Battalion Wars

When I first heard that Nintendo were planning to release a version of the superb GameBoy title Advance Wars on the GameCube, I believe I actually shouted for joy. And that doesn't happen all that often. You see, Advance Wars is such an addictive game I was crying out for more titles to play in the series. With the addition of the recently released Advance Wars DS (for the Nintendo DS, funnily enough) the longevity of the series is hopefully assured, but how would the series translate to the 'Cube with full 3D graphics and enhanced sound?

Well, as it turns out, it wouldn't translate to the 'Cube at all. Because as the news filtered through and as the waiting for the title became more and more tense, it was announced that this version of Advance Wars was...well...it wasn't Advance Wars at all. Not really. For one thing, it was being produced by an entirely different company (Kuju Entertainment Ltd) and there would be no Mega-Tanks, no Black Sun to fight, no special powers for each of the players, none of that. No, this was going to be its own thing...it would just look a little bit like Advance Wars, and that was all. So move along, nothing to see here...

As the release date got closer and closer, I scanned the magazines and websites for information, and things got more intriguing every time. Firstly, the up-and-coming title was renamed to the much less exciting and somewhat nondescript Battalion Wars. Booo.... After that, it became clear that this game was going to played in real-time, which is no bad thing in itself, except how would that finely tuned Advance Wars strategy hold up? I couldn't wait to find out. And now I know. And the answer is, it's not bad at all...

Right then, so, having established that this is nothing to do with Advance Wars, what's it like? Well, it's set on an alien world known only as "The world of Battalion Wars". That's not important though, although it's not set on Earth, it might as well be, it's certainly populated with Human life, albeit a slightly over the top caricatured variety, and all the technology is Earth like. Just like Advance Wars in fact. On this world there are two warring nations with a history of antagonism and expansionism between them, one "good" (the Western Frontier) and one "evil" (the Tundran Empire). Again, much like Advance Wars - but shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone. As you play through the story-driven battles (reminiscent of a typical Advance Wars campaign) with units of increasing size and sophistication (just like Advance Wars) on the side of "good" you must bring your nation to an ultimate victory over their foe. Exactly like...oh to hell with it, look, this might not be named Advance Wars but to all intents and purposes it IS the same game in 3D. Even the vehicles are massive brightly-colored clunky cartoon-like machines with enormous firepower and a nasty tendency to explode in a slightly over the top fireball when hit.

In short - this game is fun fun fun!!

The first mission places you in charge of a single Rifleman on patrol, and is essentially a training exercise in more ways than one, teaching players how to move, jump, aim and shoot. As the mission proceeds, and Tundran Imperial Spies lurk in the woods, it is here that you will learn how to lock on to a target, allowing you to circle your victim whilst pouring fire into his hapless body, shooting his teeth out one by one until...ahem, excuse me, I must just have a quick lie down.

Anyway, as the mission proceeds and it becomes clear that a full-fledged invasion is underway, additional units are given to you, Squads of Riflemen, Bazooka men and even a Tank, and it is here that you will learn how to switch between units, choosing to either direct them to specific locations from above to fulfill your overall strategy, or to take direct control of them to press home your attacks where needed. Of course, certain units are only effective against certain other enemy units, by way of a simple example, don't even think of sending Bazooka men into a fire fight with the enemy Infantry, they'll be slaughtered, but you see those Tanks over there? Go get 'em boys. Yes, it's essentially a more advanced version of rock/scissors/paper, but it's how you deploy your men that's important here, and unlike Advance Wars where tricky situations could be considered for hours if necessary, decisions here must be made instantly. Intense is too mild a word to describe some of the frantic situations in which you will find yourself. In addition to learning how to use all the buttons on your controller as quickly as possible, anticipation is the key if you want to achieve good scores on each mission.

As with all other games in the Wars series, there's a gentle learning curve to start with and things are always explained as new units are thrown into the fray. Having said this, the simplicity of selecting a new unit or directing others to given locations is a little confusing at first and I was a bit fingers and thumbs for a while, but I soon got used to it. Rather embarrassingly though, and wholly due to my inexperience with what the screen was telling me, I managed to "lose" a few of my men the first time I played the second mission, and I only found them again near the end of the battle whilst my last redoubt was being hammered from all sides, all armor support having been long since stripped away. A quick panicked shuffle through the buttons revealed the missing men loitering with intent around an ammo' dump, and as it happens, the sudden appearance of 2nd Squad over the hilltops like the avenging 7th Cavalry resulted in my Tundran enemy being completely annihilated. Yes, I won that battle, but my score was rubbish. So I played it again to get a better one.

