Advance Wars: Dual Strike
| Advance Wars: Dual Strike | |
|---|---|
| Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release |  June 23, 2005 September 30, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer (2-4 alternating, 2-8 simultaneous) |
Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a turn-based strategy video game developed for the Nintendo DS by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo in 2005.
Dual Strike is the third game in the Advance Wars series of video games, preceded by Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising and Advance Wars. This trio of games is a sub-series of the Nintendo Wars set of games.
General Overview
- See gameplay section of the Advance Wars article for full details on gameplay.
Generally, the objective in a round of Advance Wars: Dual Strike is to destroy the enemy army with your own army using tactics and special powers strategically. Except in some single player missions with special objectives, there are two ways to defeat an opponent: destroy every one of his units on the map or capture his Headquarters with ground soldiers, which is equivalent to checkmate in Chess.
The battle system in any Advance Wars game is turn-based. Two or more armies, each headed by one or two commanding officers (CO), take turns building and commanding units on grid-based maps. On each turn, units, which can consist of everything between infantrymen, jeeps, tanks, anti-air guns, mobile artillery, aircraft, sea vessels, and other more exotic types of military weaponry, can move amongst the differing types of terrain featured on the map and attack enemy units within their firing range, or perform other actions based on various other circumstances such as diving a submarine underwater.
Oftentimes a player depends on capturing Properties on any given map. All properties under ownership of a player, including Cities, Bases, Ports, and Airports, yield funding for a player at a start of a turn, and that funding is used to produce new units at Bases, Ports, and Airports (or cities under special circumstances) which the player can use to support his or her offensive against the enemy army, which ideally is trying to do the same thing.
With Fog of War, a phenomenon that prevents players from seeing the entire map other than what is in the vision range of each of their units, weather conditions, which change the terrain effects of the entire map such as snow and rain to slow down most units, and CO powers, special powers that can be invoked by the CO character selected for an army to bolster the power of that army and perform other beneficial effects, many factors can contribute to a player’s victory over an opposing player’s army in a match of Advance Wars.
New Features
Dual Strike, while featuring the core gameplay of Advance Wars and Black Hole Rising, contains major expansions to all aspects of its gameplay. The new features as they pertain to this game are covered below.
Dual Fronts
The DS' two screens constitute a major new form of presenting a round of battle in Dual Strike. The bottom screen is where the battling would take place, while the top screen is generally used to display the terrain or unit intel that the cursor is currently on. However, in some missions in the campaign mode, the top screen shows a Second Front. The second front is essentially a second map where a second battle can be waged simultaneously with the battle on the other screen, which is integral to some missions (Sometimes the second front is literally the area of sky above the first front, the land below, and it is populated only by air units). Pressing the X button can change one of the screens back into the intel screen and vice versa, and units in one front can be sent to the other front during a mission battle.
Featured in the Campaign and unlockable for play in the War Room and Versus modes are nine new Commanding Officers that add up with almost all of the previous games’ COs to form a stable of 27 COs to choose from when setting up matches (the only exception is Sturm, who perished in the previous game in the series). See List of Advance Wars COs for full details.
When battling on two fronts, one Commanding Officer on each team takes control of one front each. The CO on the second front is, by default, computer-controlled, but can be set to employ various fighting tactics (i.e. "Assault," "Defense", as well as several others). Also, the CO can be controlled by the player himself. The COs on the second front perform actions right after every CO on the first front has taken his/her turn. If, however, the second front battle ends before the first front does, the winning CO will rejoin his/her companion on the first front.
A new feature concerning two COs at a time is called Tagging, which allows two COs to be on the same team, with one CO acting at a time. This allows two strategically picked COs to cover each others weaknesses. For example, the Blue Moon CO, Colin, purchases units with a 20% discount, but his units lose 10% of their fighting strength. If paired with a CO with strong combat skills, the player can gain the benefit of cheap unit production without taking a loss in combat ability by swapping in the second CO before attacking. When both COs fill their Meters completely, they can Tag, which puts in both of their Super CO Powers in effect, and lets the player take two consecutive turns. This is also called a Dual Strike.
