The French might not be the greatest topic when it comes to Irish opinions. Signal Studios have released Kaiser’s Battle DLC for Toy Soldiers and if it proves to be anything like Toy Soldiers then we’re in for a treat. Shame it’s all about the French.

Following the French, Kaiser’s Battle is all about getting back into the thick of it. The DLC features three new single player levels and three new achievements which don’t follow suit per level but are there for you,. The DLC also includes two new multiplayer maps and a new boss, but more on this later. The first two levels are easy enough and you shouldn’t have any trouble with them, that said, if you are a new to the franchise and you approach the DLC before the main game you’ll find this to be a real challenge: so don’t!

As you can expect, the game looks great. The graphics are fantastic and aside from the odd time and I mean very odd, you’ll encounter a fraction of lag, generally the game runs very smoothly. Like the original title, you can take command of each class and use it in anyway you wish so a variety of attacks and defence are key to  the completing the DLC. I don’t know if it was just me but there seemed to be a slight change to some of the sound effects (I did in fact update as I loaded the title). Not in a bad way but there seems to be more attention drawn to the artillery and more. Sound effects BLAST out of your speakers now, shells explode with a vicious explosions that scream nothing but death to those below: these effects wouldn’t seem out of place in the likes of Modern Warfare and similar blockbuster titles. If this is “change” is not in fact a change, it goes to show that Toy Soldiers is a title that keeps on giving.

The final mission in the DLC was a tad bit of a pain. The Germans unleash their K-Wagon which is essentially a massive tank and although the actual mission runs smooth, the end of that specific level is frustrating. If you don’t have the correct set-up (correct turrets in place etc) the K-Wagon (after appearing as during the last wave) will annihilate you and you have to start again. This is why playing the single player campaign is crucial: by learning the function of each class and emplacement you can think what you can do logically to prevent this from happening again.

The Toy Soldiers multiplayer isn’t something I played too much in the past as just like any good strategy game – people always quit and without penalties. Well as you might have guessed, the Toy Soldiers multiplayer suffers from the quitters too so you may feel slightly frustrated that this part of the DLC might let you down. If you are a big multiplayer fan then you’ll be very happy overall as the new maps are great and add more of what you want.

Kaiser’s Battle will set you back 400 MS points but is very worth the price of admission. Offering more of exactly what we want – Toy Soldiers engaging in child-like action packed war! The game and the DLC are both worth your time and energy. Signal Studios have created a DLC that if you have the game then you need to have this. An excellent addition to the franchise and an explosive purchase. Get it. Now the only thing we need is a level editor….

TGL Score 9/10

Format:  Xbox Live Arcade

Release Date: June 30th

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Signal Studio