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The Toy Soldiers (Xbox Live Arcade) Official Thread

mujun

Member
Game is as sweet as I hoped it would be.

Controls like a dream (except for the fact I can't invert the sniping controls, patch that shit please!).

Happy to spend 1200 on it.

Will try to get some online going tonight (Japan time) if any gaffers are keen.
 

Oli

Registered User
So is this game Tower of Defense? Or more RTS meets Battlefield? I'm a little confused about it.
 

jergrah

Member
Look forward to checking out the demo this evening. The Facebook game is actually pretty cool - its the first FB game I have ever tried and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Totally random, but on another note, I just realized these guys are based out of Bothell, WA (suburb of Seattle) which is the same city I live in.
 

Meier

Member
Google said:
I'm aware of the lack of resale.

What I'm struggling with is why spending $15 on a product you cant resell is worse than spending $60 on a product you can.

Yes, you'll get your next game for $40 - but that's still $25 more than the XBLA game.
Typically if I intend to sell a game, I won't hold onto it for a full year until it's only worth $20. Usually you can get $40 out of it relatively easy on Craigslist. The lack of re-sale on XBLA/PSN/VC games just kills my enthusiasm for them 9 times out of 10. In most instances, you're not going to re-visit the title months or years down the line so owning it and having no way to recoup ANY of the cost is a frustration. Like I said though, I rarely buy a full price game due to renting. If there were some sort of option to rent XBLA games at less than full price, I'd be more inclined to play said titles.

Developers know there is a huge difference in the perceived value/price of $10 vs $15 XBLA title. It's no different than something being $9.99 versus $10.00. Once you break that magic 1,000 plus barrier for points, you've entered a world of selling pain.
 

mujun

Member
Meier said:
Typically if I intend to sell a game, I won't hold onto it for a full year until it's only worth $20. Usually you can get $40 out of it relatively easy on Craigslist. The lack of re-sale on XBLA/PSN/VC games just kills my enthusiasm for them 9 times out of 10. In most instances, you're not going to re-visit the title months or years down the line so owning it and having no way to recoup ANY of the cost is a frustration. Like I said though, I rarely buy a full price game due to renting. If there were some sort of option to rent XBLA games at less than full price, I'd be more inclined to play said titles.

Developers know there is a huge difference in the perceived value/price of $10 vs $15 XBLA title. It's no different than something being $9.99 versus $10.00. Once you break that magic 1,000 plus barrier for points, you've entered a world of selling pain.

I'm similar to you in my outlook on buying and reselling. I realized though that if I wanted to get to enjoy the great downloadable games out there I would need to try and look at it a different way. I sort of have my own bar in that I judge downloadable games by, if a $10 game gives me three hours of enjoyment then I'm satisfied that it's money well spent. A $15 game five hours.

Personally I don't want to miss out on the gems available on PSN, XBLA, (Wiiware and Steam).
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
I keep liking it the more I play. I've only played 1st story mission enough to get general rank (2 plays), and about 5 or 6 multiplayer battles aganist my brother.

"Upgrade as fast as you can!" isn't necessairly the best in this game, either. I like the fact that lvl 1 Auto-guns actually seem to have a reason to exist, even after you can take them to lvl 2. I can really hear the difference (in normal) between my own use of a gun, VS the CPU's useage.

Co-Op would have been great, surely. Don't think I'd like 2 VS 2 though, because part of the strategy is trying to manage both parts of resources VS a human, trying to match their rythm of Barrages and "tower" creation.

Nice how you can unlock additional visual filters, and for the record, I don't mind all the blur and bloom. Really helps make it all feel more dramatic. Blobs in the distance that clear themselves into serious threats as they draw close... makes it feel interesting.

It'd be awesome of the DLC was as imaginative as Borderlands, or Band of Bugs. If it's just a map and maybe a new tower, that's one thing, but you could really do a lot of cool things with thsi framework. "Toy Soldiers" doesn't have to mean "army men" y'know...
 

xbhaskarx

Member
Oli said:
So is this game Tower of Defense? Or more RTS meets Battlefield? I'm a little confused about it.

It's definitely more tower defense than RTS. However you can take control of your "towers" and micromanage them, and you can also take control of certain units (tanks, planes) and use them like it's "Battlefield 1915".
If you're confused why not just play the free trial?
 

