The frame rate is extremely choppy during in-engine cutscenes, and though explosions and other displays of special effects can cause things to chop up a bit during gameplay, it's otherwise pretty stable. The game wasn't graphically impressive in 2002, and it just looks old now. The highly conventional gameplay structure makes Army Men: RTS feel pretty dated, and the graphics make this trait even more pronounced. In general, the controls are relatively easy to get the hang of, though it's strongly recommended that you go through the game's tutorial before jumping into the main campaign, because the controls are not necessarily that self-explanatory. Units will generally do what you tell them to, though their pathing abilities are somewhat questionable, and they will usually take a straight path rather than seek out an easier alternate route.
You can add more units to your selected group by pressing the B button, and previously selected groups can be selected again by pressing the Y button. You can select all the units in a certain area by tapping the X button, or you can select all units of a specific type by moving your cursor over a unit and holding down the X button. One of the biggest hurdles for real-time strategy console games has been the controls, but Army Men: RTS gives you a pretty good level of control over your units. Sadly, there are no multiplayer modes in Army Men: RTS, though when you consider the limitations inherent in a split-screen multiplayer game, it's probably for the best. Furthermore, there's a special operations mode that puts you in one of eight missions with very unique objectives. And if the main campaign isn't enough for you, Army Men: RTS also includes a "great battles" mode, which puts you in one of eight large-scale base-building missions. There's really nothing new here, but each mission is executed well enough to excuse any lack of innovation. In one mission, you'll have to escort a village of funny-voiced Lego men to safety while also protecting them from the Tan Army. Some missions will charge you with tasks such as overrunning a Tan Army base or simply moving your troops from point A to point B. The mission objectives in the game's main campaign mode break no new ground for the genre, but Army Men: RTS hits the points it needs to. Resource management definitely plays a big part in successfully executing many of the missions, but not so much so that it overshadows the actual job at hand. Plastic can be harvested from items such as Frisbees, dog bowls, and toy robots, while electricity can be harvested from items such as batteries, walkie-talkies, and toasters. To create an effective army, you'll need to build a resource depot to gather plastic and electricity, the core building blocks of all your units. The bulldozer can be used to build structures, such as barracks and garages that can then be used to build more troops and vehicles, respectively. You'll start off each mission with a handful of troops and, depending on the circumstances, a bulldozer. Pandemic's traditional real-time strategy game still retains some of its charm today.Īrmy Men: RTS follows the story of Sarge and his platoon of roughnecks as they creep behind enemy lines to take out Colonel Blintz, an ex-Green Army officer who suffered a disfiguring head wound during combat and has subsequently "gone Tan." The story loosely mirrors some of the plot points in Apocalypse Now, and you'll find plenty of references to other classic war movies throughout the game's 15 missions.Īrmy Men: RTS closely follows the conventions laid down by past real-time strategy games, and though it simplifies and streamlines a lot of it, Army Men rarely strays from old-timey RTS conventions. It feels dated, yes, but a lot of the quality still stands up, and with strategy being a scarce commodity on the GameCube, it's hard to argue with the game's bargain-basement price tag. What Army Men: RTS has to its advantage is that when it was released nearly three years ago, it was actually pretty good. The fact that Global Star has seen fit to resurrect the Army Men name, which is arguably the most notorious of 3DO's franchises leading up to its final days, makes this release feel almost creepy.like a posthumous performance by a recently deceased actor.
#ARMY MEN RTS GAMECUBE PC#
Indeed, by video game standards, its original 2002 release on the PC and PS2 is ancient history.
Army Men: RTS on the GameCube can't help feeling like a relic.
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