Army Men (1998) Retrospective Review

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Quick update: I've been receiving a lot of comments about Army Men 2. I am working on it but I got busy with real-life stuff and work on another video that isn't Army Men related. But after that video is done I'm starting Army Men 2 sorry for the long wait. There's more info on what I'm talking about in the community tab in my channel. Thanks for the support.

[@torshec8634]

The Army Men 2 Video will be out when it's out. And we like that.

[@drunkpaulocosta]

That's not good enough. When did we tell you that you could have a real life outside of YT?

[@DAshby139]

We're still waiting for army men 2 review. Your content like this is great! I'd suggest 2 videos, 1 that is long and is set up like this. and another that is like 20 minutes for your more casual viewers. either way, we're waiting!

[@MrModernKetchup]

Love the Army Men content man. Would love to see the same content for all the games. Fond memories of Sarge's war on the wii for me

[@SECONDQUEST]

Wow I'm glad you are alive can't wait to binge the video

[@torshec8634]

You can still see comments from ex-3DO developers of the various Army Men games in the Steam, GOG and KZbin comments, and it's depressing. Good ideas, not much support or development time, and weird annualization of game releases by 3DO, just look at Might and Magic at that time. Both franchises really suffered from shovelware bloat.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

I haven’t seen the comments on steam or gog. I did talk to one programmer on the game that was surprised that the game was even on steam lol. But yeah it’s a tragic downfall of rushing half baked games out the door time is money mentality ruined army men.

[@MarshallArts]

“No Green soldier ever won a war by melting for his country. He won it, by making the Tan soldier melt for HIS country!” -Sgt. Hawk

[@shifterverse]

Criminally underrated and under viewed video. It's made me want to source a copy and relive the glory days lol.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thanks for watching I really appreciate it!

[@shifterverse]

@@ZEN_Ivan your welcome dude, I really enjoyed your humour style, reminded me of RLM a little (hopefully that is highly praise to you, as I know some people don't like that comparison)

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@shifterverse Thanks I really apperciate that I don't really think I'm funny but I'm happy those little jokes made someone laugh. :)

[@shifterverse]

@@ZEN_Ivan nah dude had me chuckling all the way through, I'm not really one for watching gaming videos on YT, was pulled in by the nostalgia, but hung around till the end because I was throughly entertained, couldn't belive the injustice when I saw your sub count

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@shifterverse Well thank you I apperciate it. I'm working right now on another review getting the script and gameplay ready. I also have to shoutout my friend ENunn for helping me edit the video dude is a legend if you like video you have to check his gaming channel @ENunnGaming

[@walkrough223]

My favorite part was when Trip said "It's crunchin' time" and then 3DO employees worked like a mule to produce 15 games in a 4 year span of time.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

I think one of the world war games on PS1 took like 5 months to complete lol. Army Men Toys In Space took 7 months to be completed right after Army Men 2 was released.

[@NYG5]

@@ZEN_Ivan idk why they couldnt just spend the effort making one really good game instead of churning out a bunch of uhhhh games with issues

[@ReaverSenpai]

@@ZEN_Ivan How much time did Sarge's Heroes 2 take? i felt like it was the most refined of the series. also Green Rouge was surprisingly a good arcade shooter that seemed solid.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@ReaverSenpai most games took roughly a year to get done. Army Men to my knowledge has the longest development taking over 2 years to complete.

[@TheTuttle99]

​@@NYG5really? You don't know why?

[@AverageMann]

This is a certified hood classic

[@gavindixon15]

Would love this kind of review on each of the main line games! Great video!

[@CommissarFoxMcCloud2]

I 2nd this

[@vectorprime4387]

Thank you for doing this retrospective, it's nice to see the series still getting some love after all these years. By the way, I recently came upon something interesting in Toys in Space that I think you should know. A total of five multiplayer maps appear to be missing, at least from the GOG version. These maps are called "Day on the Green", "Killer Crossing", "Mudpit Massacre", "Park Panic", and "X Town Rivalry". These maps were probably released first as free dlc back in the day, before being packed right on the CD in the Army Men Value Pack version of Toys in Space. The maps can be added back into the GOG version by copying the five map previews in the bitmaps folder, the mpplayroom and mpsideyard folders under data, and finally copying and overwriting the mpmaps.txt, so the new maps are added to the game's map list. This might warrant a deeper look into the Army Men value packs in the future to see if there's any other extra content that got overlooked for the current digital releases.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Hey thanks for watching the video. I do know that AM1 and AM2 had multiplayer maps that you could download but I never saw them for toys in space I guess nobody archived those or they were never put up on the official site. I wonder if the war chest has them but I don’t think they do. Thanks for the info!

