Army Men, Green Rogue

Remember those heady days of childhood when the toy box was thrown open and thousands of badly molded green- and beige-colored toy soldiers were brought forth to fight a battle for control of the living room carpet? Well it's time to return to that simpler age with this latest release from 3DO.

Army Men: Green Rogue is a high-powered shoot-'em-up played in the third-person perspective, allowing players to see their alter egos running around a variety of environments and turning the opposition to molten plastic with a variety of weapons, ranging from machine guns to flamethrowers. The Green Rogue of the title is a supersoldier from the Green army, manufactured to take on the might of the opposition Beige army without support or backup.

The control system takes an interesting slant by using the left analog controller to move the Rogue around and the right stick to direct weapon fire. Initially this feels a little unwieldy, but with a little practice, it becomes second nature and actually works rather well. Graphics are functional but colorful, and there's a real feeling of being a small soldier in a big, big world.