Das-J

Law of the West
Some good friends created/produced this title and I highly suggest you pick it up as it's a ton of fun!

Tracking the mortar rounds as they fall on enemy waves is seriously :lol
 

Pakkidis

Member
I like it so far but it is inexcusable not to have invert controls for the sniper tower. This is definitely not like a normal defense tower game. You really have to take control of certain towers. I find the sniper tower is best an early on and then switch to the guns as enemies draw near. I find taking control of mortars and the gas tower pretty useless.
 

Jube3

Member
I played one game online, got ANNIHILATED! :lol Apparently when the enemy team sends in 20 airplanes its a good idea to try and build an AA tower :lol Wish I could play more, hopefully this weekend.
 

Daigoro

Member
well the impressions are certainly enough to make me download the demo.

if there is enough variation in the game that i dont feel like im playing a straight up TD game then i may actually like it.

the premise is too cool though. i certainly want it to be a game that i will enjoy. here's hoping.
 

nbraun80

Member
additional to the sniper, the airplane controls seem kinda weird to me as well. I crashed it a few times before I realized that you steer with LS and gas with RS, not the other way around.

I just played the demo, but I'm just not feeling it. I thought it was cool right away, but after awhile I'm like, "ok, so I'm playing a glorified tower defense game." I'm sure there's cool features and such, but I just can't justify dropping 15 bucks on a nice TD game.
 

SuperPac

Member
Bought it. Love the aesthetics, gameplay's a ton of fun. Though I'm having trouble with that first tank. It always gets to my row of Howitzers (upgraded to Lev.2) before they get about half its life down and then they can't do anything to it when it's that close up. Not really sure what to do.
 
SuperPac said:
Bought it. Love the aesthetics, gameplay's a ton of fun. Though I'm having trouble with that first tank. It always gets to my row of Howitzers (upgraded to Lev.2) before they get about half its life down and then they can't do anything to it when it's that close up. Not really sure what to do.


Is that the level where you are given the Gas weapon?
 

Ponn

Banned
I liked the demo a lot. The $15 price point is making me hesitate on buying it though. I'm not sure with FFXIII coming out if I will really get to play this alot and afraid it might just end up in my graveyard of xbla games downloaded on impulse but barely touched (South Park, Penny Arcade, Puzzle Quest, Mega Man 9, etc). That on top of the recent weekly deals on $15 games going on sale for $8 pretty quick is just making me hesitate. I mean, those are space bucks I could be spending on FFXIII themes and avatar items you know.
 
Meus Renaissance said:
Instant buy at 800. No to 1200

Meus Renaissance said:
I just bought it :lol

This made me laugh.

Going to buy this tonight for sure 1200 or not. Though I have to say if it was 800 I would have instant bought it but 1200 I have to try the trial and even sometimes sleep on it. I am a cheap ass for sure but I see others like me in this thread
 
I was gonna wait for 800 Microsoft Space Dollars, but I went ahead and bit at 1200. After all, they're only space dollars, and those grow on uglifarbs.

That game is fun. Can't wait to see what MP is like, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. Flying the Red Baron plane reminds me of that William Gibson story Dogfight -- you know, the one about the holographic videogame spadsandfokkers.* Bitch to control that thing though, shows why I always sucked at IL-2 Sturmovik, but managing to fire into a crowd of soldiers and pick off a few and then bomb another crowd is very satisfying.

What's the most satisfying part of this game, you ask? I'm glad you asked. Shell cam. Seeing my expertly-aimed shell arc across the field and hit some kraut directly in the middle of his kaiser helmet, along with a hearty cry of "Weinerschnitzel!", all in a first-person view, gave me a good laugh.

How's MP anyway? And I found myself going to sleep last night wondering if there are leaderboards for multiplayer. And then I decided that I didn't care and slept soundly.

*Which is now real, btw, and free to download. You just have to buy an extremely expensive device to read your facial expressions and brainwaves to control the plane.
 

jedimike

Member
The demo totally sold me on this game... after playing with the sniper tower and then hopping in the bi-plane, I had to buy it.

