Battalion Wars 2  Preview for Nintendo Wii

- Luke, Staff Writer

Sunday, September 10, 2006

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Title: Battalion Wars 2 .............................................. System: Nintendo Wii .............................................. Genre: Action Strategy .............................................. Publisher: Nintendo .............................................. Developer: Kuju Entertainment .............................................. Release: TBA .............................................. Online: Yes .............................................. ESRB: Rating Pending (RP) .............................................. It has been a long time coming, but at the recent GC show in Germany, Nintendo finally [officially] announced that they are currently developing a sequel to the GameCube hit, Battalion Wars. Fans of the first will know that the game successfully took real-time strategy elements and combined it with simple and intuitive controls to make commanding units on the battlefield easy. Now, with the new Wii-mote and nunchuk attachment, Kuju, the development studio, has elevated the sequel to a whole new level. The story essentially picks up from the end of the first game. After being tricked into thinking that the Solar Empire is building yet another super weapon, Colonel Windsor and Commander Pierce send out their forces from the Anglo Isles in order to try and take the supposed weapon down, and thus save the world one more time. While the story doesn’t have much substance at all, it is there to give players a slight incentive to play through the game. Kuju have now included over twenty levels in the game, too, so expect to be playing for quite some time. Players will have the opportunity to take control of a number of different war machines. In the original, a combined effort of land, sea and air-based vehicles were available for selection. Fans will be pleased to know that every single vehicle will return for the sequel, as well as an additional five. These include a brand new submarine, frigate, transport vehicle, dreadnought, and a huge battleship, which is said to occupy quite a large section of the screen. Of course, players will still be able to make their way across land on foot, as more classes of soldiers will be introduced also. The control scheme for the game has been completely revamped for the sequel, as can be expected. Using the Wii-mote, players can control the crosshair on the screen. The nunchuk will now be used for movement of every vehicle, and Kuju have made sure that everything is sensitive and easy to use. The Wii-mote will also be used for plotting strategies on the battlefield. During any mission, a quick button press will bring up a map which will be used to fully coordinate any attacks or defenses on the fly. You can call in air strikes, maneuver land-based vehicles, and make sure that every bit of land is occupied by your forces. The enemy AI, as well as your own unit’s, has also been vastly improved upon from the original. In the first game, your own units would often not follow commands you had set, wandering off looking for targets. This time around they will pay attention and do exactly what they are ordered to; there’s finally some discipline! You can now organize your units into small squadrons, too, which will greatly help when storming an enemy base, for instance. Speaking of enemies, they are now smarter than ever, and will certainly exploit any potential weaknesses they spot within your ranks. They can now successfully flank and counter-attack with ease. Anything you do wrong, the AI will spot. If you left only foot-soldiers at a base, the AI will send a platoon of tanks over and reclaim the base. It really is all about plotting and coordinating your movements well, which makes this title more akin to what it was originally supposed to be; a title in the Advance Wars series. Only true strategy gets that title. Battalion Wars 2 also boasts some brand new, exciting modes. Aside from assault, skirmish, and co-op, gamers now have the chance to play with friends on one Wii. As of yet, only two players are supported, but Nintendo have recently confirmed that the game will eventually support full online multiplayer options, as well as many different Wii's being able to connect across a Local Area Network (LAN). This would greatly make use of the fifteen multiplayer maps, and it would also make use of the large environments the game has to offer. Visually, Battalion Wars 2 is quite a dramatic improvement over the first. Particle effects in particular look absolutely stunning—explosions and dust clouds look immensely detailed. The texture work on everything has been bumped up due to the added power of the Wii. In motion, it looks very nice indeed. Cities alone look twice as detailed in the sequel, and I can’t wait to see some of the more varied environments the game has to offer. One thing that also stood out in some of the recent videos is how much the animation has improved. Soldiers now actually move fairy well, instead of the jerkiness which came within the original installment. And even though the game has a slightly 'comic-book' feel to it, the animations are actually a lot better than alot of games out right now. Battalion Wars 2 could well be one of the must have games for the Wii when it launches next year. Fans of the original will find everything they loved about it in the sequel, plus more. New weapons, vehicles, levels, and a completely overhauled control scheme are all expected to be implemented incredibly well. With the right guidance, Battalion Wars 2 could become a huge success, and go on to become one of the very best games of the next year.