I have another
confession to make; I never played Advance Wars on the GBA. Once again I have
exposed my nightmares by admitting to you, our loyal GameZone readers, just how
behind I am in times with certain games. It seems for every great series
released on one system another system has a series just as good. With Advance
Wars: Dual Strike for the Nintendo DS (NDS) I can see what the fuss has been
about for the past few years. Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a great game for the
NDS that will keep you entertained for hours.
Advance Wars: Dual
Strike picks up where the last game leaves off several months after the war in
Marco Land. Black Hole (the enemy) has launched an invasion on another
continent, Omega Land. Somehow Black Hole has replenished its army at an
alarming speed and is controlled by a new leader. To combat Black Hole’s
invasion of Omega Land Orange Star, Blue Moon, Green Earth and Yellow Comet have
joined together to create an alliance called the Allied Nations. For some of
you this story is probably exciting news but it was all new to me. My lack of
experience with the first two games had no impact on my enjoyment of the game
since this is a military strategy game. Sure there is a story in the game but
without great gameplay the story doesn’t matter. Fortunately the gameplay in
Advance Wars: Dual Strike is top-notch.
There are multiple
gameplay modes in Advance Wars: Dual Strike. The story mode of the game is
played out in the Campaign mode. The Campaign mode is a great place to start
playing the game because the computer takes you step by step through the game.
The computer will assist you explaining how to control your units and will go
over the various options during the game. You will assume the role of various
COs (commanding officers) during the missions. The story of the game is well
done but won’t have you dropping your DS with shock from any surprising plot
twists. The dialogue of the characters was good but I did have a problem with
one CO early in the game. He spoke with what I would describe as “internet
slang” saying phrases like “you got owned” and “smacked down.” For gamers under
the age of fifteen that might be ok but for some older gamers it’s nothing but
wasted text.
The rest of the
gameplay modes allow you to jump right into a battle. War Room allows you to
select from a huge number of maps and face off against up to three different
COs. The Versus mode allows you to battle against up to three other players
using one DS system and one Game Card. Survival mode lets you face off against
the computer but the rules are based on one of three different settings. Money
sets the rules where you only have a set amount of money to spend on units in
order to win. Turn forces you to win a battle by a certain number of turns.
Time sets the rules where you must finish a battle within a certain time frame.
Combat mode is a nice change of pace compared to the rest of the game. Combat
mode throws you for a loop by changing the core gameplay from a turn based
strategy game to a real time action game. You have a set amount of money to
spend in order to purchase troops. But the troops you purchase must last you
throughout six different maps. I really enjoyed the Combat mode because it
offered a great break from the usual gameplay by giving you a new experience to
take your mind off of the rigors of the normal game.
The last gameplay
mode in the game is the wireless mode. Nintendo is once again offering gamers
some wireless love by allowing gamers to play multiplayer with just one
cartridge. Advance Wars: Dual Strike will support up to seven players using the
Download feature of the DS. The wireless mode offers 2 to 4 players in Normal
Battle mode, 2 players in DS Battle and up to 8 players in Combat mode if
everyone has their own DS and Game Card. Unfortunately Advance Wars: Dual
Strike isn’t one of the new Wi-Fi Nintendo DS games. But if Nintendo is reading
this I strongly recommend that the next Advance War game support Wi-Fi
multiplayer gaming.
Enough about the
modes already I’m sure everyone really wants to know how the game plays. Well
the game plays great and the touch screen helps in controlling the action during
combat. All of your troops can be controlled via the stylus or with the
directional pad and button layout. Using the stylus made it a breeze to select
troops by simply pressing on a troop and then select the command you want to
issue to the troop. The commands vary depending on the type of troop and where
the troop is located. If the layout of a map is too big to fit on the screen
then you can use the stylus to move the camera around the map. I did have a bit
of a problem where the touch screen either wasn’t sensitive enough to the
stylus. I would have to press on a command a few times before the NDS would
register the command. This could be a problem with my DS and not the game,
since it seems to happen randomly.
