When 3DO first debuted their Army Men franchise a couple of years ago, a lot of excitement and admiration could be found with gamers and press alike. Whether it was a resemblance to the movie Small Soldiers or every young boy's dream to control his toy armies, Army Men was something that really had not been done well before. With 3DO supporting the Playstation 2 format, their initial batch of offerings included 3 games from the Army Men franchise. In this game, the sequel to the successful PSOne iteration, Sarge and his crew return for a new outing against the evil General Plasto and mysterious Bigitte Bleu. Unfortunately what could have been an interesting experience turns sour as it would appear the title slipped through 3DO's QA department.

Graphics
At first look the graphics are quite pretty and each level has some incredible detail. However, as you spend more time with the game, you realize that the visuals are not that impressive and in some cases are outright sloppy. It is hard to compare Sarge's Hereos 2 to the likes of Toy Commander which appeared on the Dreamcast in 1999. French developer No Cliche took this genre to another level in terms of visuals and gameplay. The boys at 3DO should have studied the dynamics of Toy Commander a little closer in order to update the Army Men franchise. The character detail is somewhat lacking as are the various explosions found within the game. They never really come together to give you that 'wow' factor. Kudos to 3DO for their CG cut scenes which can easily rival the best in the industry. Now if they could only transfer that energy into the game engine.

Sound
The soundtrack is standard fare for the genre. However, 3DO has done a good job in the voice over department by hiring some more than capable voice talent. The mysterious Brigitte Bleu's voice over gives the game some much needed character. The in game sound effects are a little below par when it comes to blowing things up. When making any game with weapons, time must be taken in order to ensure things sound right. When we played the game through the Midiland S4 8200, it sounded quite flat when compared to the likes of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Gameplay
This is where the game can go from difficult to damn right frustrating. This is due in part by sloppy control, problems with the camera and an abnormal A.I. configuration. There were more than a few occasions where we could not move the character due to a spastic and uncontrollable camera. This usually occurred in tight positions that required the camera to pull back in order for you to see where you were supposed to go. Nothing like jumping into mid-air only to find yourself at the bottom of the level or surrounded by enemies which have apparently appeared out of thin air. Another issue is the supposed 'lock-on' target mechanism which at times locks on undesirable subjects or disappear and not even lock on at all.
The mission objectives are simple and repetitive. Go and save this person, protect that person and search and destroy multiple objects. There are a total of 12 weapons including an all out Air Strike. Weapons can be found throughout the game and earned in hidden places. A number of power-ups are also available as you proceed through each level. In your journey to stop the twisted General Plasto, you will encounter 10 forms of enemy forces from soldiers to megabots.

Value
Sarge's Heroes 2 offers 15 missions which take place in over-sized real world areas. Do battle in areas such as a refrigerator, the larger than life Plasticville, to a final showdown in a full functioning pinball machine. Even though there are different difficulty settings, once through the 15 missions will more than satisfy even the most die-hard Army Men fan.

Final Word
The once mighty Army Men franchise has taken a bit of a slip on the next generation Playstation 2. No doubt the machine is not the easiest piece of hardware to work with, however gamers are expecting a lot of things way above and beyond the original Playstation. Sarge's Hereos just does not offer anything new to the genre and what it does offer has been done insufficiently. We have high hopes 3DO will remedy the pitfalls for the next wave of Army Men titles next year.