Advance Wars: Dual Strike

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Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	Nintendo Wars
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date	June 23, 2005 August 22, 2005 September 30, 2005 March 22, 2006
Genre(s)	Turn-based tactics
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer (2-4 alternating, 2-8 simultaneous)
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 7+ OFLC: PG
Media	256-megabit Nintendo DS game card
Input methods	DS face buttons and D-Pad, Touch screen

Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Famicom Wars DS in Japan) is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan on June 23, 2005, and was later released in North America on August 22, 2005, in Europe on September 30, 2005, and in Australia on March 22, 2006 ^[1].

Advance Wars: 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 and succeeded by Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, although this series is a sub-series of the Nintendo Wars set of games, which dates back to the Nintendo Entertainment System game Famicom Wars in 1988.

[edit] Plot

The Black Hole Army has returned 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, he is betrayed, 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 second last mission in the middle of the Crimson Sea. After destroying the last Black Obelisk, the Allied Nations proceed to the last mission where they fight Von Bolt and a giant oozium known as the Grand Bolt. After destroying the Grand Bolt, Hawke (or Jake, based on the player's decision) 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. However it's revealed that Hawke has stolen Von Bolt's chair and escaped, leaving Von Bolt either dead or barely alive.

[edit] Gameplay

The player's objective in Dual Strike is to defeat the enemy army with their own army. Except in some campaign missions with special objectives, there are two ways to defeat an opponent: destroy all of the enemy's units or capture their headquarters ^[2].

A group of Mechs take on enemy Tanks.

The battle system is turn-based tactics.^[3] Two to four armies, each headed by one or two commanding officers (COs), take turns building and commanding units on grid-based maps. All properties owned by a player (except for Com Towers) yield funds at the start of every turn, and those funds are used to produce new units at Bases, Ports, and Airports and cities under special circumstances. Units, which consist of ground, sea and air units, can move amongst the differing types of terrain and attack enemy units, or perform other actions, such as diving, for a submarine.

Factors that can contribute to a player’s victory over an opposing army include fog of war, a phenomenon that prevents players from seeing enemy units other than those in the visual range of their units; weather conditions such as snow and rain, which change the terrain effects of the entire map; CO powers, special powers that can be invoked by the CO to bolster the power of their army and perform other beneficial effects; and many others.

[edit] War Room

The War Room consists of a number of preset missions. Each mission takes place on a map against one or more enemy COs; the player may choose which COs to use. Some War Room maps must be unlocked first. If a mission is completed, the player is ranked using a system similar to that of Campaign Mode. Any map can be replayed at a later time.

[edit] Survival

This is a new game mode in Dual Strike. There are three types of Survival missions: Money, Turn, and Time. Money mode allots the player a limited amount of funds with which to build new units; in Turn mode, a series of mission must be completed within a certain number of turns; in Time mode, missions must be completed within a time limit. 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 time was taken to clear the mission in Time.

[edit] Combat

Screenshot of Combat Mode.

Combat is a noticeably different game mode for both single-player and multiplayer. Like a normal multiplayer match, the goal of Combat is to capture the opponent's HQ or defeat all enemies. Instead of taking turns, players fight in real time, controlling four different types of units (Mech, Recon, Tank, and Artillery), each with a particular strength and weakness. 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. All units can be moved in eight directions and ordered to fire their weapon. The Artillery has a special kind of ammunition, which explodes shortly after being fired, causing large amounts of splash damage to nearby enemies.

Maps in Combat Mode resemble normal Advance Wars maps. Each team starts with an HQ and (sometimes) several cities. Terrain from the main Advance Wars game, including plains, roads, rivers, forests, and mountains, are in each of the Combat maps. Each unit has its own unique movement patterns; for example, Mechs can traverse mountains and rivers, and Recons cross forests slower than Artillery. Unlike the main game, mountains can be destroyed to clear a path. Cities, factories, and Headquarters are also on each map. They do not produce money, but a unit which stands on its own property will slowly be healed. Also, if a factory is captured, the player will receive an extra unit of the type they captured the property with.

There are also power-ups, usually found in mountains or from destroyed enemy units, which give units temporary speed, power or defense boosts, or cause an explosion. As in the main game, when a CO fills their CO Power meter by killing enemy units or losing units of their own, they can use a CO Power. These are temporary, and range from strength boosts to invincibility to an increased capture speed.

When playing in single-player, there are three difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, and Brutal (Hard and Brutal must 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 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, up to a limit of 20 units. The units bought must last through all six levels, as extra units cannot be acquired, except when factories are captured.

In multiplayer, this mode can include up to eight players, with up to four competing teams. Computer-controlled units, which take on a gray color, may also be added into a match. These units will fire at anyone, and do not have an HQ, but can capture them and other properties. Combat mode is playable between players that own the game and demo recipients. The demo in 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.

[edit] Versus and Link modes

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 their turn, then pass the system to the next person. 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 each person must have their own console and a copy of Dual Strike. Two to eight people can participate in wireless multiplayer games.

Link and Versus mode have a variety of settings that can be changed pre-battle. These include weather conditions; the option to enable or disable fog of war; how much money each player is assigned at the beginning of the match; and the amount of funds given to a player at the start of each of his turns, among others.

[edit] New features

Dual Strike expands on the core gameplay of Advance Wars and Black Hole Rising.

