Army Men: Sarge's Heroes was an more lighthearted take on Army Men series that takes place in is own alternative continuity from the main games (Army Men, Army Men II and Toys in Space), the game was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 and in 2000 for Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation and PC.
Even through the game recieved mixed reception, it was an commercial success and spawned a Sequel in 2001 named Sarge's Heroes 2 for the Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
Plot
"A world exists quite different from our own. And there, a battle rages out of control. A battle between good and evil... Green and Tan." - Game Prologue
Sargeant Hawk wakes to find himself in the midst of a Tan invasion on the Green base. He then rescues Colonel Grimm, and then sets out to find the rest of Bravo Company. While on a helicopter, Sarge and Grimm spot a Blue tank in a nearby town. Sarge then follows the Blue Spy through a portal to the Real World and captures him.
When General Plastro finds out that Sarge has captured the Blue Spy and discovered a Portal, he gets furious. Plastro then sends footage of Green Soldiers being tortured by a "Death Ray" which is in fact a magnifying glass. Colonel Grimm then sends Sarge to seek and unite his squad.
He begins by rescuing his bazooka man Riff, from a Tan Base. He is the sent to rescue his Minesweeper Hoover and his Machine Gunner, Thick. He eventually finds Hoover in the middle of The Black Forest. Sarge then learns that Thick was captured and taken through a portal. After Sarge goes through the portal, he is transported to an outdoor garden. Thick is eventually found and both Thick and Sarge went back to the Plastic World . As they leave, Vikki Grimm, Colonel Grimm's Daughter, sneaks out of the Green Base and into the Black Forest, where she is captured by Tan Soldiers. While Vikki is being interrogated, she proposes to help General Plastro win the war, which he accepts. Sarge is then sent to rescue Shrap, in a Gulag. There, Sarge releases several Grey prisoners, who in turn, help attack the Tan. Sarge is surprised when he finds out that the Tan are turning Red, Green and Grey Soldiers into Spiders. After Shrap is rescued, Sarge is sent to Fort Plastro to destroy a Portal. Sarge then learns that Vikki is with the Tan Army as he gets thrown in a sandbox to die. As he fights his way through, he finds Scorch. Scorch tells him that Vikki is deceiving Plastro and tells him about Plastro's plans.
The Green Army then attacks Fort Plastro, which upsets Plastro even more. Plastro then learns that Vikki was using him and abducts her. Sarge then has to fight his way through a Sandbox to get to a rocket. This Rocket sends him to a Kitchen were he rescues Vikki and come up with a plan to stop Plastro. As Sarge is stopped halfway through a Living Room by Plastro, who thinks he has Sarge cornered, but is then taken by Precious, a Poodle. After spotting the last Portal, Sarge and Vikki escape, blow up the Portal and is reunited by the rest of the Squad including Colonel Grimm. In the end, General Plastro gets plastered.
Fan Reception
Fans of the PC series were typically disappointed by the Console spin-offs such as Sarge's Heroes. This was mainly because they tried to make Sarge's Heroes appeal to a much younger audience (some say this killed what was essentially a more mature game), but also because they gave Sarge a name and made him a character - whereas he had previously been depicted simply as a regular Joe out there doing his job and they felt this also drastically reduced the realism of this series.
Trivia
- In the game manual, it mentions Sarge's father who is captured by the Tan Army and never seen from again.
- During the cut scene before the Fort Plastro mission, Sarge comments "Suicide is my middle name, though it was my brother's name who was you know. . .killed."