October 7, 1999 Web posted at: 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) by Scary Larry, GameProWorld

From...

(IDG) -- If you were the kind of kid that enjoyed melting your plastic army men or setting them up for combat in the car, kitchen, or bathtub, then you'll get a chance to relive your childhood with Sarge's Heroes -- except now you get to see them blasted into millions of plastic pieces or crumple into a melted mess. Even better.

Stars and tripe

Sarge's Heroes, which follows the premise of the earlier Army Men 3D for the PlayStation (in which you hunt down and destroy the Tan army), breaks new ground in its search for interactive environments. You take the fight into the home as your miniaturized soldiers shoot it out on the shores of the bathroom, in bedroom trenches, and on kitchen battlefields.

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Sporting much-improved graphics over the PlayStation version, Sarge's Heroes' smooth look and clean details make the game more enjoyable, and ultimately, much more realistic. You'll see tanks go up in blistering flames while you take down enemies with a super-powerful sniper scope and even use a shotgun for close combat.

The variety of weapons and well-illustrated backgrounds also make the game more fun than the PlayStation experience.

Sarge's sound is a mixed bag. There are some ear-crunching explosions, nice ambient chopper and tank sounds... and not much else. The game could've used some battlefield radio-chatter or even a yell or two of "Incoming!" -- instead you're left with a tame arena of death where a cough might set off a firefight.

A casualty of war

The control is where this battle gets overwhelmed. Switching between weapons is easy; crouching, strafing, and rolling effectively are somewhat harder -- but moving your character so he's not constantly in the line of fire garners a dishonorable discharge.

The camera veers so far to the left or right (often becoming hung up in the scenery) that you may find yourself running in wide circles just to avoid a bullet in the ass.

Atheist in a foxhole

And that's where the game leaves you--wounded. With a better control set, Sarge's Heroes could have been a four-star game instead of the career colonel it turns out to be. War is hell. Sarge's Heroes is heck.

Graphics: 4.0

Much better than those in Army Men 3D on the PlayStation, the graphics in Sarge's Heroes shine like the Fourth of July. (Well, a very foggy Fourth, maybe.)

Sound: 4.0

Maybe the programmers thought "more" was hell, and thus opted for " less." The sounds are solid, but where are the tiny plastic screams of agony, or at least the cry for a medic?

Control: 3.0

If a real army moved like this, the war would be over in a day. Bad camera angles, bad movement, jerky controls--you'll shoot yourself in the foot to get out of this chicken outfit.

Fun Factor: 4.0

Sarge is still large and in charge, but you have to wade through a lot of muck to get to the medal, especially with the controls. Master those, and you shall return for respe

Pro Tips

• When rescuing Shrap, exit the gated areas or you will be captured.
• At the end of the Hoover level, there's a swarm of Tan soldiers right at the portal entrance that won't appear until you get close.
• Use oil barrels to your advantage. A chain-reaction explosion is sometimes enough to destroy a tank.
• In the Riff Rescue level, clear out as many Tans as you can with the sniper rifle. Get to a high ledge and crawl to the edge, then pick them off.
• If you're burnt by the flamethrower, stop, drop, and roll to quell the flames.
• Use tree cover to assess situations and for sniping. ctable levels of fun.