Screenshots :.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
DS
Matt
20-07-2007
"Can't hide from a satellite of death"
"Mid-air jousting!"
"Methinks you don't want that to hit home"
"Like a briiiidge over troooubled wat... sorry."
‘Of all the things I would never play’, I said once to a friend cradling his Gameboy Advance, ‘those turn-based strategy games are the least likely. Hate them’. My chum grinned away, looking intently at his little screen whilst I tried at least to sound interested in what was going on. ‘So, won the war yet? We could always have a quick blast on Mario Kart’ I moaned, to which he grinned more, shook his head and continued playing. The game? Advance Wars.
Apart from highlighting how prone to moaning I am when people play things I consider boring at the time, in hindsight it also points to a turning point in my gaming tastes. Baffled by what could be keeping the aforementioned friend glued to his screen even after the offer of Mario Kart, I read a few reviews, strolled into town and picked myself up a copy of the original Advance Wars. Some two months and a heck of a lot of strategy later, I knew. I just knew.
Dual Strike comes as the third Advance Wars title to be released on a handheld system on the European market, having hailed from the Famicom Wars series that until 2001 Japan had decided to keep to itself. A top-down strategy title, the game plays out a little like chess with one team moving their troops and units into position, attacking enemy units and capturing capital, then giving his opponent a turn to counteract this movement. It might sound simple, but it really isn’t.
The story takes places some time after the events of the prequel – Black Hole Rising – with the Black Hole army resurfacing under new command to try to rule Omega Land. Standing in their way are a host of various commanders who’ll fall under your control from certain allied armies, such as Orange Star’s new kid Jake, Green Earth’s Eagle and Blue Moon’s Olaf. Each commander has their own speciality in combat and once used for the first time can be switched and swapped to suit particular battles.
Whilst the storyline is obviously not going to win any awards (not that it tries to), it acts as mere dressing to an enthralling 28-mission solo campaign. This acts as Dual Strike’s primary game and sees the player taking on a series of increasingly tricky missions against the Black Hole army. Either obliterating the other army or capturing their headquarters mostly gains success, although along the way there are a few missions that require the player to aim for something different or to fulfil certain criteria.
The immediate advantage Dual Strike has over its GBA counterparts is obviously the touch screen the DS offers. Although not offering the player any new game techniques that he can use in battle it increases both precision and speed in which the game can be played, whilst also meaning that the player need not have to use the face buttons unless he or she wishes. Selecting and moving a unit is as simple as touching it with a stylus and touching the square you wish to move it to.
The second screen is mostly used to show the player information on the terrain or unit he has selected, but on some missions will allow you to see a second front on which the battle is being fought. The default setting is to allow the computer to control your troops on the second front, although most people will opt to take control of the whole lot themselves as ordering a computer ally to attack or defend doesn’t always give the results that you’d want.
The main new addition for the game is the Dual Strike power from which the game takes its subtitle. The game allows the player to tactically select two commanding officers for battle and then swap between them, using each of their strengths to their advantage. For example, one of the commanding officers you may have chosen could have a high attacking power but a low defence, whereas the other could have high defence but low attack. The key would then be to use the former when you are attacking the enemy and then swap in the latter when it’s the enemy’s turn to attack, in effect nullifying your weakness whilst maintaining your advantage. Swapping between your officers builds a power bar, and when it is full it allows you to attack with both in one turn, hence giving you a Dual Strike.
Whilst involving, the campaign won’t last you forever and at some point you’ll find yourself browsing through the other modes the game has on offer. War Room makes a welcome return and features a selection of missions for you to undertake as any officer you wish from those that you’ve unlocked in the main mode. New to the party this time around is Survival Mode, which sets the players a mission and then asks him to complete it either in a certain amount of time, with a certain budget or in a set amount of turns. Both modes offer genuinely enjoyable challenges and will probably last as long – if not longer – than the solo campaign.
Then there’s Combat Mode, which is… odd. Rather than offering the player a turn-based method of combat, the mode sees Dual Strike turning into some kind of retro shooting game by having the player move one of four different types of unit in real-time using the d-pad, shooting at opponents and trying to capture headquarters whilst dodging bullets. As an occasional curiosity, Combat Mode certainly adds a bit of variety, but those hoping for the same depth that they got with Campaign, War Room and Survival will soon find themselves losing interest.
People hoping for a little bit of social warfare are well catered for, with Versus and Link modes available. Both are essentially the same, with the former allowing two players to use one DS console. Along with a whole bunch of maps that can be used the game also retains the option of allowing the player to design their own, meaning that the possibilities are practically infinite.
