Army Men: Lock 'n' Load

3do : Playstation
Out Now

Every Playstation user by now must have played at least one version of the Army Men games there has been absolutely loads of them. Some of them were good, some of them were not so good but they must be very popular (and successful) as they are one of the most prolific franchises in the modern gaming era. After the success that was Army Men: Land,Sea,Air. 3do have created Army Men: Lock and Load.

Lock and Load contains fifteen single player levels which are spread over many locations such as the alpines, deserts and even underwater. Multiplayer has also been given a spruce up and now contains four modes such as capture the flag, grudge match, steal the bacon and a co-operative mode. All this modes have multiple maps and capture the flag allows you to place your soldiers before the game starts which adds to it and gives it the basic feel of a level editor that is seen in PC strategy games. The tutorial section of the game has been streamlined and is now more hands-on and allows you to practice your skill with the weapons more easily.

Click screenshot thumbnails to see them full size.

The game itself is definitely one of the better Army Men titles and the variety in the missions helps keep interest high. However, there are some problems. Control still doesn't feel that good and turning takes an age and with no way of strafing (side stepping), it makes things awkward in a tight spot. Occasionally members of the Tan army (the enemy in case you didn't know) seem to pop-up from nowhere. This raises the difficulty of the missions no end and sometimes it will frustrate you. The graphics are still quite poor and make sighting enemies at a distance tricky. The visuals could have been a lot better ( other Playstation titles have managed far better than this).

For deaf gamers the game is playable and fairly enjoyable. Mission details are provided textually, which are easy to read and the game is no worse without the audible content. It's just a shame the aforementioned problems hadn't been addressed otherwise the game would have been a recommended purchase. If you're a long time fan of the Army Men range of games then you're going to like Lock and Load but others might want to be a bit more cautious.

Overall Game Rating: 5¾ /10

Quality of text: 7/10 Very good. All info is provided textually but there is only minimal information.

Graphics: 3/10 Poor. Looks like a very early Playstation game.

Interface: 6/10 Simple but it does the job adequately.

Gameplay:7/10 Turning round is awkward, surprising Tan soldiers are annoying but the gameplay is still intact and mission variety is very welcome indeed.