The game has tons of personality... I remember laying out a bunch of Devil's wire to snag the enemy soldiers while my machine gun mowed them down. I was patting myself on the back, then the cavalry came and just jumped over it all and jacked up my toy box.

I have tried other TDS games (like SouthPark) and wasn't impressed. This game just seems to have a great blend of RTS, TDS, FPS, and charm. Definitely worth my $15. In fact, I'm contemplating leaving work early just so I can play the game.
 
jedimike said:
The game has tons of personality... I remember laying out a bunch of Devil's wire to snag the enemy soldiers while my machine gun mowed them down. I was patting myself on the back, then the cavalry came and just jumped over it all and jacked up my toy box.

Definitely worth my $15.

1st off, that cavalry is a bunch of bastards. I guess it's a tower defense game so you've got to have some fast units, but they're also tough and very very fast. I think I've sniped one of them once. I guess the point to cavalry is:

You cannot stop cavalry, you can only hope to shell them before they reach your toy box.

And B) I had no idea I just dropped $15 on that. I was hoping more like 10. That's why a prefer the term MSD, or Microsoft Space Dollars. I only spent 1200 of those.
 

mujun

Member
Meus Renaissance said:
Is that the level where you are given the Gas weapon?

I think that's the one he (or she) is talking about. I am also having a hard time getting past that giant goddamned tank :lol
 

Nelo Ice

Banned
mujun said:
I think that's the one he (or she) is talking about. I am also having a hard time getting past that giant goddamned tank :lol

mortars lots of mortars :lol and have 2 mgs for the infantry
 

mujun

Member
Nelo Ice said:
mortars lots of mortars :lol and have 2 mgs for the infantry

Yeah I figured that it must be mortars. I think the gas things are better than MGs too as you can get big multipliers off them at the start giving you more cash for mortars and cannons just before the Tsar comes out.
 

jedimike

Member
mujun said:
I think that's the one he (or she) is talking about. I am also having a hard time getting past that giant goddamned tank :lol

It took me a while too. I kept wanting to use the big ass 18 guns, but really you only need a couple of those and a bunch of the small mortars... just make sure you upgrade them before the big tank comes. I used two gas guns for the infantry and then placed a machine gun in the back by my toy box to get the occasional cavalry that snuck by.
 

mujun

Member
jedimike said:
It took me a while too. I kept wanting to use the big ass 18 guns, but really you only need a couple of those and a bunch of the small mortars... just make sure you upgrade them before the big tank comes. I used two gas guns for the infantry and then placed a machine gun in the back by my toy box to get the occasional cavalry that snuck by.

That's pretty much what I was thinking, will see how it goes when I get off work. Thanks :D
 
xbhaskarx said:
Damn the third big tank (Rail Tank?) is killing me. Does anyone have a good strategy for that level?

SuperPac said:
Yes it is.

mujun said:
Yeah I figured that it must be mortars. I think the gas things are better than MGs too as you can get big multipliers off them at the start giving you more cash for mortars and cannons just before the Tsar comes out.


20ubwr7.png


This my attempt of recreating the battlemap. Highlighted in red fill are the places where you need to build and in red text is a description of what you need to build it.

Start by building gas weapons in those circles in a line right next to the trenches. Money is limited here, but after the gas weapons, you need to build an artillery (on the top row first). Then the one machine gun as listed, then the mortars. Then the last artillery on the bottom row, near the Toy Box itself.

It's important that you face this last one towards the path the Tank will come down. What I've realised is that these things do not fire always on their own, you need to manually face them towards the path the enemy will come down. So as the tank comes down from the right, you need to face the artillery towards it, and then change their direction to the left in anticipation for when the tank passes by.

My Toy Box was at 14 when I defeated the Tank, and it was really close. And manually control the machine gun when taking down the cavalry
 

GhaleonEB

Member
How long is the campaign and single-player longevity compared to Defense Grid? I played the hell out of that game for a couple months, and this looks like it could fill the void until its DLC hits.
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
I played through the demo 3 times already...on my forth. If this was 800 points, I would have folded already. But since I still have a backlog. It can wait =[
 

xbhaskarx

Member
Meus Renaissance said:
http://i49.tinypic.com/20ubwr7.png

I don't know why you quoted me, the level I'm talking about looks nothing like that.

