Battalion Wars 2

The Good

• Amusing characters
• Great campaign
• Good difficulty
• Great artstyle
• Solid multiplayer
• Steady framerate, even in the most intense moments

The Bad

• Performing strategic tactics is difficult due to limited options
• Only 2 players online
• Communication between players is very limited
  

The Review

Battalion Wars 2 (BWii for short) is a war game that has a sort of rock paper's scissors style combat. It's a series spinoff from the acclaimed Advance Wars series which are known for their deep tactical strategy and challenging difficulty. While Battalion Wars 2 isn't as hard or as deep, it's still a great game that's fairly engaging.

The games presentation and how it all starts off is very well done. It's a prologue mission which takes place a few hundred years before the game's actual storyline. It's also a tutorial mission and it makes it very easy to learn the game's basic controls. The overall game's learning curve is almost non-existent because of helpful tutorials that show up when a new unit with unique controls appears, such as a fighter jet.

Once the first campaign is complete (which takes less than an hour to beat), you're pretty much into the meat of the game where all the action takes place. The other five campaigns are lengthier, and more difficult than the first one. The campaign overall is noticeably improved from its Gamecube predecessor but it's also a bit easier. The stylistic charm of the game, fortunately, remains intact in this sequel and the storyline continues from the previous game. If you haven't played Battalion Wars 1, don't sweat it. The story itself isn't very complex and, although you may wonder who a few people are, you'll pick it up in no time. The story, though, isn't very special but it is engaging enough to keep you playing. The funny characters and dialogue are all well done and memorable enough.

One difference from BWii and Battalion Wars 1 is that, in the first one, you were constricted to using one empire. In BWii, you are able to play using several empires that each have their own unique units, but in the end, they all still play pretty much the same.

Control-wise, it's all well done and easy to use. There's nothing overly complicated about the controls so there's nothing you'll have much trouble with. You use the Wii remote to point and aim, the B button to fire, the nunchuk to move, the Z button to lock on, and the A button to change unit commands. The only motion sensitive controls there are relate to the nunchuk. For grunts and footsoldiers, you can tilt the control stick to one side and motion with the nunchuk towards the same side to perform a combat roll. You can also flick the remote upward, when you're not tilting the control stick to the side, to jump. It's easy enough to learn and in no time, it'll become pretty much second nature. The C button changes the camera to three different zoom settings which can help out when you're controlling a large tank or battleship that takes up most of the camera space. As for the 1 and 2 buttons, they are only usable in online mode. They are used for very simple communications with your online partner. The 1 button generally asks for help or requests and the 2 button is basically just acknowledging the request. This feature can sometimes be useful but in the end, it could have been done without. It would have been better if these buttons were used for deeper unit control.

 The ability to command units to "go to" an area and stay there has been taken out from BWii but was present in its predecessor. This makes the overall strategy portion of the game much more cumbersome and difficult. You have to take control of a unit and have every other unit follow you to a location. Then you must tell them to wait and then switch to another unit to move another part of your battalion elsewhere. This creates a hazardous moment for your battalion in which an enemy could destroy you in the time it takes for all this to happen. By not being able to fully control your units like this, pulling off different strategies becomes much more of a hassle, with such a simple feature gone.

Combat is done easily by pressing the B button to fire your weapons. The Z-lock on is very helpful and allows you to command your troops to interact with a lot of things. Enemies can be attacked by ordering your troops which is done by locking to the enemy, pressing the A button on whichever troops you choose, and taking part in, or watching, your enemy fall. Certain troops are effective against other certain troops so this makes a rock-paper-scissors combat. Anti-air troops are used against, you guessed it, aerial units. Bazooka vets are used against tanks and enemy armoured units. Grunts and Flame Vets are best used against footsoldiers like Bazooka Vets and other Grunts. There are several other units you can use that all come into play with this rock-paper-scissors combat.

Objectives in campaign mode usually require you to capture a flag or destroy something. Capturing a flag can only be done with footsoldiers so make sure they don't get killed. It's simple on how you order your troops to capture a flag and it's the same as ordering them to attack an enemy. You simply lock on to the flag with the Z button and you command your troops you capture the flag with the A button. Simple enough. You can also help to capture the flag by going up to it and flicking the nunchuk (the same way you jump). The maximum number of troops that can capture one flag is five or so. The more units you have capturing the flag, the faster it will go.

Multiplayer is fairly well done and is among one of the better done jobs of Nintendo's limited online service and yes, friend codes are used. It's not really a big deal though. You are also able to play with anybody which is similar to other online games such as Mario Strikers Charged which lets Nintendo pair you up with someone looking for a game to play. But in BWii, it's noticeably more accessible in a way. There are three types of modes you are able to play online. Skirmish, Assault, and Co-op. You are able to choose one of these modes to play and you are also able to choose a map you want to play on as well as your empire of choice. Then, Nintendo pairs you up with someone wanting to play the same game as you. If you don't care for choosing a map, you can pick the "any" choice. If you also don't feel like choosing between these three modes, you can also use the "any" choice which chooses a random mode with a random map. One thing is also assured with online: there's practically no lag. Everything runs smoothly and reacts fluidly.

Even with this great online, it feels like it could have much more potential. If it were 4 player battles instead of 2, this would have made a huge difference to the overall feel and intensity to the game. Of course, there's always lots of chaos even with 2 people, but it still feels like it could have been done much better had it been 4 or so.

As well, the communication between players is limited. It can only be done in Co-op missions meaning that this simple feature eliminates the use of 2 buttons, which could have been used to add better control of your battalion. You can tell your partner to eliminate a target, defend an objective, or watch your back, but it's difficult to properly create deerp strategies with your partner.

Graphics are also a step up from Battalion Wars 1. Lighting and Bloom effects are more noticeable and it's been smoothed out as well. There's rarely a frame rate drop and it all flows together. Textures and environments are a bit drab and some parts look rough and washed out but that's all made up for by the vibrant colours and smooth character models.

Audio sounds as it should. Since the game is a light-hearted game with more of a cartoon-like artstyle, it just sounds, like I said, as it should. The Wii-mote speaker also works well and provides some nice reloading and shooting sounds that don't sound bad at all unless you turn up the volume. The soldiers chatter is amusing and gunfire, explosions, and all that sort of stuff sound great. The dialogue and voice acting in the game fits the games style and, while some might find it a tad annoying, it's done properly.

Overall, Battalion Wars 2 is a great war game with a healthy difficulty, a great campaign, and fun multiplayer. It radiates with charm and is loaded with style. This game is not for everyone but it's quirky humour can make anyone smile. The gameplay and strategy is a little too simple for those looking for a deeper strategy experience but satisfies anyone looking for fun, light-hearted battles with lots of chaos.