Yeah, the little green and tan soldiers from our youth are back, but good old Sarge, the lead character in most of the games, doesn't lead them. In Army Men: Air Attack 2 it's Blade the helicopter pilot large and in charge. His personality is reminiscent of Robert Duvall's deranged Colonel Kilgore from Apocalypse Now, and that adds quite a bit of humor to the destruction... and there is a lot of destruction. Things blow up really well on the PS2, and Air Attack 2 has you piloting all kinds of choppers on all sorts of missions. You've got an Apache, a Cobra, and an Osprey, and Blade's wingmen all have different attacks. Missions range from melting evil Tan army men and destroying their supplies to search and rescue work--all in pleasing and well-constructed living room and backyard environments. The graphics and audio are excellent and really take advantage of the PS2's advanced hardware. Plus, it's even more fun with a buddy in split-screen mode on the same TV.

And for the benefit of those of us who used to stage harrowing scenarios involving real green plastic army men and fireworks, the makers have included a small selection of fireworks into the gameplay. To quote General Plastro, "I love the smell of plastic in the morning!" --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Great action
• Excellent graphics

• A little too easy for veteran gamers