Toy Soldiers TGS 2009 Preview

What We Know: Zilch. Toy Soldiers was announced by Microsoft and Signal Studios at Tokyo Game Show as an Xbox Live Arcade tower defense game (with twists) for release in 2010.

What's New at TGS: Since this was my first look at Toy Soldiers, there was plenty take in. The biggest reason to keep an eye on Toy Soldiers is because of what Signal Studios is calling tower offense. Whereas other tower defense games emphasize players setting up their bases for a wave of attacks and weeping as you realize the weaknesses, Toy Soldiers provides you with an emergency outlet. That's where the offensive tactics come in, as Toy Soldiers grants gamers the ability to hop into any of their placed towers and assume hands-on control of the weapons. Sometimes that means hopping into a sniper tower and taking out enemies in the distance or manning the cannons and destroying the incoming wave of soldiers. You can even become a tank or a plane -- the point is that the outcome of the battle doesn't solely rest on your tower placement skills, which is ultimately what ends up killing most of these games for me. You no longer have to wonder if jumping into the battle yourself would change how it played out, since Toy Soldiers puts that option in your hands.

While Microsoft didn't actually show me the multiplayer at TGS, it was mentioned as a feature and the prospects of one-on-one battles is already putting a smile on my face.

What I Want to See: How much the player assuming direct control of towers and vehicles actually changes what happens. Can you build an awful base of towers and turn the tide simply because you're fantastic at aiming a cannon? It could make for some really damn good multiplayer.