History VideoGame / ArmyMen

''Army Men'' was a popular series of VideoGames by the now-defunct Creator/The3DOCompany, about a war among several factions of plastic Army Men. The game was inspired by the developers' childhood memories of playing with miniature Army Men. The series lasted from 1998 to 2003, when 3DO went bankrupt. Many fans of the series laud the initial games' more "family oriented" take on the shooter genre. After ''Army Men: Air Attack'', the brand started suffering from lower quality sequels and spinoffs (let's not talk about a [[VideoGame/PortalRunner certain game starring Sarge's war journalist girlfriend]]). Since 3DO went under in 2003, various other companies have since tried to make games based on the Army Men brand.

* KillEmAll: ''Sarge's War''. [[spoiler:Every major character in the series except for Sarge himself is dead by the end of the game. However, it is implied that Lord Malice either re-built the characters and had the clones waiting in life pods at the end, or actually kidnapped them before hand and replaced them with clones purely for Sarge's benefit to make him suffer, and had the actual characters themselves locked in stasis in the life pods.]]

* FatBastard: General Plastro in the ;;Sarge's Heroes;; games. Compared to the original ''Army Men'' titles, where he was built like a truck.

* KnightOfCerberus: Lord Malice. He only appears in one game, ''Sarge's War'', which is the darkest game in the entire franchise.

* BondOneLiner: Blowing up tents in one level in Army Men 3D will cause Sarge to quip "Knock knock."

* DarkerAndEdgier: Sarge's War, to a large extent. Sometimes borders on parody of the gritty war hero type film.
** Before that were the World War games, which played WarIsHell devastatingly straight.
* DeadpanSnarker: Sarge in the Sarge's Heroes games, when he wasn't being a dutiful soldier. Captain Blade meanwhile was in snark mode 24/7.

* DirtyCoward: Hoover, the team's minesweeper, looks like he wished he called himself a conscientious objector, and will retreat in RTS if he takes even a little damage.

* CreepyCockroach: Starting with Army Men 2, they start appearing in the real world. Due to the limited graphics of the [=PlayStation=] games, they can be downright horrifying.

* FaceHeelTurn: Colonel Blintz in the RTS after quite literally losing his mind.

** Captain Blade spends half of Air Attack 2 on the run, after being court marshaled and then breaking out of prison for his actions almost getting his wingmen killed.

** Bridgette Bleu is revealed to be this in Sarge's Heroes 2.
* FatBastard: General Plastro in the Sarge's Heroes games. Compared to the original Army Men titles, where he was built like a truck.
* FreezeRay: Tina Tomorrow's and the rest of the space valkyrie's weapons in ''Toys In Space'', there's even a truck that fires freezing mortars.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first Sarge's Heroes has a throw away line about plastic soldiers who stay in the real world for too long becoming frozen. Sarge's Heroes 2 makes this a major plot point.

* HoneyTrap: Vikki uses this to get info on the Tan after being captured in Sarge's Heroes.

* KillEmAll: Sarge's War. [[spoiler:Every major character in the series except for Sarge himself is dead by the end of the game. However, it is implied that Lord Malice either re-built the characters and had the clones waiting in life pods at the end, or actually kidnapped them before hand and replaced them with clones purely for Sarge's benefit to make him suffer, and had the actual characters themselves locked in stasis in the life pods.]]

* LighterAndSofter: Sarge's Heroes, sandwiched between the PC games, and the World War games.
** The games after Sarge's War has the plastic armies fight robots in Major Malfunction or Tans fighting against a shrunken little kid in Soldiers of Misfortune.

* MamaBear: A boss fight in Sarge's Heroes 2 was against a giant spider called the Queen who attacked Vikki for killing all the other spiders she ran into.

* MoreDakka: One of the fastest firing units in the series is the space valkyrie minigunner in ''Toys In Space''.
** The original games had the BAR as an upgrade to your default weapon, which at least doubled the firing rate. Meanwhile, the M60 (which [[MisidentifiedWeapons looks far more like a Bren]]) was the extra lead thrower in the Sarge's Heroes games.

* OneHitKill: Bayonet charges in the World War games was this for both sides.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: The zombies that start showing up in Army Men 2 and other games where Dr. Madd makes an appearance aren't flesh (or plastic, as the case would be) seeking ghouls, but are more like Frankenstein's Monster in mannerism and appearance.
* PapaWolf: Col. Grimm, in Sarge's Heroes, was ready to capitulate after Plastro had Vikki captured and threatened to kill her. Fortunately Sarge was able to rescue her before it came to that.

* PromotedToPlayable: Vikki in Sarge's Heroes 2.

** Army Men 3D had just about every main theme from a war movie from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

* RunningGag: In the Sarge's Heroes games, Plastro keeps demanding one of his subordinates to bring him a sandwich.