[@DirtyDanMunicipalMan]

I’d love to see more army men! This was excellently done.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Hey, thanks for watching I have two videos in the works right now. One is going on my friend Enunn channel and one hopefully might come out around December. Another Army Men video will probably come out next year.

[@paires0]

My man you are so good at story telling. I hope you will make more army men reviews. This video is stright fire. You my good man got a new sub

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thank you king I got another review cooking dropping early next year.

[@gavindixon15]

Easily the best army men focused video on KZbin, hope to see more of these

[@funkymon1251]

I was smiling half the way through and all the way to the end because. I noticed how much love and passion ( also this review cracking me up at certain parts) you have for this game and the series. You definitely sound like a person who enjoyed making this and I can feel enthusiam you have for this. Props to you for making this video now I'm interested!

[@kieslingsfilms]

Honestly, I would love an HD remaster of this game, and it's Sequels

[@gonzgrim4054]

Absolutely loved this video! There really isn't enough videos about the older army men games out there. Your commentary was thoroughly entertaining and I'm hoping you continue to review the sequel games (particularly excited for Army Men II). Thanks for the upload and I look forward to more!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thanks for enjoying the video I really appreciate it!

[@Green-Raccoon777]

It always makes me laugh how if you die in Toys in Space, HQ pulls an Metal Gear Solid, and goes "Sarge? Sarge??? SAAAARGE!!!" before playing the "You Lose" cutscene.

[@TheBoneHeadClan]

This series is a huge childhood influence for me. I never played the early games, but this video is crazy good at covering content, history, and info!

[@Clos93]

Came across your channel looking up Army Men 3D speedruns. Knowing how fuckin merciless the campaign can be, I can see you have skillz. I was obsessed with plastic army men as a kid. Would set up battlefields in the dirt and and make forts and bases for them. So I LOVED the Army Men series from 3DO. My favorite is Army Men 3D. I played that shit all the time on the OG PlayStation back in the day. Probably one of my first games. Would spend hours with my brother in the room level in multiplayer trying to access the unused assets behind a wall, that we as kids, thought was a hidden part of the level. And the endless death scream when you run over someone in a tank was the funniest shit in the world to 6 year old me. Maybe I had problems... 😅 Played Sarge's Heroes games, and the PS2 Armen Men RTS. Always wanted to check out the PC RTS, wish it was on GOG... (Edit: noticed it was on steam for a cheap as price, would be pretty dope of it works on the deck 😎)

[@tlet3]

We are so back 3D0 Bros

[@BurgundianGamer]

Fantastic video! It would be amazing if you did a full review like this on the 3D port as you debated in a few comments, even though the video will probably focus more on the company itself rather than the game since it is of course a port and not a fully different game. It will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first video game and honestly might be my earliest memory growing up. A shame the series ended in a schizo moment, and I’ll always hope the IP will be brought back like Battlefront (albeit with a better outcome). Keep up the great work!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

3D had a ton of problems during development the video wouldn't be too long 3D is that hard of a game if you play really slow. Right now I'm working on another review unrelated to Army Men but in the future, I will return to do Army Men 2 and 3D. Thanks for watching the video!

[@DarthMcDoomington]

@@ZEN_Ivan 3D was always facinating to me as a kid, never really played the other games until much later but 3D always had this sense of dark mystery to me. I didn't quite understand the plot, and the environment felt a bit sterile, but that added to the experience. Am I fighting for the good guys? Why am I doing this? What is even the Tans goals? Also, melting my enemies was fun.

[@halfbakedchannel6065]

My dad bought me the series up to world war (except 2) on PC. As a kid, I loved doing skirmishes with bots on TIS. It's too bad no one has tried to capture the game's magic. Bring back Sarge!

[@TheWisdomcube2000]

I really enjoyed this, and I appreciate all the effort put in. I miss these old Army Men games.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thanks for enjoying the video!

