Army Men: Sarge's War
Encyclopedia
Army Men: Sarge's War is a game in the Army Men
video game series. It was the first game in the series to be created by Global Star Software instead of series creator 3DO
and the last game to follow the series. The game is more mature and darker than earlier games in the series. Sarge makes no comical moves, holes are blown into soldiers, and the weapons are also made of metal. The game is really rated ages 12+ or 13+ not 16+.
Sarge arrives in the area (a beach
) and battles his way to the Tan portal. There, he discovers plans indicating that Malice has placed a bomb
at the peace ceremony, hidden in the Peace Statue. Sarge charges through the portal to stop the ceremony, but he is too late - as the bomb goes off, Plastro, Colonel Grimm, the Heroes and the Green and Tan armies are annihilated.Sarge then sets out to kill Malice.
He battles his way through the remains of Greentown to another Tan portal. Upon proceeding through the portal, he finds himself in Malice's artillery base. Sarge destroys all the artillery
and discovers a plastic well mine that Malice is using to build his army. Sarge floods the mine, rendering it nearly useless. He then travels across the desert to Malice's castle
. Malice is using the castle as a communication center for his air and ground forces, as well as a prison base for some of the Green army's finest men. Sarge penetrates the castle's defenses, frees the prisoners and destroys the communications tower. Discovering a passage from the castle to a kitchen in the Real World, Sarge flashes back
to a time when he was in a similar kitchen, in a squad led by Major Gooding. During a mission, Gooding and his squad were ambush
ed by Tan forces. During the ambush, Sarge called in an air strike and found Gooding's arm near the sink, leading him to the conclusion that Gooding was dead. As Sarge takes off in the helicopter, the flashback ends, and Sarge moves forth.
At the end of the game, Sarge finally reaches Lord Malice's headquarters, where he battles Malice himself. After defeating and fatally wounding Malice, Sarge asks him why he killed the Greens and Tans in Greentown. Malice reveals that it was simply to make Sarge suffer. Sarge removes Malice's face mask and discovers that he was actually Major Gooding, who was accidentally left for dead. Eventually, the Tan found him and changed him into the Lord Malice he is now. At the end of the scene, Sarge is seen walking out, saying that war
makes ultimately no sense.
The closing animation reveals storage tubes inscribed with the names of the deceased soldiers from the Greentown attack, hinting that Col. Grimm and the Heroes, along with Vikki, may not have died, and perhaps Malice had simply killed copies of them in order to play on Sarge's emotions - an action that ultimately was Lord Malice's undoing, According to the strongest rumor the storage tubes might have been metal coffins to sum up the story.
The events described at the end of Sarge's War occur during the beginning of Army Men II
, making the assumption that both games have a relation and explaining the lack of iconic characters but what is confusing is the clear different appearance of Plastro and Sarge, and Plastro supposedly died in Sarge's war at the bombing of Greentown.
Game Rankings rated Sarge's War 5 out of 10, GameSpot gave it 5.1 out of 10, and Game Informer rated it 5 out of 10.
Army Men
Army Men is a series of video games developed by 3DO and 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...
video game series. It was the first game in the series to be created by Global Star Software instead of series creator 3DO
The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company , also known as 3DO , was a video game company...
and the last game to follow the series. The game is more mature and darker than earlier games in the series. Sarge makes no comical moves, holes are blown into soldiers, and the weapons are also made of metal. The game is really rated ages 12+ or 13+ not 16+.
Plot
The game begins with an attack on Greentown by the Tan army and Sarge battling through the war-torn city to save it. After the battle, Sarge is informed by Colonel Grimm that the Tan Army has surrendered and that there will be a peace ceremony later that night, but that a rogue Tan division - Operation "Vengeance" - led by Lord Malice has stolen some infantry molds and can now build an army. Sarge's mission is to find and capture Malice, recover the stolen molds, and locate a missing recon squad.Sarge arrives in the area (a beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
) and battles his way to the Tan portal. There, he discovers plans indicating that Malice has placed a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
at the peace ceremony, hidden in the Peace Statue. Sarge charges through the portal to stop the ceremony, but he is too late - as the bomb goes off, Plastro, Colonel Grimm, the Heroes and the Green and Tan armies are annihilated.Sarge then sets out to kill Malice.
He battles his way through the remains of Greentown to another Tan portal. Upon proceeding through the portal, he finds himself in Malice's artillery base. Sarge destroys all the artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and discovers a plastic well mine that Malice is using to build his army. Sarge floods the mine, rendering it nearly useless. He then travels across the desert to Malice's castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
. Malice is using the castle as a communication center for his air and ground forces, as well as a prison base for some of the Green army's finest men. Sarge penetrates the castle's defenses, frees the prisoners and destroys the communications tower. Discovering a passage from the castle to a kitchen in the Real World, Sarge flashes back
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to a time when he was in a similar kitchen, in a squad led by Major Gooding. During a mission, Gooding and his squad were ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
ed by Tan forces. During the ambush, Sarge called in an air strike and found Gooding's arm near the sink, leading him to the conclusion that Gooding was dead. As Sarge takes off in the helicopter, the flashback ends, and Sarge moves forth.
At the end of the game, Sarge finally reaches Lord Malice's headquarters, where he battles Malice himself. After defeating and fatally wounding Malice, Sarge asks him why he killed the Greens and Tans in Greentown. Malice reveals that it was simply to make Sarge suffer. Sarge removes Malice's face mask and discovers that he was actually Major Gooding, who was accidentally left for dead. Eventually, the Tan found him and changed him into the Lord Malice he is now. At the end of the scene, Sarge is seen walking out, saying that war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
makes ultimately no sense.
The closing animation reveals storage tubes inscribed with the names of the deceased soldiers from the Greentown attack, hinting that Col. Grimm and the Heroes, along with Vikki, may not have died, and perhaps Malice had simply killed copies of them in order to play on Sarge's emotions - an action that ultimately was Lord Malice's undoing, According to the strongest rumor the storage tubes might have been metal coffins to sum up the story.
The events described at the end of Sarge's War occur during the beginning of Army Men II
Army Men II
Army Men II, released in 1999 is the second game in the long running Army Men video game franchise from The 3DO Company and a direct sequel to 1998s Army Men. The game differs from the first one in that it has battles in both the "real world" and the "plastic world." It is also the first to...
, making the assumption that both games have a relation and explaining the lack of iconic characters but what is confusing is the clear different appearance of Plastro and Sarge, and Plastro supposedly died in Sarge's war at the bombing of Greentown.
Reception
The game was generally rated as average or below average. Improvements on previous games included a new lock on feature as well as the ability to blow off enemy limbs. Most reviews also said that the darker appearance was nice. Drawbacks included sub-par graphics, repetitive gameplay and poor enemy AI.Game Rankings rated Sarge's War 5 out of 10, GameSpot gave it 5.1 out of 10, and Game Informer rated it 5 out of 10.