Dual Front

This campaign mission has two fronts. A different CO commands each army on each front.

The DS's two screens provide new ways of presenting a round of battle in Dual Strike. The bottom screen is where the main battle takes place, while the top screen is used to display the terrain and unit intelligence. However, in some missions, the top screen shows a second front. The second front is a second battle that is waged simultaneously with the battle on the lower screen, which is integral to some missions. The player can change the top screen back to the intel screen and vice versa, and units in the first front can be sent to the second.

When battling on two fronts, one CO on each team takes control of one front. The CO on the second front is computer-controlled by default, but can be set to employ different strategies. Also, the CO can be controlled by the player. The COs on the second front perform actions after the COs on the first front have taken their turn. If, however, the second front battle ends before the first front, the winning CO will rejoin their companion on the first front.

Commanding officers and Tagging

Featured in the Campaign and unlockable for play in the War Room and Versus modes are nine new commanding officers that form a stable of 27 COs to choose from. All previous COs appear in Dual Strike except for Sturm, who perished in Black Hole Rising.

A new feature, called Tagging, allows the player to select two COs to command one army. At the end of each turn, the player can switch from one CO to the other. This allows two COs to cover each other's weaknesses. For example, 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 to the second CO before attacking. When both COs fill their meters, they can use their Tag Power, which activates their Super CO powers consecutively in the same turn, and effectively allows the player to have two turns. This is also called a Dual Strike.

Using the Nintendo DS's two screens, unit, terrain, and CO info can be displayed on the top screen, while the battlefield can be shown on the bottom screen.

The game has a way of varying Tag Powers, called Tag Affinity. This is a measure of how compatible two COs are, ranked from zero to three stars. Each star gives additional day-to-day luck for both COs. If two COs have a tag affinity, their power will increase during the Dual Strike (the only exception being the Sensei and Hachi tag). Paired COs with a Tag Affinity that is shown on their intel screen by a star will also have a special Dual Strike name, such as Jake and Rachel who have the Tag "Orange Crush." On the other hand, some COs have a poor relationship with other COs. Tagging a CO with another CO they don't get along with results in a decrease in firepower as opposed than an increase.

New units and properties

There are seven new units. Three units operate on land: the Megatank, a Green Earth-developed tank that is the most powerful direct attack unit but has severely limited ammunition for its main cannon and a small movement range; the Piperunner, an indirect-fire vehicle which can only travel on pipelines or bases, but has a large movement and firing range; and the Oozium, a gelatinous blob which can only move one space per turn, but it can destroy any enemy it comes into contact with instantly. The Oozium can traverse nearly any terrain, except sea, reefs, and pipelines.

There are two new naval units: the Black Boat, which can repair and resupply any allied unit next to it, while capable of transporting two Infantry/Mech units; and the Carrier, which can house two air units and is armed with surface-to-air missiles. In addition, the Cruiser's missiles are now able to damage all naval units, making it more versatile.

A new air unit, the Stealth fighter, has the ability to use stealth and turn invisible to all but adjacent enemy units. It uses more fuel while hidden. The Stealth is armed with the Omni-missile, which can hit any unit, except submerged submarines. While hidden, the Stealth can only be attacked by Fighters, other Stealths or Oozium. The other new air unit is the Black Bomb. Developed by Lash, it is a missile that heavily damages every unit within its explosive radius. However, it can be shot down like any other air unit, and it uses fuel quickly.

Other new features include the Com Tower, a new property that, when captured, increases the firepower of all allied units. However, it provides no funds and cannot perform repairs. Black Crystals heal Black Hole units surrounding them. The Black Obelisk, which has the approximate look of a Black Cannon, also functions like a Black Crystal. Lastly, a new weather effect called the Sandstorm decreases the attack range of all indirect fire units.

Campaign

The 28 missions (including several secret lab missions unlocked by capturing a certain property in another mission) in Campaign mode that make up the game's storyline are objective-based, with most requiring the player to capture an enemy property. Some missions in Dual Strike's campaign make use of the Dual Fronts system.

Upon completing a mission, the player is awarded 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. 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 points, which can be used to purchase War Room and Versus maps and COs. Bonus points can also be earned by destroying certain items, such as Oozium or Black Obelisks in certain missions.

A new facet to Dual Strike’s campaign mode is an experience and ability system. COs gain experience points as they fight and win battles. Every 1000 experience points, the CO is promoted (equivalent to 'leveling up'), they can use an additional ability, and another line of abilities is unlocked up to rank nine. Abilities vary in type and benefit; some improve attack or defense, others increase the benefits of certain units or terrain types, while others affect the player's money flow. The star ranked skills must be unlocked by completing the Campaign modes. Each CO can use a maximum of four skills at once. Abilities can be changed around as many times as needed, but cannot be changed during a mission.

Hard Campaign can be unlocked, which is a more difficult version of the standard campaign. All unlocked COs can be used in Hard Campaign, including those unavailable in Normal Campaign. Three save slots are available for Campaign Mode.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Awards

• IGN: Editors' Choice Award^[7]
• GameSpot: Editors' Choice Award^[8]

[edit] See also

• Advance Wars
• Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
• Nintendo Wars
• Intelligent Systems

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nintendo's official AWDS Page
• Advance Wars: Dual Strike at the Open Directory Project