Army Men: Air Attack 2 Preview

It's common knowledge in the video game industry that when you have a successful formula, you run with it. Such philosophy, then, is responsible for Army Men: Air Attack 2, which resembles Army Men: Air Attack, which resembles Nuclear Strike, which resembles Soviet Strike - you get the picture. A proven gameplay model isn't always such a bad thing to take advantage of, though.

For those who haven't played the original Air Attack or any of the Strike games, Air Attack 2 is a helicopter combat game played from an overhead perspective. Your helicopter is armed with typical weapons such as a machine gun and an assortment of missiles. A retractable tow cable is available with which you can pick up power-ups and items. Only hordes of enemies stand between your chopper and the mission objective at hand.

Anyone familiar with the Army Men line will know that the series' "enemies" are actually the little plastic, well, army men that everybody supposedly played with as a kid. The good guys in Air Attack are army men too, and battles are played out in a gargantuan child's world of backyard sandboxes, cluttered floors, and messy kitchens. Air Attack 2 spices up its backgrounds further with such unlikely locales as a Japanese garden and the Old West.

Air Attack 2 operates on a typical objective-based mission structure. Goals generally involve things such as attacking a convoy or transporting cargo to a specified location. Several helicopters and co-pilots are up for grabs, and they all affect how you'll fly a mission in different ways.

It's pretty safe to say that if you enjoyed the original Air Attack game or even the Strike games from way back when, you'll find something to like about Air Attack 2 as well. There's nothing really groundbreaking about the gameplay, but it's proven itself before. Army Men: Air Attack 2 should be available in the third quarter of this year.