Toy Soldiers (Not, that terrible film from the 80's) is a tower defence game for Xbox Live Arcade, set in the First World War, where the player takes control of an army’s defences, and reconstructs battles of the Great War. The historic battlefields are set on table tops; however, Signal Studios still do a great job of accurately representing the real battles. You can both arrange defences and command tanks, sniper towers and planes. This makes a refreshing change for the Tower defence genre, and will hopefully set a new standard. It has good amount of modes and difficulties, two player multiplayer and is a sure bargain at 1200MS points.
The aim of the game is simple; protect your toy box from enemy infantry and vehicles by building defences and retaliating by both plane and tank. Your toy box is located at one end of the battlefield, and you have a set number of enemies allowed entry into your toy box before you are forced to surrender. This number never more than 20 on the normal difficulty. Scattered around each map are different sized build points, which allow you to place anti-infantry, anti-vehicle or anti-air defences, depending on the size of the point. Such defences include flame throwers, flak cannons, howitzers and chain guns. The enemy army can come from any direction, and will be in the form of soldiers, cavalry, tanks or planes. This can make the game very challenging as you have to make a decision on what to spend your hard earned dollars on to make sure you have the right defences to take out a specific type of enemy. So you have time to prepare, there is a key at the top of the screen telling you what units the next enemy wave will include and when it shall come.
You start each mission with a small amount of money to get you going. With this you can buy enough defence to get you some kills. From these kills you earn more money. You can use this money to either upgrade or repair your already placed defences, or purchase new ones. This is done simply by clicking on an emplacement and selecting an option, which is great as it does not distract you from the action at all and can be done very quickly. There is a fairly steep learning curve in figuring out which defences are the most effective in which situations, however once you have the hang of it you will always be properly prepared. Also unlike many Tower defence games, you can actually take control of your defences yourself. Simply by selecting an option you can jump on a turret or cannon, aim and fire. There is a great advantage in doing this as your shots will no doubt be more accurate than the computers and they also have added damage. You would be a fool to take this option for granted as sitting back and not taking control of your defences could be the difference in a win or surrender. Vehicles can only be controlled by the player and once abandoned will only stay where you left them for a short while.
To throw in some variety not all missions end in a massive horde of infantry, some introduce bosses such as the Uber Tank and the Zeppelin. Each boss demands a different set of tactics, and you will no doubt find yourself selling your defences and replacing them with different types to be more effective against the boss. Defeating these bosses will take some time and is purely a process of trial and error. At times they can make you want to tear your hair out having just fought in a battle for 20 minutes only to have to start again, however they are certainly not invincible, and every time you retry you get closer to defeating the boss.
Toy soldiers has quite a lot to offer you in both single play and multiplayer.
After you complete a level you unlock the elite difficulty for that level. This changes the games difficulty hugely as the computer no longer shoots for you and you must take control of every unit and defence yourself. You must be very aware of what is going on everywhere on the battlefield and this makes a much more exciting and fast-paced experience.
The Allies Campaign mode is 12 missions long, and once completed unlocks Campaign+ which turns the game around and lets you play as the "Central Powers" (Russia and Germany). The only real difference is the difficulty, as the game knows you have managed to complete it once it makes it just a little bit harder for the player by throwing more and stronger enemies at you.
The addition of Survival mode sends wave after wave of enemy horde at you and tests you to see how long you can survive. It is a fun novelty while it lasts but does not compare to the campaign.
Toy Soldiers also comes with a competitive Multiplayer mode, which pits two players against one another both attacking and defending via Xbox Live or split screen. Each player can choose which units to send in their next wave and build their defences as normal. Simply put there is one button for your defensive menu and one for your offensive menu, which allows you to keep your attention towards the battle. The maps are symmetrical and so the multiplayer is well balanced; Of course that is only until one player makes a good move against the other and gains the advantage. The only big issue with multiplayer is the power of vehicles as both tanks and planes are overpowered against defences and can ruin a game. Hopefully this is something that will be patched in the near future. The multiplayer is lacking in places. There is only a small selection of maps and games can only be customized if played against friends which makes the player feel restricted and does not give much incentive to keep going back to multiplayer. Contrary to this, split screen offers some great fun to be had with a friend and is something too many games look over today.
The games controls are simple and work very well. You select units with A, move the camera with the left stick and can change to a bird’s eye view with the right stick. The only real issue with the game’s controls is when flying the planes. They never feel right and do not respond exactly as you would hope them to as you will find yourself flying in a direction you had not wished. However this can easily be overlooked as you hardly need to spend much time in the air. The menus are also simple, bold and very easy to navigate.
Toy Soldiers is beautifully presented and unique in its design. It pays close attention to detail in the models of both units and scenery. The soldiers look true to those from history along with the vehicles and defences. They look so good that the game could easily have been a serious representation of WW1. The music and sound is brilliant for that of an arcade game and it really makes you feel like you’re in one the classic films. The music for the game includes Goodbye, Dolly Gray and She May Have Seen Better Days which really help to create the WW1 atmosphere and are great fun to listen to.
Toy Soldiers is not perfect, however the cons are strongly out-weighed by the pros. There is a great, campaign, which varies from level to level, is a lot of fun and will keep you coming back for more over and over again. The game offers a challenge for even experienced players in its harder modes and difficult boss fights. And if that's not enough there are many collectibles to find and unlock which are sure to keep you playing.
Following the recent launch of new downloadable content for Toy Soldiers: Cold War on Xbox LIVE Arcade, the original title is now available to download via Games for Windows – LIVE. Toy Soldiers gives players the opportunity to command their troops in epic, action-packed battles in everyday settings.
"True, the days of premium boxed console strategy titles like Tom Clancy's EndWar and Civilization Revolution appear to be behind us, though there's still the mouth-watering prospect of an XCOM: Enemy Unknown reboot. But if it hasn't conquered the conventional way, the console-based strategy game has made in-roads elsewhere - by diversifying to suit new audiences, and by settling distribution channels where the financial entry thresholds are less."
The days when FPS was not the go-to genre. How I miss those days :(
Some say war never changes. Others believe war is hell. Still others think erecting a carefully detailed diorama re-enacting World War I’s pivotal battles using nothing but glue, paint, and a helmetful of imagination beats doughboy muckwork any day of the week. Toy Soldiers musters its forces squarely for the latter’s camp, and when the smoke clears and the sirens silence, a lightheartedly entertaining game emerges the victor.
Originally an Xbox Live Arcade title released in 2010 by developer Signal Studios, Toy Soldiers heads to the PC as a Games for Windows Live port. It’s a tower defense game, but it brands itself an action-strategy hybrid instead. That’s not a cheap disassociation from the often repetitive tower defense genre; rather, Toy Soldiers’ action elements neatly complement its base-building backbone.
