Battalion Wars 2 Wii review

Battalion Wars 2 for WiiBattalion Wars returns! Take charge! Take control! Victory is yours for the taking! Take command with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Taking the fight to the enemy has never been so easy. In Battalion Wars 2 you command and control everything from tanks to submarines and deploy an array of different soldiers.

Strategy fans will rejoice over the inclusion of Wi-Fi online play, which adds replayability. Use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and battle against a friend halfway across the world, or play together as allies against a computer player.

System: Wii
Genre: Third-Person Shooter, Real-Time Strategy
Release dates: October 29th 2007 (USA), February 15th 2007 (EURO), March 20th 2008 (AUS)
Players: single player, 2-player online (versus or co-op)
Developer: Kuju Entertainment
Publisher: Nintendo
Origin: England

Battalion Wars 2 screenshot

Tricked into believing that the Solar Empire is developing a devastating super-weapon, Commander Pierce and Colonel Windsor of the Anglo Isles launch a pre-emptive strike on the Coral Atolls. The world is once again at war.

New naval units, new vehicles and new missions make this an explosive Wii debut. Giving gamers total control over their battalion: Players drive tanks, command battleships to submarines, pilot planes to helicopter gunships and direct troops into the heart of the action in the return of the tactical action game for Wii.

In online multiplayer the battle wages online in three modes: Assault, Skirmish and Co-op. Fight with or against others in land, sea and air combat. Precision Fighting: Wii Remote controller provides intuitive, precise control to bring out the action of this tactical game that promotes smarts above brute force.

As such, the real key to the game lies in the player’s tactics. Players can rally their troops to attack a specific target or switch to take control of a vehicle to shoot down incoming fighter planes. As players progress through the game, new troops and new equipment -– like tanks, bazookas and flame throwers –- join the battalion. Players can then use these new elements in their arsenal to help reveal the true menace behind the war.

Watch the Battalion Wars 2 launch trailer.

The single player story mode features: 20 playable missions including the prologue, and the game has six different factions including the Western Frontier, Tundran Territories, Solar Empire, Xylvania, and Iron Legion from the last game, and a new nation called the Anglo Isles. The game also allows troops to capture facilities for higher respawn rates, and benefits (such as HeadQuarters, Barracks, Factories, Air Bases, and Docks) that can be used to generate more units during battle.

The three multiplayer modes are described as follows:

* In Skirmish: both sides start out with a pre-deployed force with a facility to replace units that are lost. The main objective of the game is to earn as many points by destroying enemy units.

* In Assault Mode: one player is given a siege battalion to destroy the opposing player’s assets.

* Co-op: two players join forces to tackle a much larger computer opponent. They are given certain units, forcing them to heavily rely on the other.

See some Battalion Wars 2 online co-op gameplay.

So what are the main features in Battalion Wars 2?

* Team up or go head-to-head over Wi-Fi: Connect to Nintendo WFC to battle against other players all over the world, or join with friends to play co-operatively. Featuring three multiplayer modes and 20 unique levels. Battle head-to-head in skirmish and assault modes or team up with another player in co-op mode.

* Tactics are everything: Control every aspect of the battle as you command units, capture facilities and advance toward your primary objectives. When you’re not actively commanding, take direct control of any soldier or vehicle in the field and leap into the fray!

* Action on a grand scale: Combat rages on land, sea and air as you command six different armies through five theatres of war, each with its own unique commanding officers.

Battalion Wars 2 gameplay video shows how during attacks you use every weapon at your disposal.

Now let’s see how much fun Battalion Wars 2 is on a scale from 1 to 10?

FUN FACTOR – 7.5
In Battalion Wars 2 your performance rating is based on the power, speed and technique you use in each mission, so you’ll likely try and take better care of your troops if you see where you can improve. If you don’t care, you might end up not using much strategy and going all-in with your troops on every confrontation, after clearing out certain enemy units that can damage specific troops, although you’ll usually keep vulnerable units in the back of the battalion anyway. This means the overall campaign mode doesn’t require that much skill and is relatively easy as it slowly builds up to major confrontations. The online-only multiplayer is a nice addition, but it’s limited to a few maps per mode and unavailable offline. While definitely not for everyone, strategy fans will probably have fun with it — it’s not like they have much choice on the Wii right now — and the game’s mix between third-person shooter and real-time strategy is quite likeable.

Graphics – 7.5
The game’s visuals are playful and look cartoony, but are also detailed enough to give the game a distinct (more realistic animated) charm of its own. Fans of first game in the series will feel right at home. While sometimes the textures look bland, the overall graphics are a good fit for the game’s theme. Sadly during crowded battles (online and offline) the game speed will sometimes dip below the 30 frames-per-second framerate. The cutscenes do look great, similar to the gameplay graphics.

Audio – 7.0
A heavy army-like orchestral soundtrack that’s overshadowed by the firepower of your units, which are well represented through the sound effects. While all the main characters have their own spoken roles to play in a cliche way, boy oh boy are their various heavy accents overdone to the point of annoying, but that’s more a personal opinion than a general one as you could say it fits the cartoony graphics.

Ingenuity – 8.0
Ordering troops around the battlefield couldn’t be any easier nor faster to select thanks to the intuitive Wii Remote movement controls and simple command button presses on the D-pad and troop movement via the Nunchuk’s control stick. Although flicking the Wii Remote up to jump or shaking it to make a submarine submerge feels a bit cheap. On the other hand aerial controls are a fun diversion from directing troops everywhere by giving you full control of the unit. You can outmaneuver your opponents by twisting the Wii Remote along with your turns, point up or down to adjust your altitude and if you feel pressure from incoming enemy fire, just tilt the Nunchuk attachment controller to barrel roll to safety. Sadly you won’t target enemies that much in battle since locking on is direct and much easier. If you happen to be stuck in the game, an objectives list in the pause menu will help clear up what your next goal is. In the controls are made to be simple people of all ages, it’s a good match for an action-oriented real-time strategy game.

Replay Value – 7.5
The well-paced single player campaign is fun to play through in under 10 hours. The only reason to replay it would be for higher rankings and hidden content. You can play multiplayer only online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which adds a lot of hours of replay value thanks to the three different modes, especially co-op is fun because it ads a handful of missions where you have to watch each others backs (even though you can’t communicate in any way, outside of marking the next goal to destroy, which will then glow). You can challenge friends on your Wii Friend Roster or play with random opponents. The lack of split-screen multiplayer and no local or online co-op mode for the main campaign puts a damper on the replay value.