Advance Wars: Dual Strike [DS]

The original Advance Wars was overlooked by many when it first shipped, but this unobtrusive title quickly garnered critical acclaim and Advance Wars 2 was a solid hit for Nintendo. Now in its third iteration, the series has moved away from its namesake and landed on the Nintendo DS. We recently got a look at the Japanese version of Advance Wars: Dual Strike and were rather impressed by the upgrades.

Putting the DS's second screen to good use, Dual Strike keeps the core action on the lower screen while relegating unit stats and other data to the upper image. Later levels feature an expanded play area, as you are tasked with fighting on two fronts -- an air battle on high and a land/sea battle down below. In addition to dual screens, advanced players will also have to learn how to manage dual COs, adding yet another twist to this strategy classic.

The choice of COs has an impact on your play style, as each one features a different set of advantages and disadvantages. Some will improve your capturing abilities. Others will have longer range on artillery weapons. Exploiting these advantages is key to victory, but managing two COs is a little trickier than it sounds as only one can be active at a given time. When you switch between COs at the end of a turn, the buffs that apply to your army change as well.

Further complicating things is the tag ability. Normally each CO has a special meter that slowly builds as you battle your opponent. If both COs have a maxed out special meter, you can execute a tag attack which gives you two turns in a row. Timed properly, this move can decimate an opponent.

Another big change is the addition of the real-time combat mode which eschews the traditional turn-based format. Separate from the main campaign, combat can be played against the AI or via wifi against human opponents. You'll select your army and then battle it out in a real-time arena that is just as much action as it is strategy.

A spattering of new units also make an appearance, with a bigger, badder tank, an area effect missile, and a new stealth fighter highlighting the bunch. Though they are more tweaks to existing units as opposed to radical new designs, the additional pieces are well balanced and blend seamlessly with the pre-existing set. Ignoring the new piece is not an option as they will punch holes in previously solid tactics, forcing even veteran players to rethink their strategies.

Rounding out the package is an intuitive map editor, which is incredibly easy to use thanks to the touch screen support. Simply draw what you want on the map, save your changes and then get to playing. The game gives you free reign over all units, buildings, and map tiles, so it's possible to create a level that is simple or incredibly complex.

Past Advance Wars games have been incredible time sinks and from what we've seen so far, Dual Strike is on track to keep players addicted. The new features and gameplay modes are a promising evolution to an already excellent franchise. We'll have a full review later this month when we get our hands on the final, North American version of the game.