Game Reviews

Tiny Troopers

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Tiny Troopers
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| Tiny Troopers

War is everywhere in the video game world. Every day we slaughter millions upon millions of enemy combatants in order to get our digital kicks. We are, in a way, history's greatest monsters.

Tiny Troopers offers us another outlet for our genocidal tendencies, but despite the occasional flash of brilliance it's unlikely that this pocket-sized shooter will make it into your regular salute ring rotation.

Cartoon violence

The game is a top-down, squad-based shooter that sees you taking control of a group of cartoon soldiers. They're gung-ho, have ridiculously squeaky voices, and earn ranks as you progress through the game.

You control your group of warriors by tapping on the screen. They'll follow your taps to waypoints, and shoot any bad guys, buildings, or vehicles that your finger lands on. You can move as you shoot, and standing still usually entails you getting shot to pieces.

Special weapons, like rockets and grenades, are arranged down the right-hand side of the screen. To use one, you push on its icon and swipe across to your intended target. They don't come cheap, though, and you'll need to use them sparingly if you want to succeed.

For every objective you complete, enemy you kill, and secret item you collect you receive command points. It's these you'll use to buy extra special weapons, toughen up your squad, and recruit specialists for your cause.

War never changes

The missions you battle through are reasonably varied, from journalist protection details to dangerous assaults on artillery positions behind enemy lines. Unfortunately, the game is a little too simplistic for its own good.

There's little in the way of tactics, and you rarely feel like you're part of an elite squad of soldiers. There's no way to split your squad to flank enemy positions, so more often than not you'll be strafing from right to left, tapping on your targets to fill them with bullets.

It's a shame, because the top-down style suits touchscreen devices perfectly. There are moments of flare and ingenuity, but they're too often bookended by uninspired set-pieces. In the end, Tiny Troopers just doesn't make war fun enough for a whole-hearted recommendation.

Tiny Troopers

While it has a few good ideas, Tiny Troopers isn't interesting enough to hold your attention for very long
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.