When one mentions "Army Men," the game of which most think first is Sarge's Heroes 2; most of us were children when this N64 classic hit shelves, but for there to be a sequel, there had to have been an original, right? Why don't we remember Sarge's Heroes until we've been thinking about it for a while? For a lot, it's probably the same reason that I don't remember it; I try not to. Sarge's Heroes isn't a bad game, but it's just depressing when placed next to its outstanding sequel.
he first and worst (hey, that rhymed) part of this game is the controls. The movement seems fast and jerky if you don't have the joystick tiled just far enough. You get used to it by the end of the first level, but it's nothing less than a pain. The manual aiming is just as bad but the opposite problem; it's WAY too slow. When you hold R to aim manually, the crosshairs drag across the screen. My grandmother is 90, and she could probably aim an M-16 faster than that. Thank God there's an auto aim. That's one redeeming quality about it; the auto aim is actually quite good. If you point in the general direction of an enemy (which can sometimes be a feat in and of itself with the fast, jerky movement) and start shooting, you'll hit him. Now, let me clarify here; the movement isn't like a plague, and the manual aiming isn't like trying to race a Pinto against Nissan Skyline. The movement is just faster than I'd like, and the manual aiming isn't bad if the Tan soldiers don't know you're there and aren't sending a barrage of hot plastic at you.
The second big drawback is the graphics. Now, I, of all people, place minimal importance on graphics, and the Nintendo 64 was one of the first plunges that gaming took into the 3rd dimension, so there were some technical limitations, but the graphics on Sarge's Heroes are just...rough. It's not so bad that it's hard to tell what's a Tan soldier and what's a tree, but it's just generally confusing sometimes. It's not terrible, 3D0 just could have done a bit better.
The last part is just a minor pet peeve of mine and something that all Army Men games seem to have; crappy dialog and bad puns. About halfway through the first level, for example, when you save Colonel Grimm, Sergeant Hawk says something like "Colonel, you're wounded," and Grimm says "It's just a 'plastic' wound." (yes, they actually put "plastic" in quotation marks in the game; even they knew it was lame) Yeah, just little things like that. One last closing thing; why do all of the guys have green skin, hair, and clothes, but the girls have white skin with green hair and clothes? O.o
Presentation: 8 - Army Men has been a big name since the early 90's, taking what most all little boys love and personifying it into characters and a storyline across a series of games. To have a hero who's name is more than just "Sarge" but "Sergeant Hawk" with more than a non-descript face was a great change to see; definitely a selling point.
Graphics: 5 - The graphics aren't bad really, by the end of 1999, we had come to expect more from the Nintendo 64. Granted, 3D was still unperfected, but 3D0 could have done better with the graphics.
Sound: 7 - The music is decent, and while Sergent Hawk's repetitive grunts and groans from injuries get annoying, there's something satisfying about the "p-shoo, p-shoo" from his M-16....
Gameplay: 7 - The controls are what kept this from an 8 or a 9. The gameplay would be amazing if you could adjust the joystick sensitivity, but since you can't, I give it a 7. The game's fun overall.
Lasting Appeal: 6 - Like I said in the beginning, few people if any think of Sarge's Heroes before they think of a sequel. It's a good game, but if you have Sarge's Heroes 2, don't bother playing this more than once.
Overall Score: 6.5
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