Army Men: RTS

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 46
  3. Negative: 5 out of 46

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  1. Thegreatone88
    Jun 6, 2002
    10
    The best RTS game i have ever played. i have only played the demo and it rules.
  2. Dauntless07
    Dec 5, 2011
    8
    I always loved Army Men. As a kid these little plastic guys were one of my favorite toys. You didn't need a lot of brains to understand it; it was all so simple. Every figure had a weapon, and knew how to use it. When i first played the Army Men videogames on PS1, I went in with high expectations. Why not? Army Men was the easiest way to take everything we liked about WWII entertainmentI always loved Army Men. As a kid these little plastic guys were one of my favorite toys. You didn't need a lot of brains to understand it; it was all so simple. Every figure had a weapon, and knew how to use it. When i first played the Army Men videogames on PS1, I went in with high expectations. Why not? Army Men was the easiest way to take everything we liked about WWII entertainment and put a fresh spin on it. Yet, I found myself disappointed. The games repeatedly failed to actually be fun due to boring gameplay, terrible AI, too few allies to fight alongside, and no was to play campaign with a friend. Then in 2002, 3DO finally got it right with Army Men RTS. Since then, 3DO went bankrupt, and the copyright on this game was not renewed. Meaning you can easily download it off the internet for free; which is how I first played it. This is definitely the best game in the series, though that's not saying much.

    Campaign mode is tons of fun. You get an over the top story with the over the top Army Men characters. What more could you ask for? It feels just like how you played with them as a kid, and that kind of nostalga gives this game an appeal that doesn't die. AI is pretty bad compared to a person, and the missions will all be pretty easy overall, but I'd far rather have this than the missions from other Army Men games which were either easy or rediculously hard.

    Online is where this game really shines. the game is very balanced, and battles tend to come down to skill rather than overpowered units. Not to say there are not overpowered units and cheap strategies, just to say that all players can indulge in them equally. The community for this game is small, but dedicated, and you can find plenty of user created maps to breath new life into online. Unfortunately, finding someone to play a map other than the extremely popular "Doubles" map can be frustrating. Don't worry, there are also mods. My favorites include the MP trainer mod that allows you to experience the multiplayer maps with AI opponents, and the realism mod that brought more believable performance and more balanced costs to units. Even new units are thrown in sometimes, including insects, the chinook, and the vulture from ExF's vulture island.

    the biggest flaw of AMRTS is unit pathfinding. The only thing effective in micro-management is individually giving units orders. It's a very unforgiving situation when you need to move a large mass of units, as factors like unit facing and spacing significantly determine who will win the battle. I would also criticize the lack of effective defensive structures. There are only 3, the guard tower, the pillbox, and the AA gun. Towers are the weakest, but good against infantry/Air only. Pillboxes are stronger, but only about as strong as a single tank, meaning if your pillbox goes up against even just 2 tanks, it will lose. Worse, a tank can park just outside its range and shoot it without fear of retaliation. This wouldn't be so bad if we had some kind of stationary cannon that could shoot ground targets, but for whatever reason, the AA gun can only target air units. Why? It fires huge missiles, and it seems pretty accurate and effective against choppers. Why can't it shoot tanks? Sadly, the only really effective strategy online is building tanks.

    Overall, Army Men RTS is built very safe. It's simple, and fun. under any other title, I'd say just pass this by, but under Army Men, this game does its job very well. Hardcore RTS gamers will find nothing noteworthy here. Pretty much everything has been done better in more difficult RTS games, but what's great about Army Men RTS is its simplicity; making this the perfect game to get into the RTS genre. It's also 100% free; who can argue with that?    … Expand
  3. Iskhiaro
    Sep 23, 2011
    4
    I too only played the demo, and I felt it was incredibly mediocre. In the face of games like Starcraft, Command and Conquer and Age of Empires which all came out years before it, this game just doesn't stand up.
  4. HawkX4
    Jun 17, 2013
    10
    Considering that this is the ONLY real-time strategy game in the series (NO, the original isometric Army Men titles do NOT count, they are tactical-shooters much like the original Fallout), this was not only the best game from the Sarge's Heroes sub-series, but one of the best games in the Army Men series and of all-time.
  5. MoeGordon
    May 17, 2015
    7
    This R.T.S is not bad, but it isn't going to win any awards, on the plus side it has one of the best ideas for a game that i have ever seen, man plastic soldiers fighting against each other, that is just awesome. But this game has a gameplay side too, and really mediocre at that, all the rts things are there, units, resource management, and base building, but it lacks many features ofThis R.T.S is not bad, but it isn't going to win any awards, on the plus side it has one of the best ideas for a game that i have ever seen, man plastic soldiers fighting against each other, that is just awesome. But this game has a gameplay side too, and really mediocre at that, all the rts things are there, units, resource management, and base building, but it lacks many features of most rts, all the units (including vehicles) can just move and shoot, they don't even have anything like patrol mode! And the other biiiiiig slap in the face, is the unit AI... if you wan't to control more than 5 units at the time you are out of luck, since they get stuck on each other, they have a hard time figuring out how to pass an obstacle, the ai is not really clever... But it still is a good game, yes it is a mediocre rts, but the story is fun, and the idea is timeless, i hope this game will get a remake....… Expand
  6. Genek13
    Nov 18, 2019
    6
    It's an OK RTS I think :) major flaw is lack of units or buildings..
    Visuals and music are also OK.
    An average experience
  7. TIKZ
    Jul 19, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es un buen juego por si pc no es muy buena es muy corta la historia pero vale mucho la pena si tienes un amigo pueden buscar como jugar online en el 2020 para que los 2 se echen una buena partida de vs… Expand
  8. vahunter
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    This was my childhood game in which I play for hours on end, I really enjoyed playing this game when I was younger and would probably play it again, I would recommend this game to anyone that likes games like: Company of Heroes, Age of Empires, and Command & Conquer, they all have there unique ways of making a kid happy.

Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Most Discussed PC Game of 2002
36
#36 Most Shared PC Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Media and Games Online Network
    80
    It is extremely funny in some places and you won’t be able to stop laughing, it would be a good item for anyone that enjoys a good laugh or use to play with the little soldiers when they where a kid.
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  2. PC Gamer
    57
    The initially exciting novelty of seeing those plastic men go to war starts to wear thin in short order. [July 2002, p.66]
  3. All Game Guide
    60
    Veteran RTS gamers may be put off by the simplicity, but novice players should be able to jump right into the plastic wars quickly.
    Read full review
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