Which pretty much sums up Advance Wars: Dual Strike, really. There’s so much to get yourself involved in that there’s a chance you might not even tap into half of the available modes for months. Sure, it may look and sound identical to Advance Wars games past, but under the superficial skin lies a deep, addictive strategy game packed full of fun for the player to unravel for months on end. What more could a gamer ask?
Apart from highlighting how prone to moaning I am when people play things I consider boring at the time, in hindsight it also points to a turning point in my gaming tastes. Baffled by what could be keeping the aforementioned friend glued to his screen even after the offer of Mario Kart, I read a few reviews, strolled into town and picked myself up a copy of the original Advance Wars. Some two months and a heck of a lot of strategy later, I knew. I just knew.
Dual Strike comes as the third Advance Wars title to be released on a handheld system on the European market, having hailed from the Famicom Wars series that until 2001 Japan had decided to keep to itself. A top-down strategy title, the game plays out a little like chess with one team moving their troops and units into position, attacking enemy units and capturing capital, then giving his opponent a turn to counteract this movement. It might sound simple, but it really isn’t.
The story takes places some time after the events of the prequel – Black Hole Rising – with the Black Hole army resurfacing under new command to try to rule Omega Land. Standing in their way are a host of various commanders who’ll fall under your control from certain allied armies, such as Orange Star’s new kid Jake, Green Earth’s Eagle and Blue Moon’s Olaf. Each commander has their own speciality in combat and once used for the first time can be switched and swapped to suit particular battles.
Whilst the storyline is obviously not going to win any awards (not that it tries to), it acts as mere dressing to an enthralling 28-mission solo campaign. This acts as Dual Strike’s primary game and sees the player taking on a series of increasingly tricky missions against the Black Hole army. Either obliterating the other army or capturing their headquarters mostly gains success, although along the way there are a few missions that require the player to aim for something different or to fulfil certain criteria.
The immediate advantage Dual Strike has over its GBA counterparts is obviously the touch screen the DS offers. Although not offering the player any new game techniques that he can use in battle it increases both precision and speed in which the game can be played, whilst also meaning that the player need not have to use the face buttons unless he or she wishes. Selecting and moving a unit is as simple as touching it with a stylus and touching the square you wish to move it to.
The second screen is mostly used to show the player information on the terrain or unit he has selected, but on some missions will allow you to see a second front on which the battle is being fought. The default setting is to allow the computer to control your troops on the second front, although most people will opt to take control of the whole lot themselves as ordering a computer ally to attack or defend doesn’t always give the results that you’d want.
The main new addition for the game is the Dual Strike power from which the game takes its subtitle. The game allows the player to tactically select two commanding officers for battle and then swap between them, using each of their strengths to their advantage. For example, one of the commanding officers you may have chosen could have a high attacking power but a low defence, whereas the other could have high defence but low attack. The key would then be to use the former when you are attacking the enemy and then swap in the latter when it’s the enemy’s turn to attack, in effect nullifying your weakness whilst maintaining your advantage. Swapping between your officers builds a power bar, and when it is full it allows you to attack with both in one turn, hence giving you a Dual Strike.
Whilst involving, the campaign won’t last you forever and at some point you’ll find yourself browsing through the other modes the game has on offer. War Room makes a welcome return and features a selection of missions for you to undertake as any officer you wish from those that you’ve unlocked in the main mode. New to the party this time around is Survival Mode, which sets the players a mission and then asks him to complete it either in a certain amount of time, with a certain budget or in a set amount of turns. Both modes offer genuinely enjoyable challenges and will probably last as long – if not longer – than the solo campaign.
Then there’s Combat Mode, which is… odd. Rather than offering the player a turn-based method of combat, the mode sees Dual Strike turning into some kind of retro shooting game by having the player move one of four different types of unit in real-time using the d-pad, shooting at opponents and trying to capture headquarters whilst dodging bullets. As an occasional curiosity, Combat Mode certainly adds a bit of variety, but those hoping for the same depth that they got with Campaign, War Room and Survival will soon find themselves losing interest.
People hoping for a little bit of social warfare are well catered for, with Versus and Link modes available. Both are essentially the same, with the former allowing two players to use one DS console. Along with a whole bunch of maps that can be used the game also retains the option of allowing the player to design their own, meaning that the possibilities are practically infinite.
Which pretty much sums up Advance Wars: Dual Strike, really. There’s so much to get yourself involved in that there’s a chance you might not even tap into half of the available modes for months. Sure, it may look and sound identical to Advance Wars games past, but under the superficial skin lies a deep, addictive strategy game packed full of fun for the player to unravel for months on end. What more could a gamer ask?
9/10