[@Greatdictator]

I love these kinds of videos, the effort and research showcases how much the person loves the game they are talking about even if its not a game thats incredibly revolutionary or as well known, but the important part is you can see how much a person loves it. Honestly even tho i love the army men games and i havent really gotten around to playing these particular ones, i just love it, i was actually really happy when i heard that the source code is out there available for people to dabble with. I hope you get around to doing the rest of the games as you seem to have a good knack for this editing wise. If you want to push the jokes even further potentially theres lots of army men like models available for SFM and Gmod For good or bad i never understood why the games never got more people talking about it due to how prominent they were, either as bad games or for the good ones. The last part of the video where you talk about how they just make Multiplayer games but never attempt something with a single player aspiration just drives me crazy. In any case thanks for the highly informative video and like said before i hope you tackle the rest of the franchise as this video is top quality

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Yeah I've been a fan of the series for a while even did speedruns of the games and talked to the developers. I was able to receive the source code to upload on archive.org. We had a team trying to get it but for months it went silence until I started contacting devs again. Hopefully a new source port happens but the community doesn't have many programmers. I want to go for the rest of the series and my good friend ENunn helped with editing he's the main reason why everything looks so good. I'll be doing more reviews on his channel ENunnGaming before I make more reviews on his channel. For the jokes I went with unity as the fortnite dances I downloaded only worked with unity I had some ideas to do an animation like in 40:43 I wanted to animate the scene but I'm not an animator lol. I did get the original models the game used and added bones so I would want to upload them on the steam workshop for GMod and maybe SFC. As for the last part its pretty much true Army Men is just a gimmick for companies to use to sucker in consumers. Anyways thanks for watching the video I really appreciate it!

[@rogermcbadlad2812]

Thanks for this! I grew up on the PS titles and finally bought the bundle on steam. I love the first one (even though Steam seems to break it for me and I have to navigate to the executable and uncheck compatibility everytime I run it) and it’s a great game. I think if 3do would have slowed down and just focused on Sarge’s Heroes, Air Attack, and further pushed the World War series as isometric RTT/shooters like the original, the games might have sold better and had more polish. The poor controls and sometimes lackluster gameplay of later entries really hurt the potential. (Sarges heroes could have been much better with a proper targeting and cover system like Sarge’s war had)

[@archer8492]

Well that was a fun trip down memory lane. I started a blog post on Army Men then realised it's so long since I played it that I really ought to at least watch some footage first. I have so many great memories of the original game, and it was a real staple of my life when I was about ten or eleven years old. I'm pretty sure the original CD is still at my parents house somewhere, if I ever have a PC again I'll have to see what I need to do to run it. Great video, appreciate you going through the entire game mission by mission so I can vicariously relive it with no effort!

[@johannr2658]

I like the idea of the auto rifle being an M60 but I think they should’ve just stuck with the Bren gun or it’s also an M16 but with a 30 round mag icon detail.

[@DeadGothicRed]

Army Men, Army Men II, Army Men 3 toys in space, Army Men helicopter series, the odd PC version, Sarges Heroes, Army men RTS, and Green Rogue, all have a very special place in my heart.

[@Quickdrawingartist]

Same.

[@12345hellothere]

Great video! It's really interesting to see someone else's strategy and tactics for a game I've played a million times! You even revealed some things that I either never knew (i.e., the location of minesweepers in some missions and some speed running techniques) or took me years to figure out (i.e., completing Act III Mission 3 in Alpine so quickly). I played Army Men on Windows 98 when I was a kid and still replay it occasionally. I'd like to share my own thoughts. By the way I find it funny how HQ only cares about rescuing captured Green troops if it'll help Sarge get the keys/portal! Desert: Basically agree with everything you said but I don't think Desert is the best campaign. In Act II I always bomb the tanks on Mission 1 and then take my men easily through the now-devastated "Possible Enemy Activity" area to reach my base. I remember Brute Force and Act III were super-hard when I first played the game. I saw you use mines extensively in Act IV Mission 1, but I always mortar my way through. Alpine: This is where our opinions differ. I LOVE Alpine. I think it's the best campaign in the game. I always felt like Desert was just being stuck deep in Tan territory, but the Alpine is Green country (more Green troops, Green bases with med-tents, etc.). I also think the slight variety in music was a welcome change to the same drum taps of desert. In the train mission I do it differently: I let the Tan flamethrowers chase me across the train tracks so the train can run them over. I then pick up the paratroopers for my coming assault. I then call up my squad, plant explosives on the train, and let the Tans chase me below the train so the train will take out the Tans when it explodes. After I drop my paratroopers, I then take that key. I also play Act III Mission 2 completely differently because I purposely play the hard way: I want the Green Army to succeed in its assault on the forest, so I drop my paratroopers and air strikes on the forest to help the Greens succeed and then complete the mission. Bayou: Couldn't agree more. This campaign is terrible. I don't know why it is that the final levels in games I love (i.e., Thief Gold and Thief II) end up falling off. I like letting the Tans and Grays kill each other for me and the music, but that's about it. Everything's too constricted and the devs throw everything they have at you in terms of infantry, not to mention far too few weapons to pick up. I didn't know about the explosives acting as mines; I always use mortars and bazookas. Anyway, great video, well researched and played. It's great to see a fellow Army Men lover! I think this game is the best one in the series, followed by Toys in Space, II, and RTS. Conversely the worst that I've played have been Green Rogue on PS1 and the entire wretched World War series on PS1 (especially Land, Sea, and Air and Team Assault, the former being extremely frustrating and the latter being mechanically broken and unfun; Green Rogue combines these awful traits into a horrid mess!). What do you think? How would you rank the Army Men games?