* SequelHook: The first Army Men game (and 3D, for that matter) ends with Sarge M.I.A. after discovering the portal that had led into the human world, opening up to where part of Army Men II takes place there.

** One of the items one can melt down to mold plastic in ''Army Men: RTS'' is a Jumbo Machinder style robot figure that looks like a hybrid between Anime/UFORoboGrendizer and Anime/GetterRobo.

* TheStarscream: Major Mylar, from Army Men 2. He waits until Plastro has gone through the portal, then blows it up and takes over the Tan Army from behind the scenes.

* TookALevelInBadAss: Vikki, in Sarge's Heroes 2. While she had her moments in the first Sarge's Heroes, she takes a much more proactive part in the fight in 2, even rescuing Sarge at one point.

* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: Played realistically (for plastic anyways) in the RTS, Colonel Blintz received a [[BodyHorror disfiguring]] head wound and it resulted in his FaceHeelTurn to Tan.

* WarIsHell: The World War spin-offs, which played the effects of war very realistically, even if you were playing as little green men.
* WhyAmITicking: The M-60 firecrackers in Army Men II.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Sarge in the Sarge's Heroes games only ever shows nervousness around spiders. Vikki gets grossed out by them too.
* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas: Plastic and power in the RTS. The latter is oddly treated as a gathered/stored resource the same as plastic, instead of being produced and consumed by buildings like in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One of the outtakes after beating ''Sarge's Heroes'' on hard.
--> '''Sarge''' to '''Vikki''': Alright, you go through the portal, then I'll [[{{AccidentalInnuendo}} blow it]]!\\
''[Vikki and the recording crew start laughing before Sarge realizes what he had said]''
** Also from ''Sarge's Heroes'', we have this gem after Sarge rescues Vikki.
-->'''Vikki:''' You sure know how to show a girl a good time.\\
'''Sarge:''' ''(smugly)'' You ain't seen nothin' yet!
** At one point, just before Plastro throws Sarge into a pit, he speaks French to him. Vikki asks for one last kiss, which Plastro grants, but tells her "no French from you."

* FrickinLaserBeams: The aliens in ''Toys In Space'', Sarge can even find a laser rifle, an upgrade to the auto-rifle and Vulcan gun.

* DifficultySpike: The last few levels of ''Air Attack'' feature a noticeable spike in difficulty in what was otherwise a fairly easy game (''especially'' the final stage, which can be downright brutal.)

* BadBoss: Plastro, from [[ShootTheMessenger punching out underlings that bring him bad news]] to actively plotting betrayal against allies for little reason other than [[CardCarryingVillainy that's what bad guys like him do]].

* BlackBestFriend: Riff, to Sarge. And Woodstock to Capt. Blade.

* RedBaron: Baron von Beige from Air Attack 2.
* RedShirtArmy: The Green Army, despite their color. Expect to spend most of the games watching them get their asses kicked, and the Tans constantly seem to have them on the defense. Only the heroes like Bravo Company and Captain Blade are really of much use at all, and even at the start of ''Sarge's Heroes,'' the Tan Army manages to launch a successful surprise attack against the Green base and capture all of Bravo company save for Sarge.

* DeadpanSnarker: Sarge in the Sarge's Heroes games, when he wasn't being a dutiful solider. Captain Blade meanwhile was in snark mode 24/7.

** Portal Runner (An adventure game starring Vikki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu, for [=PlayStation=])

* The Original Series
** Army Men (PC, Gameboy Color)

** Army Men 3D (A ThirdPersonShooter remake of the first game for the ''Play Station''.)
* World War Series
** Army Men: World War (PC version, a spiritual sequel to the original games)
** Army Men: World War (''Play Station'' version, a spiritual sequel to ''Army Men 3D'')
** Army Men: World War: Land, Sea, Air (Play Station)
** Army Men: World War: Final Fronts (Play Station)
** Army Men: World War: Team Assault (Play Station)
* Sarge's Heroes continuity
** Army Men: Sarge's Heroes (N64, Dreamcast, Play Station)
** Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 (N64, Play Station, Play Station 2)
** Army Men: Air Combat/Air Attack (N64, Play Station)
** Army Men: Air Attack 2 (Play Station, Play Station 2)
** Army Men: Air Attack: Elite Operations (re-release of ''Air Attack 2'' for the Game Cube)
** Army Men Advance (A top-down shooter for ''Gameboy Advance'')
** Army Men: Turf Wars (An isometric-perspective shooter for ''Gameboy Advance'')
** Army Men: RTS - Real Time Strategy (Game Cube, Play Station 2, PC)
** Portal Runner (An adventure game starring Vikki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu, for Play Station 2)
** Army Men: Sarge's War (Game Cube, Play Station 2, Xbox, PC)
* Other Games
** Army Men: Operation Green (An isometric-perspective shooter for ''Gameboy Advance'')
** Army Men: Soldier of Misfortune (Wii, Play Station 2)

More recently, though canonically unrelated to this series, ''[[http://store.steampowered.com/app/360940 The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare]]'' was released on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} as a multiplayer-only game giving a LighterAndSofter take on the idea of plastic men in warfare with maps ranging from a simple team deathmatch on a TabletopRPG board, CaptureTheFlag in an aquarium or even a game of soccer on a foosball table. The first three games (''Army Men'', ''Army Men II'' and ''Toys in Space'') as well as ''RTS'' can now be purchased at [[https://www.gog.com/game/army_men GOG.com]].

