Battalion Wars - GameCube

Also known as: Advanced Wars: Under Fire

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Viewed: 3D Third-person, floating camera Genre:
Strategy: Combat
Arcade origin:No
Developer: Kuju Soft. Co.: Nintendo
Publishers: Nintendo (US/GB)
Released: 9 Dec 2005 (GB)
13 Jun 2005 (US)
Ratings: PEGI 12+, ESRB Teen 13+ (T)
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

Ever wondered what it would be like to be a War Room General leading a loyal troop, or a soldier battling for king and for country? With Battalion Wars, Nintendo takes military command out of the Pentagon, away from the UN and brings it to your living room.

Following on from Advance Wars: Dual Strike in full 3D glory, Battalion Wars is set in the 21st century where a minor border dispute between the Western Frontier and the Tundran territories has escalated into an all out war. Exhausted by the fighting, the two armies reach a stalemate, until the despotic ruler of a nearby country, Kaiser Vlad, seeks to use this situation to conquer both countries. Forced to sign a desperate alliance, the Western and Tundran armies now must fight together to survive the new menace.

In Battalion Wars, the player has absolute control over all units, switching back and forth between their different troops with the tap of a button. Victory in this game requires the combination of vehicles which include jeeps and tanks, along with aircraft such as helicopters and fighter jets with a strategic deployment of infantry forces. The player can even choose what equipment individual units are issued with. Troops can use a range of equipment from rifles to flamethrowers to combat enemy infantry or defeat armoured vehicles with rocket launchers and explosives.

This game's main mode features twenty huge missions set in varying locations across the map. Once on a mission, the player chooses one unit, which they control from a third, person view, and at any point can switch to another better-situated soldier. Players control the remaining forces using the C stick in conjunction with an innovative menu to give orders and move troops. The intuitive command interface makes commanding simple, giving orders like advance, attack and defend to groups or individual units.

Variety is the name of the game and Battalion Wars doesn't disappoint with huge variations between the missions. Some levels are simply a heated battle between two opposing forces, others have a single soldier escaping with vital captured information, and each stage is different enough that nothing will feel too familiar. Offering enough real time action to keep the biggest adrenaline junkie hooked, it also offers fiendishly tough challenges to keep strategy fans on the edge of their seats.