[@velvet7138]

Fantastic, I grew up playing all the games on PS1 and PS2 (even air attack). Are you planning to review more army man games?

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Hopefully in the future but I'll be doing different games as well.

[@DaMailman22]

Absolutely fantastic. I loved these games as a kid, here's hoping this brings about some well needed attention to the series!

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

The army men series is undoubtedly one of the best game series of it's time, well it is in my opinion! Army men toys in space is a fantastic game, I love the soundtrack. I like that you can still play the levels even if you have already finished off all the missions. I like the fact that all the weaponry is based on real military gear, instead of fantasy. I collect army men and police figurines! I need another computer to play my PC CD rom army men games on. I'm on the look out for a 3DO console. I just wish my dad hadn't thrown away my 1993 PC with all the floppy games in 2001 when I was 12. I used to play the original prince of Persia game and a really fun game called challenge of the ancient empires. I came home from school, and BAM!!!! It was all gone!!!!

[@collinslack52]

These were great games. I can see how the series got burnt out though with all the different games over such a short period of time. Would love to see this series revisited in RTS role as well as 3rd person action shooter.

[@sisigs4820]

Do you mean Army men Sarges war and Army men RTS?

[@collinslack52]

@sisigs4820 they don't have to be 1 for 1 remake. But essentially, yes. Bring the IP back. Not in huge AAA fashion. But a neat little story and some multiplayers modes. Ctf, vehicle warfare, tdm, king of the hill.

[@rickmin3566]

My grandfather played this game. It was always so fun watching him play.

[@picoletor]

have you taken a look at "attack on toys"? maybe it lacks single player, but, is kind of an amalgamation of every army men game (almost) you can play it as an RTS like well... army men RTS, or as a third person shooter like sarges heroes, or spawn a tank and play it like battletanx (another 3DO forgotten franchise) or spawn a huey, or an apache and play it like army men air attack/combat

[@jukeboxdude]

This is the first game I ever played as a kid and still love it to this day. Still have my original Windows 95 disc for nostalgia. The music is great, sound effects memorable, the map design is awesome, and the gameplay itself is just challenging enough to keep you from rage quitting (grey colonel mission anyone?). Spent many hours just goofing off and exploring. Can't say enough good about it. Just recommend it to anyone that loves isometric games that involve some level of strategy. Sad they ruined their niche market by pumping out so many low budget titles over the next few years. PS1 is what killed them. I've played most of their titles across different consoles and you can tell that after 3D on PS1, they rushed out some janky games. Hopefully some indie group revives the franchise one of these days... Hopefully...

[@ZEN_Ivan]

We can only hope brother

[@Sarmathal]

Oh wow, I only had the PS1 Army Men games growing up. I never realized that Army Men 3D was a pseudo Remake/Port of this game.

[@Alte.Kameraden]

Man Sarge's Heroes was most definitely the best mission in the entire game in my opinion. I played, replayed, and just played the crap out of that mission. lol

[@McMeatBag]

I loved that series. Seeing that boot camp segment was like an immediate hit of nostalgia.

