Examine closely any of the Wipeouts, Bust A Move 2 or Track & Field and you'll see that each is based on one simple idea.

What makes them special is that the idea is beautifully executed. Army Men: Air Attack is also based on the simple idea of lying a toy helicopter but, unfortunately, it's about as well executed as shooting at a terrorist with a water pistol. These little green devils make up an entire air force command, complete with a cacophony on helicopters and trained men to pilot them. <br> <br>As Captain of Alpha Wolf Squadron, your mission is to defend the Green Army's bases from the evil Tan forces, and then turn the tide of war by attempting seek and destroy missions deep in enemy territory. Initially, buzzing about in your chopper is amusing enough but gradually the powers of annoyance and frustration begins to overwhelm you. One major fault is that the game never makes you feel like you're airborne -- a distressing defect for any helicopter game. Your chopper is always viewed from above and slightly behing, so you can't see the horizon, and the designers have used high ground as an impenetrable barrier so you're effectively limited to flying through a maze of canyons in what is effectively a very linear game.<br>The helicopters move easily across the screen with either the analog or digital pads, but it's clear the game is really created with analog control in mind. The analog control is the most fluid and intuitive way to manoeuver and strafe (the R1 and L1 buttons assist in strafing, which comes in very handy in battle most of them time). The helicopter control is arcade-like, meaning it's simplistic and instantly accessible. The copter always stays the same distance from the ground and never blows up from bumping into, say, a mountain or an opponent, for instance. <br><br> As you can't see over the top of obstacles, you are forced to navigate using an inhospitable map. The titchy 'you are here' square fails to rotate relative to your position (instead the arrow representing you revolves on the map) so that sometimes turning left on-screen will cause you to turn right on the map and flunder in hopeless confusion. And when you do reach the objective, shooting things can just be as tricky. The auto-aim is abysmal as your machinegun often fires sideways when you're trying to shoot dead ahead. Mysteriously, rockets that engulf enemy tanks in flame are precious little use against tiny soldiers-- they remain unaffected by the explosion even if only a few centimetres away.<br> <br>Players access a primary weapon (machine guns) and a secondary weapon, which ranges from guided missiles to rockets, and more. Players also have access to a winch, which comes into play for power-ups, and moving objects, such as donuts, cherry bombs, and more. The easy controls are perfect for head-to-head combat, and projectile patterns are set up just old school shooters, like R-Type Delta or even top-down shooters. <br> <br>Visually Air Attack is very creaky, if no actually in pieces. The lanscape regularly stutters in place as it tries to keep up with your manoeuvres, and, despite the small area covered by the overhead view, the action still slows down in the middle of hi-octane firefighters. The backgrounds are worthy of note, too. The 3DO developers set the game in a real world filled with ordinary suburban items, sizing the Army to look small in comparison. So, in one level, players must protect a train from point A to point B. The train looks like a Tonka toy, and the environment resembles that of a young child's backyard. <br> <br>Like I said before, this is a fun one-player game, but a very addictive two-player game. The analog controls make for perfect battles and head to head warfare, and the winch and all of the secondary weapons are totally intuitive to use. Don't, however, count out the single-player missions. Initially, I thought this would simply be a great two two-player game. But the single-player missions kept me enthralled with the various missions, tasks, and funny interactions with the animal and insect life all around. It's not the best thing since sliced bread but it's still pretty good.