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War
is a very sensitive subject in the gaming industry. For those
involved in the actual battles depicted so convincingly by the Call
of Duty and Medal of Honor series’, the fact that
thousands of gamers choose to fight these battles in virtual form
for fun  may seem a little insensitive. However, these titles,
especially Call of Duty, do attempt to bring the horrors of
war to the gaming world in a serious and thoughtful way, provoking
the gamer into appreciating the terror of facing a tank or the loss
of comrades to enemy fire. But death and destruction is not
Nintendo’s bag, Mario wouldn’t approve. Nintendo’s Wars
series started on the Famicom in 1989 and was originally only
available in Japan. In 2001 the first instalment of the series was released worldwide
for the Game Boy Advance. This incarnation, known as Advance Wars,
received a great deal of praise on release for it’s simple yet
highly strategic and addictive turn-based gameplay. The series has
since had a second release for the Game Boy Advance and, most
recently, a NintendoDS title known as Advance Wars: Dual Strike,
both of which have upheld the high standards set by the previous
episodes. The series is instantly recognisable for it’s
distinctive cartoon style, a far-cry from the gritty ruins and
battlefields of Call of Duty. Originally entitled Advance
Wars: Under Fire, Battalion Wars is the spiritual
successor to Advance Wars and is not only the series’ first
foray into 3D, but also into real-time.
Battalion
Wars is a Third-Person Real-Time Action/Strategy game similar to
the highly rated PC series, BattleZone. The player is given a
battalion of troops with which to  complete each Mission, all of which can be controlled individually by the player, as
opposed to the more traditional top-down point-and-click system. For
example, the most efficient way of eliminating enemy infantry is
with a standard Grunt squadron, however, if the enemy were to be
supported by a tank, you could order your grunts to attack the
infantry, while commanding a tank of your own to take out the enemy
armour. The titles’ control system is similar to the Lock-On
System used in the GameCube editions of Metroid Prime, however, in this case the
C-Stick is used to select the different units, the X Button is used
to alternate between follow and guard and the Y Button commands the
selected unit to fire. This system is relatively simple, effective
and most importantly, fun. Because each of the games many units has
it’s own strengths and weaknesses, there is not really a singular
all powerful unit. Heavy Tanks are very strong versus other ground
vehicles, but they are defenceless against aerial assaults and  poor
when up against bazooka-veterans; meaning that you will need air
defence and anti-infantry units to protect them. Players of
Real-Time Strategy games will feel right at home using this kind of
system, but it does mean that despite it’s cute presentation, Battalion
Wars will be taxing your brain as well as your hand-to-eye
co-ordination.
The
game features a fairly lengthy Campaign in which you play as a
commander of the Western Frontier army. During the Tutorials, the
Western Frontier is fighting against the armies of the Tundran
Territories, however, as the game continues, you will mainly be fighting
against the Xylvanians. Battalion Wars makes no excuses for
the blatant fact that the Western Frontier is supposed to be the USA, the
Tundran Territories is Russia and the Xylvanians are German and is inclined to stereotype just a
little.  For each Mission you are graded exactly the same as in Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
You are given a percentage score for your Speed, Technique and
Power. Obviously, Speed is based on how fast you completed the Mission, Technique relates to how many units you lost in the battle and the
Power score is governed by the amount of enemy units destroyed.
Achieving a high-average score in each of the games four regions
allows you to play as the alternative sides in Bonus Missions which
tend to be a little harder; a decent incentive to play the game
after completion. Unfortunately, aside from upping your score a
little and completing the Bonus Missions, there is very little to do
once you have completed the Campaign. A Skirmish Mode similar to  Advance
Wars’ War Room would have added many hours to the title, as
would a Multi-Player and an alternative Campaign, but when a game
such as this is criticised for not including these extras, it is not
because it needs padding-out, but because you want more ways to play
this incredibly fun game! Despite this, you can expect a good
ten-to-fifteen hours of amusement from Battalion Wars – a
length that’s certainly in-keeping with the current industry
traditions.
Battalion
Wars is exactly what you would expect Advance Wars to
look like in 3D. Each team is distinctly coloured brightly and every
unit has the cartoon-like appearance typical of the series. The
environments and units are all detailed and very good looking and
the lighting effects bring the battlefields to life, giving the game
a high-quality and polished appearance. The game impressively
handles the huge amount of on-screen units and explosions without
any drop in Framerate, a credit to the programming skills of the
games developers; Kuju, but nothing less than the GameCube hardcore
would expect from a Nintendo published project. There are Loading
times which is certainly distinctive in a Nintendo owned franchise
appearing on the GameCube and may ring alarm bells with the fan
boys, but they are hardly worth mentioning as they are never more
than ten seconds; and only occur once at the start of each Mission.
Although the excruciatingly irritating voice of Brigadier Betty may
haunt you for the rest of your life, the voice-acting in Battalion
Wars  is good, especially the moronic but hilarious Xylvanian
commander, Ubel. Effects are also top-notch, from falling bombs to
the rumbling of tanks and the occasional comical quip from your
squadron members.
Battalion
Wars is superb while it lasts. Unfortunately, for a
Action/Strategy game, it is a little short with very little to do
once you have finished it. However, all of the Missions are highly
entertaining and stand-up to several replays without feeling stale.
Action/Strategy games are few and far between on the consoles when
compared to the PC market, probably due mainly to the lack of Mouse
support. Hopefully the intuitive and simple method introduced by Battalion
Wars signals the end of this, but perhaps far more exciting is
the thought of playing the next instalment with that controller on
the Revolution. Fans of Advance Wars need have no fear, Battalion
Wars is a worthy instalment of the franchise, and more
importantly, a great game.
 
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