Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading. In this installment, we’re covering Tiny Troopers Global Ops by developer Epiphany Games.
Tiny Troopers Global Ops: (The Explanation)
It is time for the Tiny Troopers to enlist once again and this time, on a global scale in Tiny Troopers Global Ops. Developed by Epiphany Games and published by Wired Productions, Tiny Troopers Global Ops is a twin stick shooter game that puts the player in command of a squad of tiny soldiers. The squad will embark in over 40 different missions in six different theatres of war and will engage in harrowing firefights and exploding… chickens?!
The Tiny Troopers series first began with Tiny Troopers Joint Ops back on the PS3, PS4, PS Vita and XBox One in November 2014 and was developed by Kukouri Mobile Entertainment. It then got a release on Nintendo Switch, courtesy of Epiphany Games and Plunge Interactive as Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL in 2017. Roll on to 2023 and the troopers have a brand-new outing in the form of Tiny Troopers Global Ops.
Much like in the first game, you must move your squad and undertake missions. You will be dropped off near an enemy base or outpost and for the most part, you will need to neutralize enemy threats as you complete objectives. Objectives can be anything from collecting X number of key items, clearing waves of enemies, taking out the enemy officer, and reaching the evac point. Each mission is typically five minutes long or so and includes several objectives that mark the overall progression of the mission.
Tiny Troopers Global Ops is played from an isometric, top-down perspective and you control the movements of the squad leader with the left joystick and the direction they are facing with their weapon with the right joystick. The rest of your squad members will follow the leader and will also shoot enemies when the leader opens fire. They will also dodge roll when prompted as well, which is handy when needing to avoid grenade explosions or land mines that have been set off.
When it comes to weapons, each member of the squad carries a pistol to begin with. When you successfully complete missions, you can earn experience points that you can use to unlock better primary weapons like the SMG or assault rifle. You can also unlock secondary weapons like the Grenades, Bazooka, as well as support items like Drones, and Airstrikes. You can also increase your health, armor and add additional units to your squad though there are some restrictions that require you to increase your rank first of have previous weapons or items maxed out first.
As for cosmetic customization, you can change the uniform of your unit, as well as their general appearance like face model and skin color. Most of the options are available at the start with a few uniforms being locked until you complete optional sub missions that will unlock them for you. One slight drawback is that you cannot change the squad members’ names but pretty much everything else that we mentioned before can be.
When it comes to multiplayer, up to four players can play locally or online. Each player takes control of their own primary unit but none of the additional CPU squad members will be present. This means that during co-op play, regardless of whether it is local or online, any buffs or weapons that you have unlocked are restricted to you and anything the other players have unlocked are restricted to them. This includes unit health and primary weapons but things like Stim packs and secondary weapons found during missions can be used by either player.
Tiny Troopers Global Ops, much like its predecessor, is fun to play in small doses rather than in long sessions. The mission objectives and the combat are very much the same throughout the game’s 40 or so missions. The missions themselves can take more time to complete the further you progress into the game and more difficult so it is always good to take a breather every now and again and maybe replay some earlier missions if you need to buff up a particular unit so that your squad is better prepared for the fights ahead.
I personally find the game quite charming and enjoyable. The humor of the characters and the story is a bit hit and miss at times as it is directed more so at younger audiences but it not enough to drive me away for the actual gameplay which I do find fun. In comparison to the first game, Tiny Troopers Global Ops does have a number of improvements over the previous entry and the character models are much easier on the eye than the very jaunted looking models in the previous game. I do find there are some frame rate issues on occasion during intense firefights and cutscenes but apart from that, it is not a bad game to pick up and play and have a little fun. Now if you excuse me, I best regroup with my squadmates, we have a despot to remove from power.
Tiny Troopers Global Ops: (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: Epiphany Games
Publisher: Wired Productions
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Action, Arcade
No. of Players: up to 4 players (Offline & Online)
Release Date: March 7, 2023 (EU & NA)
Price: $19.99
File Size: 4.4 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