[@CappnRob]

That ending rant spoke to me on a personal level. Army Men 2 was my first PC game that I bought on my own accord as a kid (ie, it wasn't a game my parents or grandparents already had). I didn't even HAVE a PC at the time, so I had to go to my grandparents house to play the damn thing! And let me tell you, its a good thing it wasn't 3D accelerated, because what 9 year old me didn't understand were SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. It would take a half hour to load a level, during which time I would play with some LEGO I brought with me or eat lunch or some shit like that. ANYWAY, This IP was great. Then it crashed and burned, and then the remains were desecrated horribly. There were like 30 goddamn games released in little under a decade, it was nuts. I don't think Army Men's reputation was totally unearned when looked at like that, sadly. For every great game you had weird cross-generational junk like Green Rogue. I feel that the successors to the game didn't realize what made the first handful of games good, and thus just slapped together whatever they could put the label on with recycled assets. The seriousness and grit is honestly the key to what made Army Men so hilarious in the first place. It's such a good satire, and the WW2 movie references seal the deal. I don't dislike the Sarge''s Heroes style games with the more Saturday Morning Cartoon feel and half the cast being voiced by Jim Cummings, but those games really did take the setting and vibe for granted. Just look at that manual for AM1. Sarge is a fucking psychopath saying shit like "its not the Tan's fault they're evil fascists who want to take over the world so really killing them is doing them a favor" without a drop of irony. It's a forever war, a child's understanding of something deep and serious and painful. The gritty realistic dour visuals and melodramatic narrations and treating this goofy ass conflict between literal toys like its a lost John Wayne classic, its beautiful. The second game new how to use the Real World aspects wisely too instead of leaning too hard on it for jokes. I want this series to come back one day. Come back in the hands of people who understand and appreciate its deceptively intelligent humor, and do more still. Go all in on the big war drama satire, just let the inherent absurdity of plastic toys who all look and sound the same fighting for eternity because that's literally what they're made to do speak for itself. And by god, I'd love to see the Arcade Top Down Shooter Meets Lite RTS hybrid gameplay make a comeback. I'm also tired of Mean Greens styled basic bitch multiplayer shooters or games that are just CoD with a plastic skinjob. The genius of the action-RTS hybrid was that it understood what playing with Army Men as a kid felt like. You'd designate your own favorites, name your own characters, you were both Rambo and John Matrix as well as a military commander calling the big shots. It was a special balancing act that the later games forgot. Really looking forward to seeing you cover more AM games.

[@ha4e52]

Awesome vid, can't wait for the Army Men 2 and Toys in Space reviews!

[@StuartKReilly]

I’m only now just finding this video. It’s refreshing to FINALLY see other KZbinrs talk about this series who aren’t as obnoxious and annoying as me. Army Men grew my channel so it has a special place in my heart.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@StuartKReilly yeah I remember watching your two part army men video back in the day. Thanks for watching. Also you can roll on the mines using the minesweeper to sweep the mines faster you don't need to walk.

[@WavyRanchers]

Super fucking weird seeing you here. Sometimes youtube feels like a real small place. Hope the streaming is going alright man.

[@Blooticus]

Absolutely unreachable charm. Its timeless. A true classic

[@กษมทรายสมุทร]

I love this video and I need more!!! When I was a kid I love to watch my brother and father play Army man RTS. When I grow up a bit my father give me Army man sarge's war for me. Since then my brother become RTS enjoyer and I become shooter enjoyer. I can say Army man series founded a lot of merories in my family.

[@RyleyRyedawg]

i already know this is a certified zen ivan classic

[@kingscrump]

Dang I’m glad you made this recently :)

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thank you for watching :)

[@conscript900]

I know the intro gives the game a hard feel but holy crap that manual just slaps as hardcore

[@nickthepick8043]

I really enjoyed this. Felt like a movie. Heck, you can say that the story of Army Men/Army Men 3D could be movie-worthy. You can have Sarge mentoring and leading his troops like he did with that private in the game's manual. Have him or the Gray Colonel have introspective moments in the time they have together. I won't lie, when I was in my younger, I made a bunch of Army Men lore I wanted to use for future stories I wanted to write. Looking back, it was cringe. But not entirely. I REALLY agree with you at the end of the video, specifically regarding the mock-ups or attempts at making Army Men games. It's just not the same. A good story is what I look for in a game. And this game in particular felt mysterious. The imagery of the portal and the decaying toy objects is great on their own.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thanks, King I appreciate it right now I'm working on another video and then Army Men 2. Thanks again for watching!

