Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Army Men: World War – Land Sea Air expands the classic toy soldier formula by opening up three distinct theaters of combat. Instead of solely controlling infantry, you can now pilot tanks, guide battleships, and take flight in helicopters and bombers. This breadth of playstyles keeps missions feeling fresh, as you constantly switch between ground skirmishes, naval bombardments, and aerial dogfights.

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The arsenal at your disposal has also grown significantly. Alongside familiar staples like machine guns, flamethrowers, and grenades, the game introduces heavy ordnance such as howitzers and mortars. Knowing when to call down indirect fire versus charging headlong with a tank adds a satisfying layer of strategic depth. Each weapon type feels distinct, and mastering their effective use is a rewarding challenge.

Single-player missions are structured around multi-stage objectives—capture an enemy base, destroy opposing fortifications, then defend a key position under assault. This variety ensures you’re never repeating the same play pattern for too long. Additionally, the PlayStation-exclusive two-player Capture the Flag mode delivers tense, competitive matches that make excellent use of both infantry and vehicles, offering a fun diversion from the solo campaign.

Graphics

Visually, Army Men: World War – Land Sea Air leans into its plastic soldier motif with bright, toy-like textures and exaggerated color contrasts. The environments—ranging from desert sands to lush jungles and open ocean—are rendered in bold, cartoonish hues that reinforce the franchise’s playful tone. Though not cutting-edge, the game’s visuals are crisp and charming.

Vehicle models are impressively detailed for a title of its era, with turrets, rotors, and deck guns sporting realistic movement and articulation. Water effects during naval battles—rippling wakes, splashes from shell impacts—add a surprising sense of immersion. Aerial combat benefits from dynamic clouds and dust trails, making each dogfight visually engaging.

Explosions and weapon effects, such as mortar smoke and flamethrower bursts, are accompanied by satisfying, if occasionally repetitive, particle animations. The frame rate holds steady during moderate firefights, though larger melees can introduce slight dips. Overall, the graphical presentation strikes a solid balance between style and performance on PlayStation hardware.

Story

Army Men’s narrative is straightforward: the eternal conflict between the Green and Tan armies escalates as both sides deploy land, sea, and air forces. While there’s no deep character drama, the mission briefings and on-field radio chatter inject enough personality to keep you invested in each campaign’s outcome.

Campaign missions are framed by succinct, mission-specific goals that guide your strategic approach. These briefing segments provide context—capture a dockyard to cripple enemy supply lines or protect a convoy from naval bombardment—and set clear stakes for every operation. The mission pacing feels well calibrated, escalating tension as you progress through increasingly complex objectives.

Though the soldiers themselves lack individual backstories, their collective banter and rallying shouts lend a spirited atmosphere. Voice clips—“Incoming fire!” or “Air support en route!”—help bring the plastic combatants to life, and light-hearted quips at the end of tougher missions add a touch of humor.

Overall Experience

Army Men: World War – Land Sea Air successfully broadens the series formula by integrating vehicles across three combat domains while preserving the accessible, arcade-style action fans expect. The blend of infantry skirmishes, tank offensives, naval bombardments, and aerial dogfights delivers an engaging variety that keeps gameplay from growing stale.

While controlling multiple vehicle types adds depth, it can also steepen the learning curve, especially when missions require rapid transitions between land, sea, and air roles. Camera angles may feel awkward at times, particularly during tight infantry encounters, but these minor issues rarely derail the overall fun factor.

The two-player Capture the Flag mode is a welcome inclusion, offering both cooperative and competitive replayability beyond the single-player campaigns. Whether you’re strategizing critical base captures or defending against waves of toy soldiers, Land Sea Air provides a consistently entertaining diversion.

For PlayStation owners seeking an action-packed, lighthearted war game with plenty of variety, Army Men: World War – Land Sea Air delivers solid value. Its blend of strategic weapon choices, diverse vehicles, and playful aesthetic make it a nostalgic trip for series veterans and an inviting challenge for newcomers alike.

Retro Replay Score

5.6/10