Topic: Advance Wars: Dual Strike

[Rhoq]

On October 7, 2004 Nintendo announced that their popular Advance Wars series was coming to the Nintendo DS and when I read the news, it was at the moment I made the decision to buy a DS. I was sold. That same day, I went to GameStop and  pre-ordered a DS with $50 down and another $5 for Super Mario 64 DS.

I got my Nintendo DS the day it was launched (November 21, 2004). At first I enjoyed it and I thought that games such as Sega’s Feel The Magic helped the system live up to Nintendo’s claims of introducing new and innovative ways to play games. Then there was nothing…An extremely limited number of games were released for the fledging new system over a period of nearly 6 months. By this time, the novelty of the DS had worn thin for me, and I had lost interest shortly after purchasing Pac-Pix and Polarium.

Now it seems that the DS has finally hit it’s stride. The game library is growing on a daily basis and the touch screen & built-in microphone are proving to be more than just a gimmick. Just a few days ago, the very game that got me excited enough to buy a Nintendo DS in the first place was released…Advance Wars: Dual Strike. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes!

Fans of the “Advance Wars” series need to know only one thing: Dual Strike makes owning a DS worth every penny. It is that good. Everything that made you first love the series to begin with is all here, and then some. The addition of using the touch screen to make all of your moves just sweetens the experience. As a matter of fact, it is entirely possible to play the game without ever pressing any of the system’s face buttons. Best of all, the touch screen gameplay feels 110% natural to the series and makes it even more intuitive than it already was. Intelligent Systems has set the standard for how a game such as this should play on the DS, I hope other developers take note. It really couldn’t be any more perfect.

For the people that have never had the pleasure of ever playing an “Advance Wars” game, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Unless you are not a fan of turn-based strategy games, there is just no excuse for never giving the series a try.

While the graphics aren’t really any more impressive than what the GBA games have offered, there are some subtle visual enhancements. Most notable are the background animations during the pre/post battle sequences. Other than that though, the graphics are more or less the same as it’s GBA counterparts  â€“ but believe me, this is no way a “GBA+” title. “Advance Wars” has always focused more on it’s solid gameplay rather than it’s graphical presentation. The DS iteration, continues that tradition. It’s as colorful as ever, with a slightly more “anime” look this time around.

Audio for Dual Strike, is a step up from it’s GBA brethren. Replacing the SNES quality tunes, we now have full MIDI tracks which range from the classic “Advance Wars” soundtrack to some “Euro” style house tracks. It’s not the greatest game music in the world, but it does give you a decent idea of just what the DS can do in the audio department.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike is the first of many high profile titles which will be released on the Nintendo DS between now and the end of the year. The system’s library really seemed to explode overnight going from a dismal number of gimmicky titles released during the “launch” period to 2 or 3 new quality games per week.

If you’ve got the extra cash and want an immersive gaming experience which is enhanced greatly by the DS’ touch screen controls, then Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a definite “must-own” title.

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Presentation – 10
It’s the “Advance Wars” you know and love.

Graphics – 9
The series has never been about how it’s visuals look, but even with that said it has always been colorful and pretty. It gets the job done and looks great doing it. The characters seem have a more “anime” style to them this time around.

Audio – 8
It sounds nice, but I have a feeling the DS is capable of doing better.

Gameplay – 10
Solid as a rock. It plays just like the “Advance Wars” you are used to. Even though the touch-screen adds an entirely new dimension to how you play this game, it feels like it was a natural progression for this series.

Lastability – 10
I don’t know about you, but I could play “Advance Wars” forever!

Overall Score (not an average) – 10 out of 10

MUST-OWN
 

[Bill Aurion]

This is my first Advance Wars game, and it's great fun (and has a hilarious script)...I couldn't imagine playing this game without the touch screen... =D

[vudu]

The game actually controls extremely well without the touch screen.  I switch back and forth between using the stylus depending on where/when I'm playing.

In fact, for certain things I find it much easier to not use the stylus.  For example, it's rather awkward to deselect a character using only the touch screen.

Shame on you Bill for not playing the GBA Advance Wars.  Personally, I skipped the second one because I got into the first one late in its life cycle and from what I read AW2 was more of an expansion pack than a new game.

[Bill Aurion]

Sorry, I'm just not a SRPG fan...

[miedo]

I'd pick up the older Advance War games if you like these.  Even without touch screen control, I found Black Hole Rising to be twice as hard as Dual Strike (trust me, it's about the equivalent of Dual Strike's Hard Campaign).

Oh, and having the GBA carts in your DS when you enter the shop in Dual Strike will allow you to purchase some War Room maps and backgrounds.

[Arbok]

Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
The game actually controls extremely well without the touch screen.  I switch back and forth between using the stylus depending on where/when I'm playing.

In fact, for certain things I find it much easier to not use the stylus.  For example, it's rather awkward to deselect a character using only the touch screen.

Personally, I find the stylus to not be a better means of controlling the units, although perhaps it's just because I played the first two so much. The only time I ever use the stylus is for the combat mode, as you can aim far better than you ever could with the dialog controls.

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Sorry, I'm just not a SRPG fan...

Wouldn't Fire Emblem be a "Strategy RPG", and Advance Wars just fall under "Strategy"?

[Bill Aurion]

I could have sworn that AW and Fire Emblem use similar battle mechanisms...Also, I split Strategy games into two categories: "Strategy RPG" (turn-based) and "Real-Time Strategy"...

[cubist]

Being that I've mastered both Advance Wars I and II along with Fire Emblem, I would say because they are both developed by Intelligent Systems, they're both using the same graphics engine and the gameplay is very similar.  However, there is much more versatility with the Advance Wars series because of the abilities of military personnel and machinery.  For example, in Advance Wars, you've got two types of troops, one with a rifle and the other with a bazooka.  The rest are military vehicles that can transport other vehicles and/or troops to different areas.  As a result you have a much larger area to cover and much more troops.  As a matter of fact, you can control up to 3 different armies.  What's even more impressive is Advance Wars II's addition of factories and volcanoes to change it up a bit.  

On the other hand, Fire Emblem is just as addicting, but there are just too many different types of humanoid characters with different abilities that all move just about the same distance.  The only vehicles are horses and flying dragons.  Other than that, I don't remember anything else.  On the flip side, Fire Emblem does involve a lot more real-time character development by leveling up the characters during battles, but the reward of developing the characters is thrown out the door once you're given a super level-up toward the end of the game so the enemies in the last level don't beat the crap out of you.

Fire Emblem is a lot more difficult and it requires a lot more attention to development if you want to beat the game.  I've played that last level more times than I'd like to admit to.  The Advance Wars series will give you a clean slate at the beginning of every level.  

[trip1eX]

Great game!  Reminds me of playing Civ2 on the pc.  

I use the touchscreen controls.  They work good tho it's clear to me that the game was designed around the d-pad and buttons first and the touchscreen controls added on top of it later.

I like the touchscreen for selecting different units and looking at their firing ranges on the map.  You can do so instantly.