The top screen of
the DS is used to present information about your troops and the different
locations on the maps. This was a nice feature that made it easier to know what
type of troop you selected and the location your troop is located. The top
screen is sometimes used during battles called DS Battles where a battle is
played out on two maps. The touch screen is the main front while the top screen
is the secondary front. At any time you can press the “X” button to bring up an
intel screen instead of the map. The top screen is also used to display any
specific information for a particular battle. For example during one of the
early missions a missile is scheduled to land and the top screen shows the
status of the missile.
The amount of
options in the game is mind blowing. There are 13 different land units, 6
different air units and 6 different naval units that can be used during the
game. Most of the battles won’t have you using all of those units right away.
It’s all about managing your funds properly and spending the funds on the
appropriate unit during a battle. I found that the MD Tanks (medium tanks) and
Neo Tanks worked really well during the early part of the game since they could
take a large amount of damage. The amount of maps you can select in the game is
outstanding. The game indicates that some of the maps were included in the
previous versions of Advance Wars on GBA. But if the maps aren’t enough then
you can build your own maps or purchase additional maps. The map editor in the
game was easy to use thanks to the DS touch screen. When you win a battle the
game awards you with points that you can use to purchase additional maps or
outfits for the COs.
Advance Wars: Dual
Strike proves once again that Nintendo is the king of portable gaming. Some of
you might be ready to fire off the hate emails because of that statement but
hear me out. I have a PSP but there is nothing on the PSP that compares with
Advance Wars: Dual Strike. This isn’t about which system has the best graphics
or sounds it’s all about the gameplay. There are so many different options in
Advance Wars: Dual Strike that the replay value is incredible. The story mode
is just one part and most strategy gamers never seem too concerned about the
story line anyway. This is an entertaining game that everyone with a DS should
at least try. War gamers and fans of the Advance War series will probable go
“gaga” over it.
Review Scoring Details Advance Wars: Dual Strike |
Gameplay 9.0
With the touch
screen this is a close to mouse and keyboard controls we will ever get with a
portable military strategy game. But even if you don’t enjoy using the stylus,
the directional pad and button interface is still solid. I never felt out of a
battle unless I really screwed up something. The ability to save during the
battles really helps in keeping you from sinking like a ton of bricks.
Graphics 8.5
The graphics are
vibrant and colorful for the COs with each of them having an anime type of
appearance. Each troop has their own unique look and is easy to identify during
the battles. The graphics for each troop on the top screen offers a more
appealing look to the eyes instead of the tiny characters on the touch screen.
When you engage in battle against the enemy the screen will change to a close up
view of the action. The graphics for each unit looks great during these scenes
but there is only a small amount of animation during the battles. However if
you’ve noticed that several other DS games are sticking with the 2D style
appearance then the graphics in Advance Wars: Dual Strike won’t come as a
surprise.
Sound 8.5
The music in the
game offers some catchy, memorable tunes. The sound effects for the different
units come through loud and clear. I would have enjoyed some voice acting to
signify the heat of the battle but unfortunately there was no voice acting.
Difficulty
Easy/Medium
I mentioned
earlier that I didn’t have a problem winning any battles unless I screwed up a
simple tactic. Some of the maps and missions will push you to the brink of
collapse but it’s still fun.
Concept 9.5
Sure we’ve seen a
million military strategy games before but there always seems to be a barrier to
entry when playing the games. Most military strategy games that I’ve played
want to take you to the extreme by offering the most realistic experience
possible. Advance Wars: Dual Strike isn’t that game but it still offers enough
options to keep you busy for a very long time. Creating maps, using the touch
screen, the wireless mode and the amount of maps already in the game is
incredible.
Multiplayer
9.3
This could have
been a near perfect score if Nintendo included Wi-Fi internet gameplay. But
even without the Wi-Fi gameplay having the ability to play against 8 other
gamers with just one Game Card is amazing. The wireless mode includes some
simple messages that can be sent to the other players during a battle. Trading
user created maps is another feature of the wireless mode. I applaud you
Nintendo but everything should be Wi-Fi by this time next year!
Overall 9.0
This is another
great title for the Nintendo DS. The DS is finally shaping up to be a great
system and this is another game that owners should check out. The number of
options available in the game is incredible. The gameplay just works and will
keep you going for hours upon hours.
