Army Men: Air Combat (2000). Play online

Summary

I remember slipping the Game Boy Color cartridge of Army Men: Air Combat (known as Army Men: Air Attack on other platforms) into my handheld and being surprised by its miniature 3D engine. You pilot one of four classic helicopters—Huey, Chinook, Super Stallion, or Apache—through sixteen wildly varied missions, from rescuing fellow troops in a backyard battleground to escorting a UFO across a picnic field. The game mixes frantic aerial fire‑fights with quirky side‑tasks like protecting a lone teddy bear, a moving train, and even supply trucks. As you progress, three extra co‑pilots (Woodstock, Rawhide, Hardcore, and Sergeant Hawk) become unlockable, and completing the campaign reveals a surprise fifth co‑pilot, Bombshell. Critics gave the handheld version a middling 65% aggregate rating, though Game Informer awarded it a respectable 7.5 out of 10, noting that it delivered surprisingly deep action for such a small screen.

Storyline

In Army Men: Air Combat, the perennial clash between the Green and Tan armies shifts to the skies. Green Air Cavalry captain William Blade commands the newly formed Alpha Wolf Battalion, leading a squad of helicopter pilots against the Tan empire in both the real world and the plastic world.

Across more than twelve missions Blade pilots through backyards, picnic areas, and beaches, engaging in air‑to‑air and air‑to‑ground battles against foes as varied as battleships and butterflies. He must protect tanks, trucks, other helicopters, a train, a teddy bear, and even a UFO while capturing giant teddy bears and blowing up sand castles.

One memorable rescue has Blade saving Sarge from being melted by kids wielding a magnifying glass. As the campaign progresses, new helicopters and co‑pilots become available, culminating in a final showdown that pits Blade’s squad against the Tan forces in a series of diverse settings.