Battalion Wars is a cross between an action and a strategy game with a style all its own. The game could easily try to be an action or a strategy game without actually succeeding at either, but instead it creates a whole new genre. The game delivers fun gameplay with lots of style and is definitely worth picking up for fans of military action or strategy games.

The premise of the game is a war between the Western Frontier and the Tundran Empire, which resembles the US and the Soviet Union, respectively, and must join forces to fight a new threat, the Xylvanians. The game puts the player into the role of a commander of the Western forces. The commander can issue orders to all the other friendly units in the game, but can also jump into the body of any friendlies on the map. This makes gameplay a balance between strategically commanding troops while also fighting the war in the role of a footsoldier, tank, bazooka trooper, and so on. 

On the surface Battalion Wars delivers on many levels. Visually, the game is impressive. The graphics have a cartoon-style feel to them which fits in well with the theme of the game. Explosions look fantastic and frequently fill the screen and the game never stutters from frame-rate issues.

The sound is equally impressive. The voiceacting is superb, though a bit over-the-top, but that is appropriate given the tone of the game. The music is also over-the-top. Instead of a Saturday morning cartoon theme, the game sports fully orchestrated music that could have been taken straight out of Saving Private Ryan, which adds to the rampant sense of irony.

While the gameplay is essentially the same (ie, roll into an area with your troops and blow everything to kingdom come) the ability to switch between every unit in the game adds a lot of variability. Even when the player is forced to replay the same map for the thousandth time, the action never plays out exactly the same way twice.

The units also complement each other well. All units are strong against some enemies while weak against others. For example, bazooka troopers are weak against infantry but tough against vehicles, while tanks are almost indestructible against infantry but are vulnerable to any kind of missile attack. The variety of weaknesses and strengths requires the player to think about where to move his troops and what group should be on the front lines while others stay towards the rear.

Style is where Battalion Wars really shines. The game requires some serious strategy to complete; however, the troops the player commands are so cute that there is a constant sense of irony throughout the game. What better way to satisfy some pent up bloodlust than leading a pack of machine-gun, rocket launcher, and flamethrower toting cartoon characters into battle? In a day and age where realistic military games are a dime a dozen, it’s refreshing to see a developer with a new take on the military shooter genre.

The game is great, but not perfect. There are a few issues that detract from the overall experience.

The largest issue by far is the lack of multiplayer. This game begs to be played against other human opponents. The strategy and chaotic nature of the game would be even more enjoyable against something besides the game’s AI. There would also be ample opportunities to trash-talk opponents as one player uses artillery to destroy the other from across the map, or as one final ground troop destroys his opponent’s last tank to win the match. The interface would have to be altered somewhat for multiplayer since it would be difficult to see the amount of detail used in the single-player game on a split screen, but with a little modification Battalion Wars would have made a great multiplayer game on the ‘Cube, rivaling even MarioKart or Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Another area that could have used a little fine tuning is the interface. Switching between units is executed by moving the C-Stick, which works fine when everything is calm. During a heated battle, however, it can become difficult to switch to your desired unit, issue an order and then switch back to another unit to issue them an order; all while being attacked from multiple directions. The ability to issue orders to units while the game is paused would have been a welcome addition.

Battalion Wars is a great game that succeeds at what it attempts to do – that is, create a cartoony action-strategy game with a sense of humor. From the orchestrated theme music to the chaos of cartoon battles the game delivers loads of entertainment and even requires some creative thinking to beat the tougher levels. Battalion Wars would be a great game on any console and, given the recent lack of new titles for the ‘Cube, really shines on Nintendo’s console. If you’re a strategy, action, or military game fan looking for something different Battalion Wars delivers in spades.

Great action from cartoon commandos, with welcome strategy elements.

While not overly impressive, the visual style is unique and really adds to the atmosphere.

The weapons all have unique and appropriate sound effects; solid musical score.

Shooting cartoon enemies with another flamethrower wielding cartoon character never gets old.

Lack of multiplayer and only about 10 hours of gameplay, but it’s fun.

]]> Mon, 10 Oct 2005 21:33:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_battalion_wars_ngc1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_battalion_wars_ngc1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_battalion_wars_ngc1# This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.