Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Toy Soldiers: War Chest. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

Any kid remembers those two terrible words uttered at the end of nearly every toy commercial growing up - sold separately. The commercial would show you a slew of cool toys that worked even better together than they would separately. Could you buy them separately? Of course, but where's the fun in having half of an experience? Toy Soldiers: War Chest is basically the interactive version of that feeling, you can just get the base game and sure, you'll have but to get the full experience you'll need to pay extra for it. It's a cheap tactic but a somewhat necessary one for a game that's a surprising amount of fun.

If you're new to the Toy Soldiers experience it's a pretty easy formula. Remember playing with your favorite action figures and having them square off in gigantic battles, this is that come to life. It's a mix of base building, action and real time strategy mechanics that somehow all seem to work quite well together. I've dabbled in previous games in the series but I was still quite impressed by how well the game mixes fast paced action and decent (well, decent enough anyways) strategy mechanics. The game also does a great job at making these purposefully small battles seem large and meaningful. I'll admit that I may have panicked a few times more when enemy armies came rushing in to my base. The game also feels different based on if your on the defensive side of the battle, defending your base or trying to attack another player's base.

Regardless of which version of the game you buy, you'll have access to four very different armies right our of the box. There's the German WWII themed Kaiser, the Scifi based Phantom army, the My Little Pony-esque Starbright and the Dark Lord army. It's a unique mix but also one that insures that anyone can indignity with at least one of the armies without even playing the game. Of course, if you're willing to pay just a bit more you'll get access to four more premium armies - you know, the cool ones. For an extra $15 (or $5 each if you only want to get some of them) you'll be able to command the GI Joe, Cobra, Assassin's Creed and Masters of the Universe armies. Do you need them? No, of course not but you're going to want them. Riding into the battlefield as He-Man on Battlecat is something that six-year-old me would have loved, and dammit thirty-year-old me is going to do it. On top of that it's just cool to see these armies do battle and it's really the ultimate realization of imagination come true. It's also important to note that if you're playing on console only the person who bought the premium content can use it, which is pretty much the definition of price gauging.

It's that mix of gameplay mechanics that makes Toy Soldiers: War Chest so much fun to play. You'll start most matches by building turrets to defend against waves of incoming enemy soldiers and vehicles. The more successful you get, the closer you get to unlocking one of your hero units that really make each match feel different. You can let the AI take control of your turrets while you go in taking out enemies in real time. Each army has their own hero units and each feels different enough that it's worth playing as each to see which you're most comfortable with. I started the game as the Kaiser but quickly found myself being more successful with the Phantom army with it's powerful futuristic tech and high powered weaponry.

What surprised me most about Toy Soldiers: War Chest was just how beefy the single player campaign was. I was well aware that the multiplayer would be what brought most to the game but the single player is no slouch either. Each army has it's own trajectory and I highly recommend playing through each of them in an effort to get better acquainted with the more in-depth mechanics before jumping into multiplayer. It's these online modes that will surely keep players coming back. I won't claim that I'm much good at the game at all, but I was at least able to hold my own for longer than in most games thanks to the fact that the game is accessible for new players but features a ton of depth if you're willing to look for it.

I may not be a fan of the pricing structure but I am a fan of what Toy Soldiers: War Chest does best, large battles on a smaller scale. It's fun and accessible but also challenging enough for those looking for a more in-depth experience. As much as it pains me to tell you to give in to Ubisoft's driving strategies, I have to - I had a lot of fun with the game, especially when played with other likeminded players.