![]() ![]() Fans will bemoan the easier difficulty I suspect, but the second game feels immediately and entirely more balanced throughout. The additions to the second game just make it a better game in almost every regard. In truth, in the cold light of day the first game can feel a bit of a grind. Upon completion you can unlock a hard mode, and frankly, good luck to you if you fancy taking that on. Missions are scored based on power, speed, and technical aspects, and you’re awarded points that can be spent at the shop unlocking music, maps for multiplayer and skirmish modes, and COs from non-Orange Star factions, again, for multiplayer and skirmish modes. The gradual addition of air and sea units, and indeed the bases that build or refuel and repair them doesn’t quite do enough to allay the frustration of so many fogged up maps, especially when the second campaign offers most of those units from the get go. The first game starts out well enough, but I’ve always found it meanders a bit through the middle section, relying too heavily on Fog of War battles. Enemy COs will also have their specials, and they build their meter at an alarming rate throughout the 15-20 hour campaign. Andy can buff his units and repair to regain health Sami is infantry based Max is a tank, so buffs his tanks, and so on. Take enough damage, or deal it out, and you can unleash your special at the right time. But is it fair on the player to never know what is coming for them? Also maybe not.Įach Commanding Officer (or CO, for short) has a unique power in Advance Wars. Is it unfair on a remake to be angry about this? Maybe not. Most titles will say “fair play, you’ve uncovered this bit of map now” and move on. But a modern game wouldn’t then re-fog the area should you move away, or lose your unit. The idea is that you need to use a recon unit to reveal the map and then, perhaps, smash the enemy with your long range units. Here, the tabletop style map you are battling on will be greyed out, and thus you can’t see the enemy units within it. Even with the added ability to select casual difficulty (which tends to give you an extra unit per mission) doesn’t take away from some of the more, shall we say, unfair tendencies that older games might use.įor example, a modern game will still make use of the Fog of War mechanic. Advance Wars 1, however, has never been more tough. For the most part, a lot of the missions are how you remember them. They will react when taking or dealing damage and the animation style along with the still images provide character and, dare I say it, a whole heap of sugary charm.īut look, whether you care for how the new version looks or sounds (and the soundtrack is absolutely killer, for what it’s worth), what makes or breaks a tactics game is how it plays out. While it isn’t fully voiced, there are enough RPG-style grunts and one-shot sayings, combined with the odd full sentence that helps bring Orange Star’s Andy, Sami, Max, and Nell to life, along with Green Earth, Yellow Comet, Blue Moon and, frankly, everyone. Which is perhaps a long way of saying I really enjoy the new look. It’s all very sensible and grounded: this is warfare as you have seen it in films and television, only there is a cast of characters involved that keeps it from feeling like the grim reality of war, and with a newly realised art-style, it could be argued that WayForward has actually delivered on the original “Sunday morning cartoon” style the narrative and characters actually presented. Tanks are strong against Infantry, Missiles take down Planes, and so on. While Fire Emblem may have come along and stolen Advance Wars’ lunch, before there were RPG elements, Advance Wars was the tactical strategy game. ![]() A new art style, packed to bursting with bonus content, for two beloved games all remade by developer WayForward should be a recipe for success, and while Re-boot Camp is a tremendous package, it feels very much aimed at those older fans, for a number of reasons.įor starters, this is the daddy of the genre to many. The old adage that war never changes couldn’t be less true when it comes to Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp. ![]()
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