Well, it certainly is nice to see the Army Men in all their glory on PlayStation 2! Critics can all find time to grunt about 3DO dredging up even more material from the plastic universe, but as long as this stuff stays playable and creative it will be around. Luckily, Sarge's Heroes 2 is easy on the eyes and doesn't sacrifice anything on the gameplay front. And, you know what a front is, since you play these Army Men games. Since Sarge's Heroes 2 is on PS2 in full 3D, you won't see intricate prerendered visuals la Onimusha or simple backdrops. What you will see is all the visual effects from previous AM games taken to their logical 128-bit extreme. Sound and visuals for explosions and gunfire totally rock out, and although it's nice to have voiceovers during the game, sometimes commentary feels like a never-ending loop. Training has a lot of this. But, things like the sniper rifle now look so fresh, and breathe real life into a series that obviously has been showing its age. It's funny, but the 'shiny' look I found so annoying on real-life characters in games like X-Squad looks perfect on plastic men! It's like that effect was made for this game, and FMV cut-scenes make even more of it. There's way more animation between levels in Sarge's Heroes 2 and it's great to have the PS2's power pushing those pixels! And, on DVD, no less.

Sarge's Heroes 2 takes the battlefield combat of Army Men World War and personalizes it. With a cast of characters that only a general could love, Sarge's Heroes 2 takes up after the Green victory seems to have been finally won. General Plastro is lost behind the portals leading to the Other World, and presumed dead. But, as Tans come pouring through the portals and seem unharmed by the effects of exposure to the Other World, it becomes obvious that Plastro is alive and well with malice on his mind. Sarge will have to lead his ragtag band into battle, protecting Vikki Grim and fending off the mysterious Brigitte Bleu, a regular femme fatale for the Blue Resistance. Looking at Sarge's Heroes 2 it's easy to see a strong focus on story, and since the strength of the Army Men franchise has always seemed to be continuity, pacing and design, it's no surprise. Levels are large with lots of cover to hide behind, and there's over 17 missions to complete before Sarge can win the day. Weapons are the usual suspects, but everything about them from onscreen display to control is improved for PS2. Each campaign mission outlines objectives, and failing any one objective means starting over. There's a nice mix of offensive 'destroy this or that' objectives with more defensive or strategic goals, so playing through in single-player stays interesting. Several good multiplayer options are here, with Family Mode starting you fully armed and Deathmatch making you earn every piece of armament you use against the other guy. I would have liked to see more than just 2 Player multiplayer, but maybe that can make it into another Army Men game. As many games into the series as we are, it's nice to still see a well developed training mode for Sarge's Heroes 2. In what looks like an underground bunker, Sarge's buddies take him through some quick refresher courses on using the simple weapons like his trusty M 16 and work him up to the more complicated grenade launchers and TNT charges. Anyone who has played through an Army Men game before will find the controls immediately familiar, which is comforting. If it's your first time on the controls, it all feels good.

Enemy AI is actually well done, although I found myself falling prey to friendly fire at times on several missions. There could be a little more clarity to how each objective is supposed to be completed, but each level is designed in a compact way that doesn't let you get too lost. Better control and graphics make some of the frustrating elements from earlier Army Men games just go away, but part of me thinks the balance could have been improved for certain levels. It's like the game is either too easy or too hard, and that's between objectives on any one level. A sore spot among generally strong elements, to be sure.

Control schemes and interface or front-end seems to stay consistent from one Army Men game to another, which is nice. Because Sarge's Heroes 2 plays from an over-the-shoulder perspective, different kinds of movement come into play. Strafing controls help manage fields of enemies with either single shot weapon used in tandem with cover, or spray-weapons like the machine gun or shotgun. Managing the projectile weapons is still nice and easy, as in earlier games, if a lot better looking. Switching on the fly remains a core feature, along with basic movement controls. Learning all this for first-timers may take some time, even after Training Mode is complete, but missions scale slowly to accomodate any learning curve. Eventually the objectives and levels get pretty complex, so getting a grip on everything early is a good idea. As far as the engine running everything, 3DO seems to have a good grip on the PS2, barring normal 3D problems we all expect. And, it's impressive to see how clean everything runs.

Innovation may not be the mainstay of 3DO's Army Men universe, but substance is not a problem. Everything from visual panache to level design is well done. Pacing and structure seems a little hindered, compared to earlier games, but remember that this is a new platform in its first year of major development and production. Sarge's Heroes 2 is a great showing for PS2, and will hopefully excite not only the fans of the franchise but also those who might not have been able to get into the PlayStation games for one reason or another. Good stuff, with much promise for what's to come.