[@nickthepick8043]

@@ZEN_Ivan The pleasure's all mine! Now you got me all pumped up. Btw you're the king here.

[@MichaSvaquish]

I grew up with Armymen PC, playing in my father Pentium 2 Win98 PC. It was awesome. Then Armymen 2 with its transition between human world and toys world. Oh that magnifying glass and aerosol were mindblowing. Those suicidal M80 soldiers were scary as hell. And zombies. Then Armymen Toys in Space came with funny power up and weaponry. Those giant head laser choo choo were annoying. So nostalgic.

[@justlogan6979]

God I miss these games so much. Played through the whole series again a couple years back and I’m praying that 2k will let someone reboot it one day

[@spookrockcity]

The poster for this game still hangs on the back of my childhood bedroom door

[@Aztecius]

Amazing review honestly. Would definitely be interested if you continued this series, especially on the Army Men games.

[@TrifectaMonkey]

The amount of warcrimes I've committed with plastic armymen figures in my childhood is unspeakable.

[@browncow8422]

I loved this game and its plot! They need to make a continuation of this game, I’m convinced it’ll be popular if it did happen, as much of a long shot as it is.

[@Archy2Cold]

Yooo it's here! Already know it's ganna be legendary.

[@nickXskull]

Common ZEN_Ivan banger video. Great work as always my friend.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thank you Nick.

[@user-nd7rg5er5g]

I went from knowing nothing about Army Men, to dabbing in green fatigues and thinking that Army Men deserves more love. Excellent video, A++++++.

[@tkspence]

Came out sick bro!

[@derekha170]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Maybe I'll sit down and play through the PC series (1-3) again soon.

[@flamingc1839]

I was here for this legendary 25 year anniversary

[@Tchado1000]

Army men.....oh my childhood ! Love those games on PC ! Got them on steam a few years ago , and what a ride was that again !

[@HkSniper]

A "serious" Army Men game where you are merely another piece of the war machine would be awesome. Something larger scale. With a mixture of settings. I'd love to see a mix of the Army Men 1 type levels and the later iterations in "real world" settings. Loved this series growing up.

[@r4nt5u]

This video brought back so many good memories playing this game back in the 90's. Keep up the good work.

[@mgproductions2007]

wtf the bigbox of this game looks epic with the little soldiers inside!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Yeah, they're pretty neat by World War they stopped shipping them in the box.

[@mgproductions2007]

@@ZEN_Ivan thanks for making this btw, big nostalgia for original game and sort of been waiting for some kind of more substantial coverage on KZbin

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@mgproductions2007 Well I’m happy you enjoyed I got more reviews coming. I just uploaded a Pepsi man review for my friend’s channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bX2xaYWhpJmYqdk

[@mgproductions2007]

Can't believe that source code came out all these years later.. Would love to see a remake that added wide screen support, improved controls and some extra details/levels.

[@ZEN_Ivan]

@@mgproductions2007 there is a remake but it’s been on the hold. The source code took a couple of months to acquire but I’m happy to see that someone is trying to add some QOL improvements to the game.

[@millerdiamond708]

that sus at the mine field when you died

[@superandreluizduarte]

I just love when Army Men series get the limelight it deserves. Only games that ran well on my Pentium 4 Pc

[@vampirecount3880]

The second army man game was legit great, but the first one was indeed a little underwhelming. It was your mediocre 1998 action game but with plastic soldiers. The second game though, was amazing, the campaign was very well done and interesting, with very creative missions with toy soldiers fighting in real environments a la Toy Story. And the multiplayer was decent.

[@ossiexx]

such a fun video from start to end, cant wait for more

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thank you king

[@native_earth916]

Dude this video goes so hard. Absolutely legendary for such a legendary game

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thank you for watching more reviews in the future my friend.