The game has a way of varying Tag Powers, called Tag Affinity. This is basically a way of showing how compatible two COs are. If two COs have a tag affinity, their power will increase during the Dual Strike (the only exception being the Sensei and Hachi tag). Each star gives an additional 5% luck day-to-day for both COs in the tag. If a tag has a firepower modification, the added or subtracted power is shown as the Tag option is selected. Some extra small Tag Affinities are hidden, such as Jake and Sasha, who have an extra 5% power. Paired COs with a Tag Affinity that is shown on their intel screen by a star will also have a special Dual Strike move name such as Jake and Rachel who have the Tag name "Orange Crush".
On the other hand, some COs have a poor relationship with other COs. If you tried to tag a CO with another CO they don't get on with, attack power will fall instead of increase. The most notable example is Rachel and Koal who have a 65% tag, which works out at 75% attack power after CO Power effects have been added in.
The touch screen allows for an optional method of ordering units in battle; While the D-pad and face buttons can be used like in previous games to navigate menus, order units, and other actions, the DS stylus can be used for these actions instead.
New Units and Properties
There are seven new units available for battle alongside the previous nineteen units. The three new units that operate on land are the Megatank, a Green Earth Army-developed weapon that is even more powerful and armored than the Neotank, albeit slower as well; the Piperunner, an indirect-fire vehicle which can only travel on Pipelines or bases, but it has a large movement and firing range, and Oozium 238, a gelatinous blob which can only move one space per turn, but it can consume and destroy any enemy it comes into contact with instantly, regardless of the Oozium's health. The Oozium can traverse nearly any terrain, except sea and pipelines.
The two new naval units include the Black Boat, which is a variant on the Lander; while it can repair one HP for any one allied unit next to it as well as re-supply its fuel and ammunition (for a price), it is only capable of transporting two Infantry/Mechs instead of two of any ground unit. The other new naval unit is the Aircraft Carrier, which likewise is a variant on the Cruiser, but while it can can house two air units of any kind (not just copters), it has no underwater torpedoes to deal with submarines. However, it can attack air units indirectly with extremely long-range missiles. In addition, the Cruiser's missiles are now able to damage all non-submarine units to a degree, making it more versatile.
The first new air unit is the Stealth fighter, which has the ability to turn invisible to all but adjacent units. In this respect it can be seen as the aerial version of the Submarine, and likewise, it burns fuel faster while hidden. The Stealth is armed with the "Omnimissile," which can hit any unit, except submerged submarines. While cloaked, the stealth fighter can only be fired on by fighters or other stealths. The other new air unit is the Black Bomb. Developed by Lash, it is a more powerful version of the Missile Tower, dealing five damage to every unit (including the player and his allies) within three spaces. However, it must be navigated to the site of the explosion, it can be shot down like any other air unit, and it burns through fuel extremely quickly.
Other new features include the Com Tower, a new property that, when captured, increases all of the firepower of the units on that army by 10%, making control of the Com Tower extremely important. It provides no funds however, and repairs cannot be performed on it. Lastly, a new weather effect called the Sandstorm decreases the attack range of all indirect fire units.
Campaign Mode
Much like what Black Hole Rising’s campaign mode was to Advance Wars’, the all-new campaign mode of Dual Strike is heavily expanded in gameplay concepts. The 28 missions in Campaign mode are objective-based, with most requiring the player to capture an enemy headquarters (in some cases Research Labs are what are required to be captured). Missions in Dual Strike’s campaign make heavy use of the Dual Fronts system.
Upon completing mission, the player is rewarded with a Rank, from C (lowest) to S (highest). The ranks are based on three categories: Power, Technique, and Speed. Power is determined by the number of enemy units destroyed in one turn, Technique by how many of the player's units are destroyed, and Speed by how fast the mission is completed. Technique points are decided by calculating a percentage of how many units built were lost. All three categories are rated on a scale from 0-100, and added together to form a numerical ranking from 0-300 in addition to their letter ranking. These are converted to points which are added to the player’s full account of points, which can be used to purchase things in the Battle Maps mode. Bonus points can also be awarded by destroying certain items, such as Oozium or Black Obelisks in certain missions.
