If you’re up for some pint-sized warfare, Tiny Troopers: Global Ops has what you need.
This action-packed twin-stick shooter sends you across the world, fighting troublesome foes wherever you go. And while it’s in no way the finest example of the genre, its fun sense of humour carries it. Like most twin-stick shooters, though, Tiny Troopers: Global Ops is certainly better when played with others.
From your headquarters, you have everything you need to make sure your military career goes smoothly. There’s an armoury, a training area, places where you can recruit some extra help, and more. When you’re ready, simply head to the mission area to get into some action.
Missions are spread across six chapters, each offering a nice change of scenery. Tiny Troopers: Global Ops isn’t the biggest game in the world, with its missions being relatively bite-sized, but there are over 40 of them to tackle. In each one you have numerous objectives: you might need to find cyphers and then decode messages, for example, or you might simply need to locate and destroy weapon caches. In any case, for the most part, missions are very linear.
Being a twin-stick shooter, you move with the left stick and aim with the right stick, pressing the right trigger to shoot. You start out with just a basic pistol, but using the experience you earn while, you can upgrade it and then even change it for a SMG or rifle if you wish. There are even a range of secondary weapons on offer, ranging from grenades to a shotgun.
Related: The Best Twin-Stick Shooters on PS5
The vast number of upgrades available via the armoury is perhaps one of the reasons you’ll keep coming back to Tiny Troopers: Global Ops. Aside from primary and secondary weapons, there are also upgrades for your speed, armour, and a whole lot more. Some you just need the required experience to unlock, others you need to raise your rank for first. In any case, it provides a nice feeling of progression. And with your upgrades, you can return to early missions to see if you can improve your score.
Starting out, Tiny Troopers: Global Ops feels slow and overly basic. If you’re playing alone, it’s not much fun at all. The more upgrades you have under your belt, however, the better it gets. It’s also undoubtedly much better when playing it with a friend or three, either via online or local co-op. With multiple players you’ll blast through missions in a chaotic manner, covering each other’s backs while taking the fight to the enemy and then some.
Whether you’re playing alone or with others, though, you’re never going to be impressed by the visuals of Tiny Troopers: Global Ops, which are dull as dishwater. Getting stuck on bits of scenery can also be a pain as you explore an area’s nooks and crannies. The control scheme might irk some as well: to use a secondary weapon, for example, you need to draw it with the left trigger then use the right trigger to fire. Why not just let you fire it with the left trigger?
There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about Tiny Troopers: Global Ops. It doesn’t try to innovate or do anything new. But lacklustre visuals aside, this is a solid enough entry into the twin-stick shooter genre, and there’s plenty of fun to be had with it – especially if you play it with others.
Tiny Troopers: Global Ops Review – GameSpew’s Score
