Tower defense games usually require players to strategize while watching the action unfold. This is not the case with Toy Soldiers: Cold War, the latest game from Signal Studios on Xbox Live Arcade. The game is a sequel to last year’s toy war and is an entertaining take on the tower defense genre, even if it doesn’t hold the player’s attention in the long run.

The game takes place during the 1980′s in a fictional war between the United States and the USSR. Players take control of the Americans as they help the toy soldiers defend against waves of Russian toys trying to take over American toy boxes. The game lacks much of a storyline but bases its missions and gameplay around cold war era technology and fictional U.S. versus Russian battles.

The US and Russia collide in this toy box.

You play the game by controlling the American toy soldiers from a third person perspective to help defend their toy box against waves and waves of incoming Russian forces. Players build different kinds of turrets on predetermined build zones to defend against various kinds of Russian units. You can build turrets that help defend against incoming infantry, ground, and air units and watch as battles unfold or jump into the action and do the running and gunning yourself. If you have played Toy Soldiers’ first outing last year, then you shouldn’t have a problem jumping in to this game. The game plays similarly to last year’s war but comes included with new features that make battles more interesting such as a kill streak feature called “Barrages” that is rewarded to players after defeating a specific amount of enemies in a row and the ability to control different kinds of tanks, helicopters, and other aircraft running on batteries that can help change the tides of the battlefield.

Most of what makes Toy Soldiers: Cold War unique is its presentation of the tower defense genre, using toys and bedroom environments to give the feeling that you are playing with military toys come to life. You will not see any kind of blood in this game but instead will see plastic blowing up into pieces when destroying enemy tanks and infantry with explosives and units melt when using flamethrower turrets to take out massive waves of infantry units rushing to take over your toy box. The game may not be the prettiest game out there but its childish charms and use of toys to play out fictional battles between the U.S. and the USSR makes the game entertaining to watch.

The game is fun to play but lacks the staying power of other Xbox Live Arcade titles. I usually caught myself playing a couple of missions at a time before switching the game out for something else. Toy Soldiers: Cold War comes included with 11 missions that provide lots of variety and last about 10 to 20 minutes long to beat, along with online and split-screen co-op and competitive modes with customizable options to mix things up. Toss in some mini games that serves as good practice using the various turrets in the game along with online leader boards to improve your scores and you have yourself a game that will keep you busy for some time. Just don’t expect the thrill of gunning down toys in turrets to last that long.

Final Verdict – 8/10