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Name: Toy Soldiers

The year is 1914 and the first major World War has begun, Germany has invaded Belgium and the Allies have begun to mobilize for their first major offensive. This is the scene in Toy Soldiers, a game that puts a fun, yet fairly realistic take on the tower defence genre. With plenty of single-player content to keep you entertained and multiplayer to boot, this could well be one of the best titles to release on Xbox Live this year.

The objective, much like any tower defence game is a simple one, stop the opposing force from getting past your defences and entering the goal, in this case a red toy box. To do this you have a multitude of options at your disposal, spread across various points are pads where you can place different gun emplacements, they come in two sizes; small, and large, the smaller pads can be used to build anti-infantry guns, mortars, and chemical weapons, while the larger pads can accommodate both the smaller guns or the larger ones like the anti-air guns, and artillery. Each of these emplacements you build can be upgraded three times which will change the type of gun in some cases, for instance the basic anti-infantry machine gun gets upgraded to a cannon which fires explosive shells, however each upgrade increases the effectiveness of the weapon and in some cases the range. A game lasts for however many rounds are allocated to that particular battle and you can only let a maximum of 20 enemies breach your defences and enter the toy box you are supposed to be defending, if they get through, then it's game over.

The waves of enemies which are sent to breach your defences come in all shapes and sizes, from the basic infantry which are susceptible to most of your weapons, to cavalry, armoured vehicles, tanks, fighter planes, bombers, and airships. The enemy can also have various gun emplacements in some battles and these are usually too far away to attack with your own guns, so you have to use either your own tanks or planes to take them out. This is partly where the game becomes unique and separates itself from the plethora of other games in the same genre, you don't just watch the battle and look after your guns, in Toy Soldiers you can actually take part and help turn the tide of war in your favour. Each of the gun emplacements you build can be used directly, the artillery alone can help save numerous battles if you use them correctly, especially against the giant tank you'll inevitably face. You'll also get to use sniper towers, tanks, and any planes which are available to go and bomb the enemy into submission, providing they don't have any anti-air guns that is. What you have to take into consideration when you're off fighting the enemy however is that they can, and will, attack your defences, the gun emplacements are fairly resistant to infantry and cavalry, but when the tanks and air units come in they can only take a few hits before being destroyed, so you need to keep an eye on their health and repair them when necessary.

Building these weapons does cost money, and at the start of battle you'll be given just enough to get yourself one or two guns. You earn money by defeating the enemy and each opposing unit which is killed adds to your pot, you can also earn money by shooting some of the moving wooden targets which inhabit the sides of the toy box, or the enemy's airships which stay stationary near there spawn. It needn't be said that the more money you get the better, it enables you to build, repair, and upgrade your guns, the more you have, the better the chance you'll have of completing the stage.

One of the most important aspects of how all your defensive capabilities work is understanding what type of weapon is effective against each unit, machine guns won't hurt tanks or armoured cars for instance, but when they're upgraded to explosive cannons they will, chemical weapons again is just for infantry, where as the artillery can damage everything, given it's far enough away. If you understand the basic principles of this then you'll easily be able to counter whatever the enemy sends at you. Before each wave you'll be able to see along the top what the enemy has coming, whether it be infantry, or planes, and if you finish off a round a little quicker than expected then you can force the enemy to begin their assault, instead of waiting for it to start.

The single-player aspect of Toy Soldiers spans a campaign of 12 missions where you play as the Allies, after you complete the campaign then you'll gain access to the Campaign+ missions which are played as the Central Powers, these are a lot more challenging to complete since they're much harder, especially during some of the night time battles. After you complete each mission you unlock the Elite difficulty, Elite as the name suggests throws the rulebook out the window, the game becomes insanely difficult, mainly because the guns no longer fire automatically, and you have to control each and every one, one at a time. There's also a Survival mode which sends continuous waves at you via an armoured train until you either fail miserably, or give-up.

These different game modes also give you a score upon completing or failing them, and this is where the online side of the action begins because you'll be able to get your score ranked on the leaderboards if you did well enough. Toy Soldiers online functionality doesn't end there though, you can challenge friends or random players to a battle where you both have to build, defend, and attack, except this time you're also building the units which you send to attack your opponent. While it can be extremely fun online, the game suffers from a lack of multiplayer content, there are only five maps to play through and during each battle only three units to send against the enemy, this doesn't mean multiplayer is any less fun, far from it in fact, it can be more fun than the campaign when played with a friend. The lack of multiplayer content isn't the only issue unfortunately, the tanks and planes which you probably came to love during the single-player campaign are also available here, yet they are far too overpowered considering you can take out your opponents defences from a distance with one of the tanks. Certain aspects such as the planes and tanks can be turned off in a friendly match, but playing a ranked match has everything enabled and once you either get the upper hand or the enemy does, it's usually too late to recover.

From the name you could be forgiven for thinking the visual aspect of the game is completed different, it's only when you see the screenshots or videos that you really grasp what the developers were aiming for when basing the game around World War I. Besides the tanks having clockwork keys sticking out their sides and the infantry dropping cogs when killed, Toy Soldiers has a more realistic approach to its chosen era than the majority of other games and the graphics and effects are extremely good given this is a download only game. The only real issue is the odd drop in frame rate which occasionally happens when playing online, it isn't often, and usually only lasts 20 seconds or so, but it can be easily forgiven with the fun you'll be having.

Toy Soldiers isn't just a game for the tower defence fans, it's a game anyone can enjoy, and should for that matter. It has a few short comings, such as the limited multiplayer content, but it all adds up to a nice affordable package which is certainly a must buy if the game even remotely peaks your interest. As with any other game it does come with a selection of achievements to be earned, but also has a few Avatar unlocks such as a WWI gas mask to dress up in. Toy Soldiers is a game you should be proud to say you bought and one which should keep you coming back for more, especially if you have friends to play against.