* ADayInTheLimelight: Did you know Riff and Scorch actually got a game that focused on them? In the Game Boy Color port of Army Men Sarges Heroes 2 (which functions as a completely different game) the two Bravo Company members and Vikki are the only playable characters in that game and they even have their own personal vehicles to ride!

** In the same game here is a mission where you can bust a handful of Grey Soldiers out of prison cells. They are very prone to friendly fire and they have a tendency to set off alarms.

* BottomlessMagazines: Most of the games tend to give your starting weapon infinite ammo, sometimes with a drawback (the M16 in the [=PS1=] ''Sarge's Heroes 2'' will {{overheat|ing}} when fired too much) and sometimes with an ammo-guzzling upgrade available (the BAR in the original two games, which trades the infinite ammo for a much higher rate of fire).

* RedShirtArmy: The, err... green, army... is this, yes. Expect to spend most of the games watching them get their asses kicked, and the Tans constantly seem to have them on the defense. Only the heroes like Bravo Company and Captain Blade are really of much use at all, and even at the start of ''Sarge's Heroes,'' the tan army manages to launch a successful surprise attack against the green base and capture all of Bravo save for Sarge.
* TheStarscream: Major Mylar, from Army Men 2. He waits until Plastro is in the portal, then blows it up and takes over the Tan Army from behind the scenes.

* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas: Plastic and power in the RTS. The latter is oddly treated as a gathered/stored resource instead of being produced and consumed by buildings like in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''.

** Army Men: World War: Double Team (Play Station)

** ''The Mean Greens: Plastic Warfare'' takes it to the absolute extreme where each of the maps is its own game mode with a ridiculous objective, Operation: Birthday plays two rounds with the attackers attempting to ignite the candles on the birthday cake with flamethrowers among other silly settings.

* AffablyEvil: General Plastro, he may be the bad guy, [[AtLeastIAdmitIt but at least he's honest enough to admit it]].

** Army Men: Turf Wars (An asymetric-perspective shooter for ''Gameboy Advance'')

** Army Men: Operation Green (An asymetric-perspective shooter for ''Gameboy Advance'')

** Army Men: Air Attack: Elite Operations (Game Cube)
** Army Men: RTS (Game Cube, Play Station 2, PC)
** Portal Runners (An adventure game starring Vikki Grimm and Bridgette Bleu, for Play Station 2)

** Army Men
** Army Men II
** Army Men: Toys In Space

** Army Men: World War: Land, Sea, Air
** Army Men: World War: Final Fronts
** Army Men: World War: Double Team

** Army Men: Air Attack 2 (Play Station)
** Army Men: Air Attack: Elite Operations (GameCube)
** Army Men: RTS (GameCube, Play Station 2, PC)
** Army Men: Sarge's War (GameCube, Play Station 2, Xbox, PC)

* [[TheRedBaron The Tan Baron]]: Baron von Beige from Air Attack 2.

* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: [[spoiler: Sarge doesn't get any satisfaction from killing Lord Malice, because Malice has already killed everybody he cared about, rendered everything he fought for utterly pointless, and Malice himself at the end of the day is just a pathetic, wreck-of-a-man, driven solely by spite.]]

* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being on the game cover, the titular heroes from ''Sarge's Heroes'' are barely in the game, only appearing in the missions where Sarge must rescue each one of them individually, and briefly, they do all show up at the end together. (We do not get to see them in action, either) The game instead focuses almost completely on Sarge himself.

** In the same game here is a mission where you can bust a handful of Grey Soldiers out of prison cells. They are very prone to friendly fire and they have a tendency to set off alarms

* BadBoss: Plastro, from [[ShootTheMessenger punching out underlings that bring him bad news]] to actively plotting betrayal against allies.

* CardCarryingVillain: Plastro, lampshaded all throughout.

** Green Nation is Type I or "The Great" {{Eagleland}}.
** Tan Nation is the combination of common media belligerents such as World War II Germany, the Soviet, or the Ba'athist Iraq (Saddam Hussein's army. Plastro even looks like Saddam Hussein although named after Fidel Castro)
** Blue Nation is a [[AdaptationalVillainy villainous]] version of CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys.
** Gray Nation is a [[AdaptationalHeroism heroic version]] of the Vietcong.

* GoodGunsBadGuns: Averted.