Review: Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops

Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops is a twin-stick arcade shooter from Wired Productions, developed by Kukouri Mobile Entertainment. Making its way to PlayStation devices after initially releasing on mobile platforms, Joint Ops combines the previous entries in the series into one package. While there are a few niggles which get in the way of the fun at times, I have to say I have enjoyed my enlistment so far.

The story in the game is practically non-existent so the first thing I noticed was the game-play. As with many mobile conversions, the point-and-click touch controls from the mobile version of the game make their way across to the Vita intact but Joint Ops also utilizes the handheld’s analog sticks to convert the game into a twin-stick shooter. Cannon Fodder from the Amiga days will be an obvious nostalgia point when players see the isometric view (and are actually old enough to remember it).

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Using the touch controls, the game feels more like XCOM, minus the turn-based combat. Tapping the screen issues commands to your collective unit based on where you select – touch an area of the map and you will move there, touch an enemy vehicle, building or combatant to attack them. Obviously, using these controls means your finger can often obstruct your view so my preference was the stick controls.

The analog controls map the unit’s movement to the left stick. Targeting is then mapped to the right. However, unlike a game like Dead Nation, the game auto-aims for you, selecting enemies based on where you are approximately aiming. This is both a good and bad thing – there is no aiming reticle that swivels with your aim and the rate of fire to your weapons is initially too slow and inaccurate to use as a guide so auto-aim is required, however picking out the enemy you want to down is ridiculously difficult. Changing target requires extreme movements of the stick to switch and this often causes your aim to fall on the wrong unit.

You can improve this accuracy by upgrading your team’s stats. Earning money is simply a case of completing missions and destroying enemies. As well as purchasing stat boosts, you can recruit additional troops, like machine gunners or medics, for particularly tough missions – however, they must initially be unlocked using medals you find during the missions and their services are only available for one mission at a time. If you find yourself in a difficult situation in the middle of combat, you can also quickly call in more resources like grenades and rocket launchers by purchasing them mid-mission and getting them air-dropped to you.

There are about 58 missions in total, spread across the two main campaigns in the game. They start out relatively easy with limited units and objectives, but your abilities will be tested the further you progress. There is a good variety to the missions – there are standard kill-all-targets objectives as well as escort, lone survivor and on-rails shooting missions. There is even a zombie survival mode – starting out with a single soldier, you are tasked with surviving waves of the undead with ammunition and health drops being severely restricted. It is a fun distraction, similar to almost all other zombie modes.

As you complete missions, your soldiers will themselves increase in rank, making them tougher. This encourages you to keep them safe and adds a similar level of tension to the games as it did in XCOM. If they die in battle, they will be lost forever. There is not enough personality to the characters to develop a sense of attachment to them, but losing them can make later missions more difficult.

Joint Ops would never be described as a graphical powerhouse of a game, but I liked the vivid colours used in the environments and characters. The soldiers in your unit all look unique and distinct, helping to create a persona for each. As mentioned before, there is not enough there to form a proper bond to them but it is appreciated anyway. The sound design is also well-done with explosions and fire arms all sounding crisp. The cut-scenes that play between the different areas can be quite funny but the story they attempt to tell is not engaging at all.

As a fun few hours, Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops serves its purpose for me. The controls are a little janky but the missions and upgrades have me hooked on my journeys to and from work every day. The price has not been confirmed at time of writing but if they release this for less than £10, it might be worth a try.

Now, I better get back to it in case I get court martialed.

Tags: Kukouri Mobile Entertainment, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops, Wired Productions