Army Men Advance GBA

My kids (11 and 12) had been to Boot Camp before and even had some combat experience with the Greens in Army Men 2 for Gameboy Color. The Tan army is still out for domination of the plastic universe. This time, Plastro, the Tan's evil leader, has recruited little blue aliens from another world. It's up to you to save the Greens. But you don't have to play as Sarge this time, you can be Ace Reporter Vikki instead (according to my kids they have equal abilities).

Apparently you let yourself get captured as a ploy to get behind enemy lines. Start off in Jail with a gun - stolen from a guard? The first mission involves shooting down enough Tan guards, dodging the rest, and getting out of jail. New missions are assigned as each is achieved. The initial gun works, but slowly. Items to be found include an advanced (faster) gun, grenades and in specific levels, a bazooka and a flamethrower. There are also allies to be located - Riff and Scorch have been captured and have a bazooka and a flamethrower, respectively, with unlimited ammo to bring to the fray.

There are 12 different environments, with 17 levels and sublevels, including a bathroom, bedroom and garage. As well as the Tans, enemies include aliens, robots and insects. Apparently the aliens are easy to beat but the bugs are a challenge. Their one advantage is that they explode when shot, bringing down other nearby insects. My 11 year old enjoyed this game, especially levels that required driving a tank across a hallway or steering a boat across the bathtub. He did find it a challenge to cross the river on moving logs.

As in the Gameboy Color versions Army Men Advance is an arcade shoot 'em up involving little plastic characters in missions against hordes of plastic bad guys. They move around a (giant to them) human house. The Advance version is very similar to the original, but with a bit more plot, more variety in bad guys and much better graphics - and of course, the addition of Vicki makes it also more politically correct.