Advance Wars: Dual Strike
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| Advance Wars: Dual Strike | |
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| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Release date(s) |  June 23, 2005 August 22, 2005 September 30, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer (2-4 alternating, 2-8 simultaneous) |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone PEGI: 7+ OFLC: PG |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Media | Nintendo DS game card |
| Input | DS face buttons and D-Pad, Touch screen |
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.
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[edit] Overview
- See gameplay section of the Advance Wars article for full details on gameplay.
The objective in Advance Wars: Dual Strike is to defeat the enemy army with your own army using tactics and CO powers. Except in some single player missions with special objectives, there are two ways to defeat an opponent: destroy all of his units or capture his Headquarters.
The battle system in any Advance Wars game is turn-based. Two to four armies, each headed by one or two Commanding Officers (COs), take turns building and commanding units on grid-based maps. Every turn, units, which can consist of everything between infantry, tanks, self-propelled artillery, aircraft and naval vessels can move amongst the differing types of terrain and attack enemy units, or perform other actions, such as diving a submarine underwater.
All properties under ownership of a player (except for Com Towers), including Cities, Bases, Ports, and Airports, yield funding at the start of every 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 against the enemy army.
With 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, and CO powers, special powers that can be invoked by the CO 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 Advance Wars: DS.
[edit] New Features
Dual Strike expands on the core gameplay of Advance Wars and Black Hole Rising.
[edit] Dual Fronts
The DS' two screens constitute a radical new form of presenting a round of battle in Dual Strike.[citation needed] The bottom screen is where the main battle takes place, while the top screen is used to display the terrain and unit intel. 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.
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 (the only exception is Sturm, who perished in the previous game in the series).
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 has 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.
A new feature concerning a team of two COs is called Tagging. 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 Tag, 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.
The game has a way of varying Tag Powers, called Tag Affinity. This is a measure of 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. 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 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 attack power rather than an increase.
[edit] New Units and Properties
There are seven new units available. 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 Oozium 238, 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.
The two new naval units include the Black Boat, which can repair one HP for any allied unit next to it as well as re-supply its fuel and ammunition, and is capable of transporting two Infantry/Mech units. The other new naval unit is the Aircraft 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 is the Stealth, which has the ability to turn invisible to all but adjacent enemy units. In this respect it can be seen as the aerial version of the Submarine, and likewise, it uses more fuel while hidden. The Stealth is armed with the Omnimissile, which can hit any unit, except submerged submarines. While hidden, the Stealth can only be attacked by fighters or other stealths. The other new air unit is the Black Bomb. Developed by Lash, it is a missile, dealing five points of damage to every unit within its explosive radius. However it can be shot down like any other air unit, and it burns through fuel quickly.
Other new features include the Com Tower, a new property that, when captured, increases the firepower of that army by 10%. However, it provides no funds and cannot perform repairs. Black crystals also give additional HP to Black Hole units surrounding it. Lastly, a new weather effect called the Sandstorm decreases the attack range of all indirect fire units by one.
[edit] Campaign Mode
The 28 missions (including 3 secret lab missions, in which you have to capture a certain property to unlock them) in Campaign mode that make up the game's storyline 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). 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') and 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. 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] Story
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.
[edit] Other Gameplay Modes
[edit] War Room
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, a ranking system similar to that of Campaign Mode's is used. Any map can be replayed at a later time.
[edit] Survival Missions
This is a new game mode in Advance Wars: Dual Strike. There are three types of Survival missions: Money, Turn, and Time. Money 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 Mode
A noticeably different game mode for both single-player and multiplayer. 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. Like a normal multiplayer match, the goal of Combat 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. Each team starts with a 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 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 game, including plains, roads, rivers, forests, and mountains, are in each of the Combat maps. Each unit has its own unique movement patterns (Mechs can traverse mountains and rivers; 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 don't offer money, 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.
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, a CO 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; although there is 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 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.
[edit] Versus & 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 multiple consoles are used, one for each person. Two to eight people can participate in wireless multiplayer games; each 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; 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.
[edit] Reception
- Game Rankings (review aggregator) [1]
- GameSpot - 9.2/10 [2]
- IGN - 9.0/10 [3]
- Planet GameCube - 9/10 [4]
- Famitsu - 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
[edit] Awards
[edit] See also
- List of Advance Wars COs
- Advance Wars
- Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
- Nintendo Wars
- Intelligent Systems
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Nintendo's official AWDS Page
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
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