Advance Wars: Dual Strike

Advance Wars: Dual Strike Description

Appearing on the scene at around the same time as the original Game Boy Advance, Advance Wars astonished many a fan of the upgraded new Game Boy. A turn-based strategy game on a handheld console is the last thing anybody would expect to find, but find it we did. The game was fantastic, too; a beautifully balanced, simple yet deep game of tactics. It also fitted its platform like a glove: the turn-based nature didn't just mean that four players could play on one console, the simple, unhurried gameplay and portable nature of the machine led to unintrusive showdowns at work and in the pub. Advance Wars 2 on the GBA was no less inspired, and now comes the long awaited arrival of the DS version, with Advance Wars Dual Strike. Just as its predecessors made use of the GBA's modest powers, Dual Strike takes to its DS environment like a duck to water. The stylus control is so intuitive it makes you wonder how you coped without it before, and there are options to confine the battle to simply the bottom screen, or to make a two screen battlefield on which to challenge the threat of the evil Black Hole. The number of generals to choose from has been expanded to nine, each with a distinctive style to give you a better range to choose from, and the range of units is broader than ever before. As before, the challenging single player campaign is vital training for combat against your friends, and interestingly there is a real time mode as well as a turn based one this time around. The all-inclusive Advance Wars philosophy is unchanged. One cartridge allows wireless play for up to eight DS owners using the machine's game sharing powers, and as well as plenty of new maps, there are old favourites from the first two games. Another welcome development is the map editor. You can create your own maps and, naturally, share them with your friends and enemies over WiFi. A most welcome addition to the DS library.

• Use the top screen for quick-reference battle intel, or take control in battles that rage across both screens. Command a fleet of fighters high in the skies while troops clash with the enemy on the ground far below.
  
  
• New COs, new Tag-Team battles: Choose from new Commanding Officers, and combine their powers for incredible attacks that can turn the tide of battles.
  
  
• Real-time Combat mode: For a battle with a twist, players lead soldiers into a fast-paced, action-oriented battle against a storm of enemies.
  
  
• Easy-to-use map editor: Just grab a stylus and draw maps right on the touch screen, then send the maps to friends wirelessly.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike contains several game modes:

• In Campaign mode, players fight back against the Black Hole Army's invasion.
  
  
• Vs. Mode offers dozens of new battle maps, as well as tons of favorite maps from the previous two Advance Wars games. Players can play both normal and DS battles, both single and multiplayer, providing endless replay potential.
  
  
• Combat mode gives players fast-paced action: Instead of turn-based battles with large armies, players fight in real time while controlling a single unit.

Both Combat and Free Battle are available for multiplayer matches. Using DS Download Play, combat can be played wirelessly by up to eight people using a single game card.

There are two kinds of battles: Normal and DS Battle.

• In normal battles, the battle map appears on the touch screen, and the top screen displays information about players' units and enemies. Players can check their units' strengths, watch a missile's trajectory or check the clock in timed matches.
  
  
• In new DS Battles, players fight on both the top screen and the touch screen. Fight one battle on the ground and another battle in the sky, or direct two separate battles, providing support by sending units from one battle to the other. If the top-screen battle needs a boost, send a few tanks up to lend a hand.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike uses both screens: the touch screen for battles and the top screen for special information, from unit and terrain details to special conditions in each battle. In special DS Battles, players fight on the top screen as well, commanding both battles and redeploying units from one screen to the other. The Map Editor now uses the stylus, so that players can draw their maps right on the touch screen. Players now can trade their maps wirelessly too. Players also can use the stylus to give orders to their units; from moving to attacking, they control everything from the touch screen. Each time Commanding Officers win a battle, they gain experience ? over time, they can learn new battle skills that increase their strengths or boost a unit's abilities. There are more than 40 battle skills. Each of the COs has two separate special powers: a CO Power and a Super CO Power. These powers can freeze the battlefield, boost the attack range, rain bombs on enemies and much more. Now COs can team up for Dual Strike attacks with even more impressive results. New playable units include hulking aircraft carriers, invisible stealth fighters, devastating omni-missiles and insanely powerful megatanks.