[@alexyo3927]

You just came up on recommendation. Loving the video so far

[@therealshug]

wow, this brought back so much. I totally forgot about this game. I have so many vivid memories of it as a kid, I played it in the 90's. Currently half off on GOG for anyone wondering

[@D3monL3A1]

Love how this ties in perfectly to the start of army men 2

[@yeahrightgetreal]

The army men games were so fun. The whole toy soldier gimmick was always my favorite. Even though this first one doesn’t really delve into the fact they are toys, I always loved the concept of when they fight in the real world, although the realistic biome worlds were cool too

[@bobobserver8990]

While I didn't play the game much, my brother was pretty good at it. I simply helped with occasional ideas when he hit levels that were a struggle. I think only some of the last levels were a headache. Think we even glitched out the last level so it wouldn't finish. We had to use the skip mission code to beat it. Though we also enjoyed some of the 3D games they had on the N64. Army Men 1 and 2, and the helicopter game. Never played Sarge's War, but we had fun with the series.

[@NietrTM]

God, I loved this so much. But you know what I'd honestly love more? PLEASE make an Army Men II or Toys In Space retrospective. This video was amazing and the editing is great i fucking enjoyed every second man. I just love how wacky the series gets from here and would love a retrospective

[@ZEN_Ivan]

I’m doing a race game retrospective and then it’s on to Army Men 2 it’s just real life gets in the way you know. But I’m glad people like the video thanks for watching!

[@NietrTM]

@@ZEN_Ivan I sure as hell do know lol this was an awesome watch and im psyched for Army Men II man, great stuff

[@Mood_SlayerVT]

Yo! I recently downloaded those files and want to mess around with a bit of this stuff but I am having a hard time finding those 3D models you preview at 1:26:36. Think you can help me out? Thanks!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Here you go: archive.org/details/VPmodelcoll I suggest you open the files using a program like noesis to open the files. The models should be under the character folder that also includes plastro.

[@Mood_SlayerVT]

I have been DREAMING of getting my hands on these files since I was 3 years old when the first Army Men game came out! Thank you my friend. Wonder if ill be able to make some beautiful animations@@ZEN_Ivan

[@Mood_SlayerVT]

I can't seem to open any of the HRC files, mainly the ones in "modelsViewpoint_Gold_Military_Space_M

[@PAPARONI_IV]

PLEASE PLEASSSE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE REVIEWS FOR 2 AND TOYS IN SPACE I LOVE THIS REVIEW!!!!!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Working on another video, and then it's on to Army Men 2 hopefully, I can get to Toys in Space by summer if all goes well. Thanks for enjoying the video so much!

[@gunmandan3433]

35:46 "Ahh, that'll take the sting off it."

[@redfred004]

I hope you do the whole PC series

[@ZEN_Ivan]

I'll eventually get to Army Men 2 and 3D hopefully soon busy doing real life stuff lol

[@Mecha_Frog]

That was a amazing video, i really hope you do one for Army men 2 that was my personal favorite to play. Also you got to tell me man where did you get the dancing gifs are the army men? Those gave me a good laugh!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

When the original models were found I added bones to the models and imported them into unity. I got a Fortnite animation dancing pack and made the models dance. I put them behind a blue background so they can be chroma-keyed out. I have another video in the works unrelated to Army Men but I have plans to do reviews for AM2 and AM3D. Thanks for watching.

[@JorgeL721]

Reminds me of Lead Soldier. "You!" "Move!" "Go!".... "I got a bad feeling about this Sarge!"

[@ViktorOcurra]

I remember working my ass off for a summer so my parents would buy me the Army Men bundle from Target. Army Men, World War, Air Attack and Sarge's Heroes (aka Jim Cummings talking to himself for a few hours). I'm sure I still have the CDs hiding somewhere. It's cool to see that it's still got a cult following to this day. Also the game Foxhole has a texture mod that makes everyone look like Army Men and being a top down shooter it's pretty fitting lol.

[@theshooternamedflynn]

The 3D version of Army Men on the PS1 was me and my Older Brother's childhood game. Of course, being the younger brother I was always designated as the Tan - the "bad guy," and as such have grown up loving tan army men more than I ever did the green ones.

[@whatshisface04]

Army Men is definitely my favorite of the series, I spent so much time playing that game as a 10 year old boy. I played Army Men 2, Sarge’s Heroes 1 & 2 on the N64, and a helicopter based one Army Men: Airstrike I think? I enjoyed them all, but the first one was my favorite.

[@Sithplayer]

Well made Zen. Also love the Screen cap of Goober commenting on my post😂

[@Rderiley]

Bro your commentary is legit hilarious!

[@ZEN_Ivan]

Thanks but I'm not really funny. But I appreciate the comment! Thank you.

[@martind5653]

ok now i need to see other army men games. Couple of those are like my hidden side core childhood memory.

