Army Men: Green Rogue

Unlike previous releases under 3DO's prolific Army Men brand, Green Rogue is a character-based game featuring action and adventure from a third-person perspective. Players take on the role of the Omega Soldier, a powerful one-man army biotechnologically enhanced with genetic coding taken from members of the Green Army's Bravo Company and from the series' uber-hero Sarge himself. The game features multiple levels of escapade as the Omega Soldier attempts dangerous missions and battles against enormously powerful enemy toys.

D-Pad or Left or Right Analog Stick = move character
Start Button = pause
X Button = fire weapon
Square, Triangle or Circle Button = select weapon
L1 or R1 Button = bio-strike ~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide

Army Men: Green Rogue is another of 3DO's attempts to take its inexplicably popular Army Men line into other genres. In this case, it's the third-person action genre, populated by classic games like Ikari Warriors. Not too many games are made like this any more, and Green Rogue shows us why.

Green Rogue is a pure action title -- there's no searching for alternate paths, no jumping, nothing except shooting at constant enemy barrages. With the lackluster controls that Green Rogue provides, the combat quickly becomes a headache. The controls are utterly imprecise, and often you'll find that your ability to aim at a swarm of enemies is easier said than done. Throughout the course of each level, your character (the titular Rogue) is constantly pushed forward by an invisible force. You can't ever stop moving, meaning that there's no chance for a breather. The enemies keep coming whether you want them to or not. Dodging is also a problem, especially in later levels, when opponents' shots come fast, furious and in huge bunches. Combined with the ever-moving nature of the game, you'll often find that you can't get the power-ups you need, and that you can't dodge an oncoming shot since the screen's movement will actually push you into enemy fire.

Still, this might be forgivable if the combat were actually compelling in any way. Unfortunately, it's seemingly even more generic than the older games from which it takes its inspiration. Since the resolution is so low, it's difficult to make enemies out from far away. They all battle in the same way, and everything becomes so aggravatingly repetitive that any hope of replay value is almost immediately sucked out of the title. Even though there are a number of different levels, they all play exactly the same. And as the gameplay is simplistic, awkward, and fairly boring to begin with, it doesn't bode well for the entire game.

Visually, the game doesn't pack much of a punch. In fact, the graphics often get in the way of gameplay. The perspective is such that objects in the distance are almost impossible to discern. When the screen gets chock full of enemies and their shots, things often slow to a crawl, as well. All in all, the world looks awfully generic, but not half as generic as the repetitive enemy hordes that assaults the player. Likewise, the sound effects and music are extremely generic. One wouldn't expect anything different from the developers of every other sub-par Army Men game littering store shelves. ~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide