Advance Wars: Dual Strike - DS
Advance Wars: DS is the third game in the Advance Wars series. For those who've played them before, it's just more of the same with a few extra units thrown in and a survival game mode. And it's on the DS, of course.
For those who haven't played them before, the Advance Wars series are turn based strategy games with an anime feel. The units are very well balanced, with each having strengths and weaknesses and none able to survive without support from other types.
There are several different play modes, such as head-to-head and survival, but the main focus is on the campaign mode. Several horses are played over the course of the campaign, but they're all the same with different sprites. The enemy usually have a few different units though to keep you on your toes. The only real difference between horses are the commanders.
Commanders (COs in game terms) are a rather anime aspect to the game which seems a little alien to me, but generally works quite well. The CO is not a field unit, but they can influence the battlefield with special powers that build up by damaging the enemy. These powers have a range of effects, such as damaging enemy units, healing your own, providing a temporary offensive boost, or boosting your cash. Some COs also have permanent effects such as a higher attack and lower defence for all their units, longer range artillery but weaker direct combat, or cheaper units that are slightly weaker. It all seems to work quite well and encourages you to try different tactics. The thing about COs that seems odd to me is that half of them seem to be clueless 10 year olds, but that's anime I suppose.
A typical battle, once the campaign is in full flow and all units are available, has some common points. The mission always starts with a bit of cheesy banter between the COs that should tell you your objective, which are surprisingly varied. Usually you must quickly capture factories and cities in a resource grab (factories to build units, cities to generate cash), then churn out units to pound the enemy back across the map, capturing his assets and depriving him of the resources to reinforce. This isn't the only way of doing things though, as you can win a battle directly by capturing the enemy HQ building.
I'd heartily recommend the game. I've got all three, and they're terribly addictive. The difficulty rises steadily enough to give you a sense of achievement when you win, although I usually get stuck by the last couple. You can play them for as little or as long as you like, which is ideal for a DS game, and there's enough there to keep you going for quite a long time. This is the only game I was certain to buy on the DS, and I haven't regretted it.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike - DS
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Good review there. 
I'm not overly fussed about scores to be honest, as they indicate some kind of objective rating on something that is ultimately highly subjective. This game sounds like a very good example of its genre, but turn-based strategy just isn't going to appeal to me. Besides, I don't have a DS anyway.
I'm not overly fussed about scores to be honest, as they indicate some kind of objective rating on something that is ultimately highly subjective. This game sounds like a very good example of its genre, but turn-based strategy just isn't going to appeal to me. Besides, I don't have a DS anyway.
Yeah, Lat pretty much summed up why I didn't put a score on. They're too absolute and tend to give people an opinion before they read the review. I've played games and thought they were great, then read a review of them in PCG and they got a crap score. If I'd have read the review first I'd never have bought them. Likewise, I've bought games because they've had a high score but not liked them because they're just not my thing.
I'd rather people read my review and made their own mind up how much they'll like it. In this case, if you like slow, methodical games where you can muse over a move then there's a good chance you'd like this. If you want action or any kind of pace then you probably won't.
I'd rather people read my review and made their own mind up how much they'll like it. In this case, if you like slow, methodical games where you can muse over a move then there's a good chance you'd like this. If you want action or any kind of pace then you probably won't.