Advance Wars: Dual Strike review

Gamestyle considered Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising to be more of an update than a successor to the original Advance Wars on GBA. While still as addictive and entertaining as the original, the lack of any real progress (in terms of new units, abilities and presentation) dampened this achievement. However, with the series' first appearance on Nintendo's DS console, it has enough new features to justify its sequel status.Players take the role of Commanding Officers (C.O.s) of the Allied Nations, facing off in turn-based battles against the forces of Black Hole. They are able to command and build various combat and support units - which range from tanks, artillery and battleships through to bombers and submarines - and each unit has its own strengths and weaknesses. The high-flying Bomber unit, for example, can dispense massive amounts of damage to ground and naval units, and seems unstoppable - until attacked by a Fighter unit, which decimates it. Conversely, the Fighter unit can only fire upon airborne targets and is very susceptible to Anti-Aircraft units - which in turn are weak against Tank units…(and so on and so forth). Advance Wars is very much like chess: you can't rush in with all guns blazing because you need to contemplate each unit's abilities (along with fuel consumption, terrain conditions, the 'fog of war' and other parameters).While this may sound complicated, Advance Wars: Dual Strike is as easy to play as any other game in the series. You select a unit, move it to its intended destination and, if possible, attack. This approach worked extremely well on the GBA (via D-Pad and buttons); on the DS it becomes even more fluid because everything can be controlled via simple taps of the touch screen. Selecting a unit, calling up the terms of engagement, attacking a selected target - all done with the stylus. In fact, it feels so natural that at times you may picture yourself as one of those generals with a big stick (as seen in World War II movies), pointing out targets on the map while attractive ladies in uniform position the little plastic models. Well, almost.The main action takes place on the lower screen, displaying everything you'd expect to see on the GBA games (with a slight 3D aspect), while the top screen generally displays all of the unit or terrain information you currently have selected on the bottom screen. While easy to ignore, it's nice to be able to glance up and see if your Neo-Tank has enough fuel and ammo to destroy the enemy Missile unit - however, at later stages in the game, the second screen becomes an important tool for deciding the fate of battles.The game's 'Dual Strike' moniker references the fact that you can now use not one, but two commanding officers in most engagements (save for some introductory ones). After plotting all of your moves and attacks, you can choose to switch to your partner and make use of their abilities; not only does this add new depth to the gameplay by highlighting characters that work well together, it also allows you to unleash both of their Super Powers (first featured in Advance Wars 2) in a 'dual strike' (see what they did there?) attack. A well-timed Dual Strike can decimate enemy forces. Beware though: it can also decimate your own as the Black Hole Army also has this ability.Further into the game, another reason for this dual character selection becomes apparent: you are forced to battle on two fronts. The main battle on the touch screen is now accompanied by a secondary battle on the top screen; whilst winning this secondary battle isn't necessary, it's highly advantageous - as victory here allows you and your partner to merge their Dual Strike attacks (while subsequently robbing the Black Hole C.O. of their partner). You can also choose to direct the battle on the top screen yourself, or have your partner become AI-controlled and simply sit back and watch. While competent enough on its own, some players may choose to take control themselves in some later battles - however, this does complicate matters since you have to be aware of both battles.And this is where Advance Wars begins to falter. While the games have always been complex by nature, Dual Strike errs on the wrong side of complication. Not only do you have its innate challenges to contend with, you now have to choose the right two characters for the job (from an eventual roster of 27). Sometimes the game tasks you with controlling up to three armies at once - both controlled by two characters - and a myriad of other elements (such as levelling up your characters and assigning abilities to them) almost conspires against you.Still, after a while you'll settle into the game's regime, and despite the addition of a few useless units (witness yet ANOTHER type of tank) and a campaign mode that is easier than its predecessors, there is little here to deter the faithful. Advance Wars: Dual Strike has made a successful (albeit not a major) leap onto the DS and feels right at home on Nintendo's dual-screen machine.