There are four "bosses": Tsar Tank, Zeppelin, Uber Tank, and Rail Tank. I was talking about the final one.

Actually apparently there are five. link
 

xbhaskarx

Member
GhaleonEB said:
How long is the campaign and single-player longevity compared to Defense Grid? I played the hell out of that game for a couple months, and this looks like it could fill the void until its DLC hits.

The Rail Tank is level 12 (not counting the tutorial) so I'm guessing 15 levels total? Also this has multiplayer (split-screen and online), I don't think Defense Grid goes.

I can't comment on the time difference, Defense Grid took me much longer but I had a lot more difficulty with figuring out how to play it properly whereas this clicked with me quite easily.
 

mujun

Member
Meus Renaissance said:
20ubwr7.png


This my attempt of recreating the battlemap. Highlighted in red fill are the places where you need to build and in red text is a description of what you need to build it.

Start by building gas weapons in those circles in a line right next to the trenches. Money is limited here, but after the gas weapons, you need to build an artillery (on the top row first). Then the one machine gun as listed, then the mortars. Then the last artillery on the bottom row, near the Toy Box itself.

It's important that you face this last one towards the path the Tank will come down. What I've realised is that these things do not fire always on their own, you need to manually face them towards the path the enemy will come down. So as the tank comes down from the right, you need to face the artillery towards it, and then change their direction to the left in anticipation for when the tank passes by.

My Toy Box was at 14 when I defeated the Tank, and it was really close. And manually control the machine gun when taking down the cavalry

Thanks, I actually managed to breeze through it by building mortars on every single defence point except the last one near the toybox where I built a level one machine gun. I upgraded every mortar to level two but prioritized amount over level. Completed the level without taking any toybox damage.

Absolutely love this game. Recommend to people who don't really dig tower defence games too (like myself) as the action elements and amount of control you have over mortars and the like makes it a totally different experience imo.
 
As far as limited placement goes, I think they included tanks and airplanes in the game for this very reason. I've rained black death upon the enemy with Big Willie and the Whippets. Not as much with the Jenny bomber, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's freakin' hilarious to bomb the shit out of a corps making its way up a hill, then crash into some charming Euro-house, obliterating it. When you're in control of such free units, it's hard to see the limitations. But yeah, I guess they're there. Maybe they should've imposed a tower limit but with way more pads for building. Made it more like a sandbox wargame and less a tower defense rework.

Meanwhile, that Ubertank is a bitch. Thing has taken its toll on the UK GDP by crushing like a dozen emplacements, and I hammered it with a couple of lvl 3 mortars and some level 2 Howitzers, getting it down to a sliver of health, and then it rolled straight into my toybox like it lived there, having its way with my grandmother for good measure.

I'm gonna play the shit out of it tonight and rock some multiplayer along the way. BTW, I think leaderboards are hilarious, being simply your score and how many soldiers you've iced.
 

kid ness

Member
Man, screw this game. I bought a 1600 Microsoft points card for my friend for his birthday, but that little sucker will have to wait. I'm ripping open the package as we speak, my eager fingers dripping with anticipation. :D
 

Pakkidis

Member
1) I wish tanks moved just a bit faster

2) in bombing mode view I would like to see a cursor on the ground to see where my bombs will land

3)INVERT CONTROLS FOR SNIPER TOWER PLEASE

4) Sometimes enemies are hard to see on the battlefield.

My strategy usually consists of me placing gas weapon near the toy box while gun towers farther up. I place howitzers on the big squares and mortars sporadically around the area.

Question: When you unlock higher upgrades for weapons are they usable in levels you completed.
 

mujun

Member
Pakkidis said:
1) I wish tanks moved just a bit faster

2) in bombing mode view I would like to see a cursor on the ground to see where my bombs will land

3)INVERT CONTROLS FOR SNIPER TOWER PLEASE

4) Sometimes enemies are hard to see on the battlefield.

My strategy usually consists of me placing gas weapon near the toy box while gun towers farther up. I place howitzers on the big squares and mortars sporadically around the area.

Question: When you unlock higher upgrades for weapons are they usable in levels you completed.

Yes they are.

Mortars are usually better value for money than howitzers I've found.
 
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