II is stable for single player, however, multiplayer can be very unstable. Playing over the network, it would crash very frequently. There are no stability patches for this, and that is unfortunate because it is a fun game.

Appropriateness

Army Men II is a top-view shoot-em up game. There is no blood, but plastic chips fly off of things when they are hit. When an army man is killed, sometimes their head and arms fall off. When anyone dies, there is generally a yell or a scream. The flamethrower causes things to melt into a puddle with a scream. Some of the death movies are somewhat eerie. There is only one instance of swearing in the game. In the final movie, which can be skipped there is one bad word. I deleted that movie, and replaced it with the 3do logo. The D word is used in one of the wav files, but to the best of my knowledge, is not used in the game. One level finds a doctor reanimating the dead body parts from soldiers into zombies. There is no occultic junk with that, it is just a machine.

Conclusion

Army Men II is an enjoyable game if the minor offensive bits don?t bother you, and if you can live with unstable multiplayer. This is in the bargain bins now at $10. I would recommend this to anyone who wants some fun with toy army men.

Game Play: B (Poor AI, but good weapons and levels) Graphics: B (Graphics are a little grainy) Sound: A (Good sound effects) Interface: B (The interface takes a little getting used to, but that is all) Stability: B (Unstable multiplayer) Offensive Content: C (Killing enemies, severing limbs, minor language, and resurrecting the dead plastic guys)