Tiny Troopers is the latest title from developer’s kukouri and publishers Chillingo. Originally the game was released on mobile platforms (iOS included) but is now making itself known on PC. The best way to describe the game is a pint-sized war RPG. The basic aim of the game, is to boss about a small army of soldiers (of various classes) through a series of 30 missions, without getting them killed, whilst also trying to complete objectives such as destroying enemy buildings, or killing as many enemies as possible.
Gameplay:
Tiny Troopers is pretty straightforward. Get from A to B, without dying and if you can, complete the mission objectives. The left mouse button moves you, the right button fires and clicking on special weapons the ctrl-right click uses it. That’s it for controls, which I found quite refreshing to not have to go through 30 buttons to switch weapon. If your character is KIA, it is no longer available – if you are lucky enough to be in mid mission, you may be able to get a new face as a reinforcement, but if you manage to wipe out your whole team, you get a brand new team when you restart the mission. The more missions your troop survives, the tougher they are and the higher rank they become.
Do not be fooled by the cuteness of this game, rushing straight in without a proper strategy can lead to some serious frustration, the game isn’t a shoot ‘em up. You need to strategically place your troops, especially in the survive missions. Once you have beaten a mission in the campaign mode, you can go back and play it again in the mission mode, so if you have a favourite map/ think you can do better, you can give it another go!
As mentioned before, there are 30 missions to get through and 3 difficulty settings. The game also has a decent amount of content to keep itself from becoming repetitive. Tasks are decently varied, from freeing hostages, to escorting journalists to destroying as many enemy buildings as possible, and while your objectives are clear, players are rewarded for having a wonder as there are plenty of collectibles scattered about the map.
Every time you finish a mission, your troops rank up. They stay in the game for as long as you can keep them alive, with their rank displayed above them. When they die, you are given a fresh set of recruits, however, you soon feel the pain of death, as the loss of a soldier also means the loss of that soldiers command points. This is the currency in game, which means when you head to a level with a new recruit that needs to demolish an enemy building, but has no money for explosives, you’ll wish you kept a better eye on that hardened veteran you just lost!
Graphics & Sound:
The game’s graphics are simple, but work well for the game, it has a cartoon style that is sort of like a worms/all zombies must die! Crossover. The figures are like rounded Lego men, they’re actually quite cute and the landscape has nice detail. Gunned-down enemies are left in a large pool of blood, and occasionally a shot down enemy will still be alive, left lying on the floor, asking for a mercy kill.However, the style of the game takes away the serious issues that it touches on, making these moments funny, dark, but funny.
When it comes to sound, the gunshots and music have a dramatic tone to them, however once you hear the voices of your troops, you will be in stitches. They have small, squeaky voices, probably to emphasise their size, and they tend to yell out iconic movie lines, like “game over man! Game over!” which adds a nice touch to the game’s humour.
Overall:
Tiny Troopers is an addictive, fun game that I definitely recommend. There are some updates that would be nice, such as the ability to handle each troop separately, or some formation options. It’s humour is definitely not for everyone, however, the game is still a blast! The controls are simple and work smoothly, the missions are fun and varied and the game is just an overall excellent title!
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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