Battalion Wars 2

"Good game, but suffers from what it gave up from the first title"

Intro::Battalion Wars. Ah there's nothing like it. Non-stop action, nice pace, very challenging, and best of all: explosions. So you may be wondering “Did the Sequel live up to it?”. Well it did in most ways and didn't in others, but in the end it barely managed to pull it off. Let's get right to it:

Gameplay: 8/10

The gameplay is roughly the same as the original, but involves a bit more thinking and strategy. This time around you will find yourself micro-managing units, which is essentially matching up units to other units in a rock-paper-scissors like fashion. These matchups are logical and go something like this: grunts beat bazookas, bazookas beat tanks, tanks beat grunts, fighters beat bombers, etc. It's very easy to get used to, very easy to remember, you'll get the hang of it in no time.

The game has the appropriate amount of difficulty…but one thing confuses me. This is that every part of the game starting from the second campaign is ridiculously hard and tedious, but the final mission is pathetically easy. In the previous title you were called to use all of your skills and it was very satisfying when you beat it. Bwii essentially goes like this in terms of difficulty: easy---hard---medium---intense---easy. Does this even make sense? It's kinda nice having a freebee every once in a while, but to end the game like this is wrong.

Now, there's one last thing I'd like to address, and that is Wi-Fi multiplayer. This mode is very good, satisfying as well, but lacks polish. There are three modes you can choose from: Skirmish, Assault, and Co-op (they all support 2 players). I'll begin with skirmish. This is probably the mode you will find yourself in most of the time. Its simple really, just kill off the enemy any way you can and as fast as you can. Whoever has the most points wins. This mode will really get your brain going, and you have to think fast. Next up is Assault. I find this to be the least fun of the three. You are either the attacker or defender and you have to try to complete an objective (such as destroying your opponent's fuel supply) or keep the enemy from completing it. This mode is somewhat broken. If you are the defender I think you have a better advantage over the attacker. Not only do you have the troops necessary to counter his/her assault, and not only do your units respawn (same thing happens with the attacker), but there is simply not enough time for the attacker to complete his objective. Finally, co-op is fun, but really lacking. There are four missions to choose from, while in the other modes there are six maps (which is plenty). It would have been more fun and easy to make the whole campaign co-op rather than make four missions. Anyway, the mode is very fun and is similar to the campaign. You are paired with a partner and are assigned to complete an objective. Teamwork is ESSENTIAL as you have one half of the troops needed to complete the mission, and your partner has the other. You must both work together to defend each other or else you will find yourself dead…fast. Lack of Voice Chat is disappointing, and you have a simple way of communicating. By pressing ‘1' you either call for help, or order your partner to attack a specific unit by locking onto it and hitting ‘1'. Press ‘2' to let your partner know that you understand. That's multiplayer in a nutshell: simple but fun. I can't give a real opinion on it, but I feel that it is one of the most successful attempts in the Wii's Wi-Fi capabilities.

Controls: 8/10

Okay, I cannot give a straight answer when it comes to controls, so your opinion may differ. I think the controls are great, not perfect, but they work. I'm glad Kuju was smart enough to make ‘B' the trigger to fire your gun, and ‘A' works well for giving your units orders. What bugs me is that it seems that a lot of things aren't necessary when it comes to things outside of that. You have to just the height of your Wiimote to adjust the height of an air unit (gunship, bomber, etc.) and some techniques have been mapped to the nunchuck. While the controls can feel awkward at times, you'll eventually get used to them. Be warned that it is very difficult to control aircraft. Other than that minor complaint, I'm satisfied with the controls especially since the developers didn't have much to work with.

Graphics: 7/10
Now if you played the original you'll know that the graphics were pretty good (by the Gamecube's standards at least). When it comes to Bwii…well there's good and bad.

Let's start with the bad: the in-game graphics did not take a huge step up from the original. The units like your tanks and infantry have changed somewhat. The tanks show a lot of detail as do other vehicles, and overall the infantry looks good. What bothers me though is that the landscape LACKS detail. The overall charm to the levels is gone. The lighting affects are horrible, and the landscape is so basic and linear. I wouldn't mind going through linear levels if I didn't have a blood red sky blinding me. I couldn't really find any levels that I enjoyed and came back to play just for the heck of it. The strategy is still here, but the marvelous landscapes from the first are completely removed, and you really can't enjoy the game for what it could be. Now this may just be my love for the series getting in the way, but I believe that the level design is just…decent. The developers spent too much time thinking of how many ways you could blow up the enemy or add difficulty, but in the process, they took away what separated Battalion Wars from its GBA alter-egos: The charm.

Now the good: okay I'll say it right here: the cut scenes are phenomenal. They have very noticeable differences from the original, and overall they are some of the best of the Wii so far. I think Kuju made the right choice here. Everything about the scenes is great, and they really make you wonder, “Why couldn't they have put the same amount of effort into making the in-game graphics this good or at least a little better?”. Nothing else to be said here, just see for yourself.

Story: 5/10

The story also had some good and bad aspects to it. First of all, it is not very deep. There are no real significant plot twists and you can tell what will happen halfway through the game. If you weren't a fan of the original, or aren't very amused, you may find yourself sitting there going, “WTF?”. Overall it is somewhat satisfying, but way too predictable (even if you haven't played the original). There are no surprises and sometimes it doesn't make much sense at times. Also, it seems like Kuju try to force the humor in the cut scenes, sometimes I find myself laughing at how ridiculously odd they are. In summary, the story is boring, predictable, and tries to be funny...but isn't.

Music and Sound: 6/10

Let me get it out now…the voice acting is terrible, especially this one character (trust me you'll know who it is). All of the accents of the characters sound forced, well…they are. That's all that is need to be said: bad, not horrible, just poorly done. The in-game sound is good, though (and luckily you can turn of the voices of your COs)! From the gunfire, to the sound of shells and explosions, you really feel involved in the action. Finally, the music: don't worry about it. You can't here it very well in battle and when you can, it's pretty good. It sets up the mood. It could've been better, but its not too big of a deal.

Conclusion:

Overall, Bwii is a game you should check out. The game lost its charm that fans loved, but makes up for it with extra features and difficulty. If you have never played Battalion Wars, I'd say that you should try it, but it may not be for you. Don't expect much of it, ‘cause it lacks polish and consideration. Not really much of a change from the first rather than a few extra features and units To close this off, Bwii is good, but lacking depth. A good game, but it suffers from what it gave up.

Final Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/08, Updated 02/20/08

Game Release: Battalion Wars 2 (US, 10/29/07)