Ages ago, long before Snake slithered onto the first Nokia 6110, Sun Tzu wrote that all war is based upon deception.
Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops follows this advice unflinchingly, as it attempts to deceive players into thinking it's an entirely new game worth the investment of another 69p / 99c.
In the end, Tiny Troopers 2 winds up taking the same bullets that laid the original Tiny Troopers low. Despite adding some polish and customisation options, it struggles to keep your attention for long.
Fall inThe gameplay of Tiny Troopers 2 is identical to its predecessor. You're given a top-down view of the battlefield, and you the screen to send your squeaky-voiced sergeants sprinting.
When your diminutive death-dealers encounter enemy infantry, vehicles, or buildings, a simple tap will set your troopers to shooting.
As with the original Tiny Troopers, the best way to avoid return fire is to keep your troops moving so they're harder to hit.
Each operation you undertake has a different set of objectives to clear, such as destroying a radio tower or gathering intelligence, which is a nice touch in an action strategy title.
DismissedTiny Troopers 2 adds specialist units like Grenadier, Medic, Flamer, and Machine Gunner to the strategic mix. While these units are helpful to clear certain levels, you're under no obligation to hire them - unless you really want to light enemy soldiers on fire.
Also added are weapon upgrades that allow your troopers to shoot faster, farther, and more accurately. These boosts pay off in a big way even at the low levels, so it's worth spending a few medals and command points on them as you progress.
While these both add customisation options to Tiny Troopers 2, the gameplay still feels extremely bland after a few levels.
To help spice up your experience you can purchase new uniforms like the pink camo Fashionista fatigues or the garishly gloriously Team USA uniforms, but these are only aesthetic upgrades.
It's tempting to spend a little on upgrades to flesh out your time with Tiny Troopers 2, but we recommended that you play through at least five levels before investing in any IAPs.
If the game hasn't bored you by that point, chances are good that you'll be satisfied with what follows.
Should your attention start to wander by the fifth mission, then save yourself the expense - not much changes from that point on.