Game of the Week: Advance Wars | Video Games, Reviews ...

A seminal strategy release for the Game Boy Advance, Advance Wars is rightly lauded as among the cr?me de la cr?me of the console?s output. In a rather esoteric genre, this title succeeded in lending a gregarious appeal to traditionally nerd-tacular pursuits. Further, blending the impossible dichotomy of tactical nous and accessibility is a task worthy of one of the labours of Hercules (shovelling a great expanse of horse faeces, rolling a boulder up a hill, whatever else the poor soul had to do), yet it was accomplished here with aplomb. Let?s see why the game is so universally acclaimed.

Advance Wars finds the Orange Star army attacked by the (seemingly) belligerent commander of the Blue Moon forces, Olaf. You will take the role of several C.Os, serving the role of Orange Star?s tactician of sorts. The campaign will lead you betwixt nations on the map, as you reveal the treachery of your true aggressor; eventually uniting with your former foes to mitigate the peril.

Combat takes a turn-based bent, seeing you moving your army as individual units on the map with a ?move? each. Each can attack once if they are within range, or simply end the turn in a new area. This done, the day ends and the demise-dealers of your opponent encroach upon you. To achieve glorious victory, avec fist-pumping, carrying-on-the-shoulders-of-lesser-mortals, ticker tape parades and other theatrical shenanigans, you must destroy every enemy unit or capture their base, a small building lurking innocuously on the map.

It?s a simple concept, encompassing a disconcerting myriad of tactical nuances. To build a formidable array of warmongers, you must purchase them individually, at bases, ports or airports. As such, you must capture cities to accrue revenue at the outset of each new turn. Only infantry are able to do so, but they have all the pugilistic proficiency of a drunken octogenarian. Your task, then, is one of resource management. Progressing too hastily to the more powerful units, or doing so in an indolent manner, will both doom your efforts. It?s a delicate dichotomy of action and reaction, to both counter and overcome whatever is being sent your way.

The spectrum of units available is almost divinely inspired, with a deftly-tuned chess-tastic feel. Attacking infantry with a tank, for example, will see the khaki crusaders decimated. Conversely, if a bomber can reach the aforementioned artillery as a result, it will be destroyed in a catastrophic conflagration of piteous uselessness. An encroaching Anti-Air vehicle, by the same token, will ensure that the plane has nary another chance to unleash its malevolent payload; in a manner akin to an angry pigeon scheming to take a dump on a parked car. There is an antiphon for every type of assault, and the tactical nuances of the combat are further augmented by other considerations. Certain terrain will reduce movement speed, such as treaded vehicles suffering in forest spaces. Fog of War, which obscures your view of the area and the opponent?s army, exacerbates this further. Infantry units can climb mountains, exclusive access to terrain that no other ground units can traverse. Strategy fans are sure to revel in the considerable depth of the mechanics.

Which is a remarkable feat, when we consider the endearing aesthetic festooned upon every pixel of Advance Wars. As is plain from the screenshots, characters, campaign maps and combat alike are charmingly stylised. Like the innocuous-looking pigtailed girl in the playground who purloins your lunch money and kicks you in the delicate groin area, it?s an odd dichotomy, but a formidable one. Further, it does become nut-numbing difficult, but is equipped with a sublime learning curve. The game does not exclude fledgling tacticians, nor does it pander to them. As such, it provides an enjoyable, remorselessly addictive and substantial package for anyone, regardless of their rabid support/general indifference to strategy titles.

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Source: http://www.gamingsurvival.com/2012/07/21/game-of-the-week-advance-wars/

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