A major new facet to Dual Strike’s campaign mode to distinguish it from the previous games’ campaigns is an experience and ability system that COs can build up after each mission. COs gain experience points as they fight and win battles. Every 1000 experience points, the CO being used is promoted (equivalent to “leveling up”) and he or she can use an additional ability (up to four) and another line of skills is unlocked up to rank nine. Skills earned and equipped thusly vary in type and benefit - some improve attack or defense, others increase the abilities of units and terrain types, some boost partner CO abilities when using more than one, while others affect the player's money flow. Each CO can eventually use up to four skills at once, allowing for a large amount of customization. Once a CO reaches rank 10, the player can opt to have them in their civilian clothing as opposed to their uniform. Once the easy campaign is beaten, all COs have 3 special powers unlocked, and at the completion of the hard campaign, an extra two powers are unlocked. It's also mentionable that while the skills used in the four slots can be changed around as many times as needed, they cannot be changed during a given mission.
Hard Campaign can be unlocked as well, which is (naturally) a more difficult version of the standard campaign. All unlocked COs can be used in Hard Campaign, including those unavailable in Normal Campaign. Up to three save files can be kept for Campaign Mode.
Story
Template:Spoiler The Black Hole Army has returned, this time under a new commander, Von Bolt. He is accompanied by his Bolt Guard, Koal, Jugger, and Kindle, along with Hawke and Lash from the original Black Hole Army. Using Lash's new Black Obelisks, Von Bolt is draining Omega Land of its energy to give him eternal life. However, Hawke notices the energy draining (which also is turning Omega Land into a desert) and questions its use. After uncovering Von Bolt's plot, Hawke betrays him, and Von Bolt attempts to swarm Hawke and Lash with Oozium 238, a glob that consumes anything it touches. After the Allied Nations’ COs save Hawke and Lash, they begin to turn the tide against the Black Hole Army. Both Hawke and Lash provide valuable intelligence of the Black Hole weaponry and their plans for Omega Land. With this information, the Allied Nations slowly corner the Black Hole Army, leading to a last mission in the middle of the Crimson Sea. After destroying the last Black Obelisk, Hawke (or Jake) destroys Von Bolt's life support chair, supposedly causing both Hawke and Von Bolt to die in the aftermath. With the Black Obelisks gone, Omega Land begins returning to normal. Kindle escapes with Koal and Jugger, and offers a toast to the victory of the Allied Nations. Kindle also applauds Hawke for managing to escape with Von Bolt's chair. She worries that Hawke may be able to use the power stored in the chair to build an army to come after them, but Koal remarks that Omega Land is regenerating which probably means Hawke is returning the energy that Von Bolt stole. Template:Endspoiler
Other Gameplay Modes
War Room (Single-Player)
A large number of preset missions outside the main story in Campaign Mode occupy War Room mode. Each mission takes place on a map against one or more enemy COs; the player may choose the COs he will use in the battle (as long as he or she has been unlocked). Generally, these maps have no predeployed units, but on occasion, there can be. Some War Room maps must be unlocked first. If a mission is completed, a ranking system similar to that of Campaign Mode's is used: the player is ranked on Speed, Power and Technique, as described above. Any map can be replayed at a later time, to aim for a higher score.
Survival Missions (Single Player)
This is a new game mode in Advance Wars: Dual Strike. There are three types of Survival missions: Money, Turn, and Time. Money Survival missions alot the player a limited amount of funds with which to build new units; in Turn missions, a given mission must be completed within a certain number of turns; in Time mode, a real-time clock is shown, requiring the player to think quickly and command units quickly. The player is ranked after the mission depending on the mission type, and how well it was completed: how many turns were taken in Turns, how much money was spent in Money, or how much real time was taken to clear the mission in Time. After completing the set of maps, players will get extra experience points for the amount of days left.
Combat Mode (Single & Multiplayer)
A major new game mode meant for both single-player and multiplayer is the Combat Mode, where instead of taking turns like in a normal multiplayer match, players engage each other in real time, controlling four different units (Mech, Recon, Tank, and Artillery), each with a particular strength and weakness. Like a normal multiplayer match, however, the goal of the combat match is to capture the opponent's HQ or defeat all enemies. The four available units are graded on four different categories: firepower, rate of fire, movement speed, and capture speed. Their respective strengths and weaknesses resemble those of the units in the main game.
Maps in Combat Mode resemble normal Advance Wars maps as before. Each team starts with an HQ and (sometimes) several cities. All units can be moved in eight directions with the D-Pad and ordered to fire their weapon using the touch screen or the face buttons (A, B, X, or Y). The projectiles are small bullets that damage enemies on impact, but also disappear after several seconds. The Artillery has a special kind of ammunition, which explodes shortly after being fired, causing large amounts of splash damage to nearby enemies.