It's the replayability that adds to the game - at the end of each mission, scores are awarded, ranging from S for Special through A, B and finally C for...well I'll let you decide what C might stand for, but it's not in the manual. Where S and A Ratings are awarded for superb performance straight from the textbook, C Ratings tend to be awarded for Pyrrhic victories where the meager survivors in your force would probably rather be dead after what you just put them through.

Did I mention this game was fun? It's almost as much fun as Worms (and I'm not talking about the medical condition). The troops energetically bounce around the terrain quite gleefully and follow you to certain death in a cartoon-style almost like they are on the Moon, even the Bazookas charge up like their Worms equivalent, and Tanks are a blast (literally). Like beach buggies on acid, driving a Tank in Battalion Wars is like taking a box of armored springs for a ride. And Recon' vehicles are even bouncier - push one as fast as it'll go and you end up with something akin to the Warthogs from Halo, including the tendency to roll over the edges of cliffs if you don't pay attention. Ah, this'll be the river then...and as your helpful assistant informs you, the Recon' is "totalled". The only trouble is that the Recon' Vehicle can only fire backwards, which is fine if you are being chased but not much use if you're trying to bust through a roadblock. Take a tip from me and find something to bounce off and you can sail right on over it instead.

Each mission has its own unique features, whether it's defending an abandoned facility, storming a beach to knock out enemy artillery or bombing missions. Yes, you get to control aircraft in this game as well as ground forces. Commanding from a Helicopter Gunship can give you a good overview of a battle, but screaming through the air knocking down slower enemy Bombers in a Fighter Plane is so satisfying. Unfortunately though, unlike the Advance Wars games, there are no sea units in the game, no Battleships, Cruisers or Submarines, which is a real pity as I'd have loved to see a combined arms operation using ground, air, sea and sea power.

This game is nothing if not eye-catching. The lush terrain, sparkly explosions and bouncy troops all immerse you into the Battalion Wars world. Tracer fire leaps at you from every direction and irrevocably locking on to an enemy with the target reticule whilst you whirl around to avoid the fire directed your way means you know he's going down...eventually. Your men seem to have boundless energy for throwing themselves at their objectives, and will even stand around and impatiently scratch themselves if you take too long in dishing out the orders. With big chunky toy-like icons representing the forces under your command almost exactly like those on the handheld versions of the Wars series, it's rare to get confused about who is who and what is what. My only gripe is that the information tips that flash up periodically on the screen are a little large for my liking.

The squeaky voice of the lady giving you your mission briefings can grate after a bit, but other than that the voices are rather amusing. Indeed, hearing the banter of my men the first time as we patrolled the forests of the Western Frontier made me laugh out loud. "It's quiet" squeaked one, "Too quiet" agreed his mate. "Shut up!" said a third. Of course, we were walking into a trap, but at least my men and I had a laugh doing it. As for weapons and engine sounds, they are suitably clunky and loud and for once I didn't find the game music annoying in the least, which probably means I am coming down with something and need to have another lie down.

Learning how to use all the buttons on your controller to select from your forces can be a little tricky, it just takes a bit of practice. But failing a mission just means you want to have another go, so even if you are a cack-handed geek like me, you should be OK at working it all out in the end.

So how does Battalion Wars compare to its handheld cousins? Well that's a bit like comparing a spanner with a banana, albeit a rather yellow bendy spanner that tastes quite nice. The answer is that Battalion Wars holds up very well to the Advance Wars games, there's a little less strategy and a little more running around to kill kill kill, but despite the real-time aspects, the feel is very similar and it's a worthy addition to the Wars series. Alas, the lack of any kind of scenario generator or multiplayer option is a real shame as the ultimate replayability of the game will be sorely affected by these, frankly criminal, omissions, but I'm not going to let those issues detract from my scoring of the game as it stands as I had too much fun.