Battalion Wars 2 Review

Battalion Wars 2 for the Wii is (obviously) a sequel to the first Battalion Wars which made its debut on the Gamecube. Alas, the first Battalion Wars was not well received by the general public due to a number of factors. Firstly, it appeared during the declining quarter of the Gamecube's lifetime. Secondly, a number of fundamental flaws in the controls and the AI were enough to hold this ambitious game back from greatness, and instead planted it firmly at the bottom of the bargain bin at the local KB Toys. A new day has dawned however, and shortly after the arrival of the Wii, we are given a sequel, and this time they started to get things right! If you were ever curious about the unique combination of real-time strategy and third-person shooter action that makes up the core of Battalion Wars, now is the time.

The stage is set and war is upon you from the moment the disc enters your Wii console. Forces from the Solar Empire march from the shores of Xylvania on a suicide mission to conquer the last stronghold of the tyrannical Iron Legion. The battlefield is a wasteland of fiery volcanoes and jagged, blackened rocks. This is where your battle begins.

From the start, Battalion Wars 2 moves quickly, and wastes very little time getting you familiar with the controls and into the thick of things. The opening mission, as briefly described in the paragraph above, runs you through a short training mission that gives you a rundown of basic controls as well as fills you in on some back story, in case you missed the first game. The first thing you may notice, and especially so if you've played the first Battalion Wars, is that the controls are excellent! Whether you find yourself fighting on land, in the air, or by sea, the Wii-remote and Nunchuk perform exceptionally well. One area these controls truly shine is aerial combat. Holding the Wiimote straight, you can twist your wrist left or right to turn your aircraft, and tilting up and down increases or decreases altitude. Each type of unit controls in a different manner. Tanks use the Wii-mote pointer to turn the turret gun, while the Nunchuk control stick maneuvers the treads. Some units have special maneuvers which are handled by a flick of the Nunchuk. It is used for instance to perform barrel rolls or submerging submarines. As you can tell, there are dozens of different unit types that each posses unique controls, so it will take some time to familiarize yourself with all of them. There are a few constants however for each type. The B button always fires, the Z trigger targets, and the A button is used for giving orders to your troops and switching control between units. The control pad allows you to select groups of units or individual units to give orders to. The C button changes camera modes while the - and + buttons show an overhead map and pause the game respectively.

The focus of the game is on strategic, real-time action. Your troops will follow and defend you until given orders to do otherwise. Groups or individual infantry units can be given Follow and Wait commands, or they can be ordered to capture an occupied or un-owned facility, or guard a facility that you already own. Vehicles cannot capture facilities but can be ordered to guard your own, or attack enemy fortifications and defensive structures. Each of these commands is given depending on the type of unit you have selected and the unit or structure you have targeted. While this system works, there are instances when the screen will become cluttered and targeting a specific unit amidst the chaos can become almost impossible. In a game where quick reaction time is the key to victory, not finding the right target, or worse, selecting the wrong one, can be the difference between victory and restarting the entire mission (and missions can be quite lengthy, some taking nearly an hour to complete entirely).

As you play through the game's main campaign, you will take control of five fictional factions that represent a major world power: The Western Frontier (USA), the Solar Empire (Japan), the Anglos (UK), the Tundrans (Russia), and the Xylvanians (a.k.a. the Iron Legion which represents Germany). Apart from the colors and unit models, there are no tactical differences between the factions.

Battalion Wars 2 brings many updates to its predecessor. Although the overall graphics and sound haven't changed much, the game runs much smoother, and allows anywhere from 10-20 units on screen at anytime with no slow-down. If more than that is present, things can get a little choppy, but those instances are few and far between. A unique aspect of Battalion Wars' graphics is the stark contrast between the gritty, war ravaged battlefields and the cartoon silliness of your ground forces. It's hard not smile as your foot soldiers go bouncing happily into battle with their overlarge feet and helmets bobbing up and down. The music and sound effects are good, but nothing special. Machine guns sound like machine guns, and the detonation of an ammo dump is briefly satisfying.

An area of great improvement over the first Battalion Wars is the updated AI, which, while not perfect, is sure to provide much more of a challenge to newcomers and veterans alike. As you progress through each mission you are graded on how well you performed, based on three criteria: power, speed, and technique. Power rates how many of the enemy you killed, the more the better. Speed is how quickly you accomplished all of your objectives, and technique measures how many of your units you lost over the course of the mission. Naturally, less is better. Though the first few missions may seem easy, try to earn an S rank on the later missions, I assure you it is no easy feat. Battalion Wars 2 also boasts a staggering number of units over its predecessor, and includes naval units this time around. Throughout the course of the game you will use ground troops, tanks, ATVs, helicopters, fighter jets, submarines and more. Each unit has an advantage over others, as well as a weakness, in sort of a large scale game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. For example; tanks have a distinct advantage over most ground troops, however they are highly susceptible to bazooka and bomber. The single player campaign can usually be completed in 20-30 hours, but many more hours of fun can be had over the Wi-Fi. Although friend codes are required to play with your buddies, the game does give you the option of facing random opponents in three types of matches. First, there's Co-op mode. Then Assault mode, which tasks one player with capturing or destroying a strategic location, while the other defends. And lastly, Skirmish mode, which is a no-holds-barred brawl between two players, each having a set amount of units which can be increased by capturing certain facilities. The Wi-Fi connection performs admirably here, with little to no lag. Alas, there is no support for voice chat, nor any other form of communication with your opponent and co-op communication is limited to two buttons: 1 to call for aid or paint a target, and 2 to confirm that request, so for you trash talkers, you'll have to go silent for this game.

Overall, Battalion Wars 2 is an amazing improvement on its predecessor. There are still a few quirks that need to be addressed like cluttered units making it difficult to target, and the fun but limited multiplayer options. However, if you enjoy strategic game play and fast paced shooter action, you may find that Battalion Wars 2 gets the job done in just about every area.