Terrain from the main Advance Wars modes, including plains, roads, rivers, forests, and mountains, are in each of the game's maps. Each unit has its own unique movement patterns (ie Mechs can traverse mountains and rivers; Recons cross forest terrain slower than Artillery). Unlike the main game, however, mountains can be destroyed to clear a path. Cities, factories, and Headquarters are also on each map. They don't offer money of any sort, but a unit which stands on its own property will slowly be healed. Also, if a factory is captured, the player who did so will receive an extra unit of the type they captured the property with.
Unit Types
- Mech: Cost: 1000 G; Attack: 2; Rapid: 2; Move: 1; Capture: 3
- Recon: Cost: 3000 G; Attack: 1; Rapid: 3; Move: 3; Capture: 2
- Tank: Cost: 5000 G; Attack: 2; Rapid: 2; Move: 2; Capture: 1
- Artillery: Cost: 6000 G; Attack: 3; Rapid: 1; Move: 1; Capture: 1
There are also power-ups, usually found in mountains or from routed enemy units, which give units temporary speed, power or defense boosts, or cause an explosion. As in the main game, when a CO fills all of their CO Power stars by killing enemy units or losing units of their own, a CO can use a CO Power. These last temporarily, and range from strength boosts to invincibility to an increased capture speed. Generally the CO's power in Combat Mode relates to their turn-based counterpart's CO Power.
When playing this as single-player, there are three levels of difficulty: Normal, Hard, and Brutal (Hard and Brutal must first be unlocked). Enemies on higher difficulty levels may be more abundant, or use smarter tactics. In each difficulty level, the player is taken through six map levels, each on a different map against a different CO. Beforehand, 20,000 G may be spent on as many of any of the four units as possible; although there is a limit of 20 units (which would allow for twenty Mech Infantry at most). The units bought must last through all six levels, as extra units can not normally be acquired (except when factories are captured). The enemy CO will have many units on the field at once, while the player only gets to use one at a time. Most enemy units will stand in separate groups, idle, at the start of each round; they then come alive when a player-controlled unit approaches them.
In multiplayer, this mode can include up to eight players, with up to four competing teams (with a maximum of two people per team). Computer-controlled units, which take on a grey color, may also be added into a match. These units will fire at anyone, and do not have an HQ (but can capture them as well as cities). Combat mode is playable between players that own the game, and demo recipients. The demo in Advance Wars: Dual Strike can be sent wirelessly to other DS units. The demo contains Combat mode on four difficulties, an instruction page outlining how the game works, and the multiplayer. The demo remains on the DS until the system is turned off.
Versus & Link Modes (Single & Multiplayer)
Much like in previous games, there is an extensive multiplayer mode that comes in two forms: Versus and Link mode. In Versus mode, only one DS system is used, which every participant in the game uses. One person will take his/her turn, then pass the system to the next person who's turn it is. These matches can be set up with any combination of human players and computer-controlled armies. Link mode is the same game as Versus mode gameplay-wise, but multiple consoles are used, one for each person. Two to eight people can participate in wireless multiplayer games (as opposed to a maximum of four in previous games); every DS owner must also have a copy of Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
Link and Versus mode have a variety of settings that can be changed pre-battle. These include weather conditions (clear, rain, snow, sandstorm, random); the option to enable or disable Fog of War; how much money each player is assigned at the beginning of the match; the amount of funds given to a player at the start of each of his turns (number of man-made structures x n, n being said amount), among others.
Review ratings
- Game Rankings (review aggregator) [1]
- GameSpot - 9.2/10 [2]
- IGN - 9.0/10 [3]
- Planet GameCube - 9/10 [4]
- Famitsu Weekly - 9, 9, 8, 8 (34/40)
- Electronic Gaming Monthly - 9.0, 8.5, 9.0 (26.5/30)
- Game Informer - 9.5, 9.25
- Edge (magazine) - 8
Awards
See also
References
External links
- Official website
- Nintendo's official AWDS Page
- PDF Manual
- Advance Wars Net - An Advance Wars fan-site, with information regarding CO's, missions, and medals.
| Intelligent Systems | |
|---|---|
| Kuju Entertainment | |
| WayForward | |
