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Review  Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
- By Daniel Maraglio
[Senior Editor]
I have never been that big on the turn based strategy games. The last time I enjoyed one was back in the late 80's with a NES game called Conflict. Me and a freind would wage wars for hours and while he was much better than I was, it was great fun. Now, about fourteen years later, I decided to give the turn based combat system another shot with Advance Wars 2 for the GBA.
Gameplay:
The idea is a simple one, derived from board games, but not boring in any way. You start with a battlefield, filled with cities, factories, forests mountains, rivers ect. Add in opposing armies, supply them with weapons and you have the basic parts of a turn based war game. Advance Wars 2 has all of that and much more. Instead of selecting actual historic armies, you get to choose a Commanding Officer (CO) each with thier own special strength, weakness and super moves. Most CO's and thier units are vaugly based on real life armies of World war two but also have a light hearted feel to them. There are people out there that say they dont like strategy games or are intimidated by the complexity of other titles, and this game seems to be made with them in mind. The game does a wonderful job of easing you into it. With quick and helpful explanations of units, objectives, strategy suggestions and most importantly, simple yet effective controls and menus. Your first few battles are easy, but the challenge gets steeper as you advance. Every time you lose a battle, you are given advice for your next attempt. An example being a map where I have to destroy a structure quickly while fighting an enemy with alot more firepower than I have. Attempting to face off against the enemy leads to a quick defeat, the game suggests that I try to capture a nearby airport so I can send a bomber out to destroy the structure. I am defeated again while trying to take over the airport, so the game gives further advice. It mentions that while my current CO is good at direct combat, another CO is much better at capturing bases and cities quickly. This time I quickly capture the airport and before the enemy even reaches my forces, a bomber has destroyed the target. Its really a great system and selecting a different CO for a mission can make all the difference. The game also has plenty of modes and options to play with. There is the campaign mode, which follows the story of the Black Hole Army's invasion of Wars World and the struggle to push them back out. The War Room lets you choose a map from a list and jump right into a battle. The Versus and Link modes allow 2-4 battles with plenty of options. The Battle Maps shop sells new maps along with other surprises. At the end of a battle, the player is awarded points based on thier skill. These points are used as money to purchase the items from the Battle Maps shop. The design room allows players to change the color schemes of COs and most importantly, lets you design your own battle maps. One of the games best features that gives it tons of replay value.
Aesthetics:
Advance Wars 2 uses a very simple graphics system which is needed to keep the game easy to play. The overhead map is the best example of this. Its presentation is that of an 8-bit game and while its not pretty, seeing where everything is and quickly reviewing a battlefield is not a problem. The battle animations are a bit more detailed and colorful and dont become boring after multiple viewings. Overall the graphics presentation is great for this type of game.
Sound:
The music is pretty good but nothing spectacular. Songs will fit nicely with the current situation and they change enough so they wont get annoying. Sound effects play a major role to the games presentation, especially during the battle animations. Explosions, gunfire and the vehicle effects all sound great and match thier visuals quite well.
Control:
The controls are pretty much perfect. Menu navigation is excellent and all of the GBA's buttons are put to good use, making this the easiest strategy game to control. There are no problems here.
Multiplayer:
There are two modes in Advance Wars 2 just for multiplayer battles. A versus mode for two players where the Gameboy is passed between turns, and a link mode that lets up to four players wage war. With four game paks, all the games features can be utilized in link mode. A single pak link-up is also available but allows only a small amount of units and battle animations are removed. While multiplayer is alot of fun, it can be hard to find a challenge in a freind unless they also have experience with this game.
OVERALL:
Advance Wars 2 is a great game. Its simple yet addictive gameplay will keep you coming back for more. The challenge is also another shining point. While it guides new players at the start, it still manages to provide a challenge for player at all skill levels without getting overly frustrating. The presentation is great and the multiple modes and options make this game a must-have title.
The Lowdown on  Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
| Aesthetics: Average |
Control: Awesome |
| Gameplay: Awesome |
Multiplayer: Very Good |
| Sound: Above Average |
Innovation: 4/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
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Overall: Very Good!
"A Must-Buy"
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This game is:
Very Good
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INFO |
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E
Release Date:
06.23.2003
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Another great game from Nintendo that can appeal to just about anyone. |
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