[@jonathanshields7414]

The way this guy says Tans can be so dismissive yet also vindicating without changing gis tone. Gave me a good laugh for sure. Cant believe i never played 1 or 2 and my love for the franchise (and the toy itself) was on shovelware.

[@junker154]

These games were crushing my balls back in the day. Glad to see some coverage! Great video.

[@martiusr2404]

Great video! And I'm glad to hear that I was not the only one who had huge problems with the fourth act in the Desert (I've played first time in Army Men around 2001 and back then stopped on the Death Warm Over). This month I finally returned to the game, beaten that level and some time after beaten the whole game!) Although IMO it's one of the examples where first AM game shows unfair high difficulty - basically you need to know exactly where tanks will appear and prepare for them mines in advance. And most of the tanks are appearing shortly before truck will arrive to specific point. Next levels can be also brutally unforgiving (a lot depends on what is weapon you can collect right after start of the game - especially painful are those, where even obtaining autorifle is not instant and requires some effort to get it). Sadly, some of those are caused by unfortunate design choice - I can't count how many times I had to restart Enemy Mines, just because enemy grenadier has threw the grenade too close to the mine and collapsed the entrance. Which basically stops you from obtaining auto rifle or sometimes even from getting back to the entrance and continue the mission. Fortunately, in Army Men 2 and Toys in Space they improved the control, which was quite clunky in the first game. My personal conclusion? Despite its flaws it's worth to play (as well as some of other games in the series), but expect some pain and difficulty issues. And problems that were never perfectly solved, like stucking in some places with crowded "collision points". I was annoyed with the flaws, but completing a mission by figuring out the best approach (to obtain crucial weapons, avoid being overrun by enemies etc) is extremely satisfying. Although no normal save game mode makes it more stressful than it should be :P

[@kuznetsov9471]

The Alpine part, specifically Mining Camp is the one I played the absolute most other than Boot Camp cause those were the only 2 you could play on the Demo, so for me Mining Camp back in the day was piss easy. I also had Army Men 3D on my PS1 and Sarge's Heroes, I loved played those games. Though I think Air Attack/Air Attack 2 were my favorites on the PS1 cause I could play Coop with my father, I loved swinging objects with the Helicopter's rope and crush multiple enemies at once, loved the helicopters, pilots and overall levels cause they were colorful and very entertaining!

[@stefanosiclari]

I remember playing Sarge's Heroes on my Dreamcast so many years ago. Back then it was one of my favourite games, and I guess it still is. I'd like to see a retrospective of that one

[@CryptToneMusic]

Please review more of the army men games! I agree i would love a more grounded take on the series with less goofy stuff like playing as army men in a sand box or bedroom. I always wanted more of the lore of the series and to learn about the other army men colors etc.

[@thebigksmoosey]

I loved Army Men... Had to play at my friend's house, he still lived with his parents and had money. I think it was the only 3DO in a 20 mile radius, lol

[@broscones1986]

Love the video! Grew up with this game too. I remember playing it on MPlayer

[@Celticking1994]

Man i remember playing this in the spring as a kid windows in my room open listening to nirvana and 7 mary 3 good times i swear the breeze smelled better back then.

[@johannr2658]

I thin this game is epic but the first level had me frustrated because the looping music just got really annoying after a while and I don’t wanna play this masterpiece without sound

[@ALiberalVeteran]

Classic game, a real treasure. The whole series of games were great.

[@Erosgates]

Man…. PC game packaging used to be the bees knees. I remember as a kid reading & inspecting them all in an attempt to figure out which game I wanted.

[@wazthatme]

I remember going to my uncles house and playing this all the way to the end over a weekend so good

[@4500jas]

Army men and Total Annihilation were literally the first 2 video games I ever played as a kid

[@thefearofg0ds758]

1:11:21 1:12:24 What's crazy is I've never played any of the Army Men games. They were those games that kind of just existed and I never paid them any mind, but at the start of this video, I thought to myself how cool it would be if the game starts off grounded in reality...then slowly the missions start becoming increasingly more bizarre, then the supernatural is introduced and then you start seeing hints that all the events of this war is just some kids imagination while he's playing with his toys and you're actually in his room. The fact they actually went this route makes me want to give these games a try lol. They can legit do anything with this concept.

[@melonman56]

Giving me one big nostalgia flashback.