Some of you will remember a certain Arcade game which took gamers by storm back on the Xbox 360. It combined tower defence with third person shooter, adding in a little bit of novelty from their childhoods. The game I’m talking about is Toy Soldiers, which rolled onto the Xbox Scene back in 2010. Amazing it was 5 years ago since it was released that summer and now, as the Xbox has evolved and moved on, so has Toy Soldiers as it follows in the footsteps of former great games and makes it on to the Xbox One.
The concept hasn’t changed and the fun factor is still very much alive and well, everything you know and love about this franchise hasn’t been lost in transition and the game feels and sounds better than ever. With a new array of characters including some old ones, the game presents stunning value for money coupled with some great replay-ability.
A little detail then into what you get, there are 8 different styles of Armies in the Toy Chest edition of Toy Soldiers and they are, Kaiser Wilhelm, Phantom, Star Bright, Dark Lord, GI Joe and GI Joe Cobra Enemy, Masters of the Universe and finally Assassins Creed. All have fully customisable armies and all come with plenty of unlocks to get your teeth into.
For those who have literally no idea about what is going on here, it’s very simple. You are given a toy box to protect, you can do this by using 4 different types of artillery; Anti-Air, Anti-Tank, Anti-Infantry and Heavy Armour. All you can use in a first person shooter mode whilst the others are controlled by the AI. Accompanying this are bonus playable characters such as heroes, tanks, planes and even an odd zeppelin.
Each artillery comes with full upgrade opportunity, using the in game earnt currency which is garned by stopping the enemy, the player is rewarded for first person kills more so than the AI doing all the work. Realistically across all of the 8 different playable, it’s essentially 8 different types of skins but novelty doesn’t wear off as it’s interesting to see how they all work compared to each other.
Features wise it’s all about the single player for me, with 12 missions and the ability to earn up to 4 medals on each, this is something you can come back and play many a time with the different armies at your disposal. Accompanying this is the weekly war, which comprises of a battle released every day for 5 days; at the end you can add a prize which varies every war, to your arsenal. As well as this you also have the opportunity to go co-op in an online lobby, Co-op Campaign or the Co-op Weekly War. All great additions.
The gameplay is fun and fluid, which is a corner stone of Toy Soldiers. You are constantly switching around using all available assets at your disposal whilst fighting off wave after wave of enemies. The game doesn’t struggle at all and you are given a true depth of options without limits however the challenge isn’t limited. The backfield is every changing throughout playing through the levels presenting, as previously mentioned, excellent replay-ability.
One of the most frustrating things with Toy Soldiers are the main boss battles the game chucks at you every so often. You find that the bosses in most games are difficult or at least a substantial rise from your average grunt coming at you. The bosses I have encountered destroy your defences with a single touch?! How can that be! It’s almost impossible at times to get it right, it certainly took me a few goes to get it right. I guess it adds to the game but it’s not particularly fun, fighting your way to the end only to get smashed around at a drop of hat.
Another thing to bear in mind with Toy Soldiers is the different versions of the game, if you get the standard editions some of the skins are available and you may have to fork out an extra £10 to get the fully available options which are freely advertised so be careful!
Graphically this game looks like it belongs on the Xbox 360, little surprise really, but I would have liked to have seen some general improvements. Colour has been added in comparison to previous versions as they were very bleak and dark. Sounds are spot on but if you turn this game down for the graphics you may need to take a second look.
As well as being careful with the version you pick, something Toy Soldiers does which it has clearly lent off mobile games companies is the random assignment of tokens earnt at the end of levels which produce unlocks. Often you find yourself hoping you get the right token for that needed upgrade to defeat a boss level, time consuming I know right! If only there was a way round this, yep you guessed it, micro transactions! If you have little patience this game can take your wallet to the cleaners quickly!
Overall though, I have to admit I was surprised by how much fun I had playing Toy Soldiers. It hasn’t lost any of its original charms and still presents a good challenge for you. I’ll certain keep playing it and it’s a shame we don’t see more games like this.
