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And the good ds games just keep coming

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: September 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

At first good ds games were too far and few inbetween, but now it seems we are getting 2 really good ds games every couple of weeks or so

I picked up Advance Wars: Dual Strike because I am a great fan of the series. AFter playing Advance Wars (GBA) that my friend had I immediatly picked up a copy for myself, and loved it. I didn't get a chance to play Advance Wars 2, but from what I hear it was a pretty good game as well

Presentation:
8/10
The presentation of this game is done very well, it has a great intro, and the music throughout the game is really good, but if you don't like the tunes, you have the option to turn if off.

Control:
8/10 - touch screen
10/10 - dpad controls

The touch screen controls are there for a different way to play the game. While done very well, I prefer the dpad controls because they are tighter. A couple of times when using the touch screen I accidently did a couple things I didnt mean to do, so the touch screen is there, but the dpad is better

Graphics:
5/10

In this category I was very dissapointed. I would give the other 2 games higher scores because they were on the gba, but the ds doesnt have the same limitations, and the graphics could have been much better, possible in 3-D

Gameplay
10/10

This is where the game matters most and this is where the game shines. The gameplay is similar to Advance Wars 1 and 2, with new units. The best part is the CO swap which will let you use 2 CO's powers and move twice in the same turn.

Overall, this is a really good game. Improvement would include better graphics the next time around, and despite what others said, this is really a story driven game, so I would really like to see some full motion video sequences. But overall a great game and any respective ds owner should buy this one

Best DS game yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Maybe my favorite game of all time. If you are a fan of strategy games or role playing games you will love this game. I've logged in over 100 hours already and I'm not done yet. The replay value is immense!

They did it again

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Being a fan of both previous Advance Wars games, I was constantly impressed by the new elements thrown into the gameplay of Black Hole Rising. I expected something like this in Advance Wars DS, but the reality was far superior to the expectations.

This game sports no fewer than four new units, the black boat, the aircraft carrier, the stealth fighter, and the megatank. It also continue's Black Hole's inventing spree with new types of bases and weapons to overcome, such as the Black Arc flying fortresses, black crystals, black obelisks, and oozium. The final result of all these creative additions was a game capable of showing me surprising new elements for hours.

While the theory of the game is sound, another important factor is whether the game has plot or is just a hack-'n-slash. In this respect, as well, Duel Strike passed with flying colors. Characters underwent a surprising amount of development for this type of game, and there were certainly more cut scenes than previous games. New COs were thrown in too, listed below.
Orange Star: Rachel, Jake
Blue Moon: Sasha
Yellow Comet: Grimm
Green Earth: Javier
Black Hole: Jugger, Koal, Kindle, Von Bolt

Another interesting thing to note is how much more was included in this game. The campaign mode, hard campaign, war room, versus maps, design room, CO color editing, and the sound room that carried over from the older games may be enough to keep to you occupied for days, but the makers of the game added Survival Mode (with multiple difficulty levels), a real-time Combat Mode, an award room to keep records of every aspect of warfare, the ability to change your COs uniform completely, and a set of background wallpapers to work for. Just when you thought you'd finished the game, a whole new wealth of options opens up.

Now I'll comment on perhaps the biggest addition to the rules of gameplay: Tag and DS battles. Essentially, a Tag battle is where two COs fight on the same side. When both have their CO meters fully charged, they can use a new technique called a Tag Power. This not only uses stronger versions of both Super CO Powers, but it lets you have two turns in the same round. For this reason, a Tag CO Power can easily sway the balance of, or even finish, a mission. The other new gameplay style, DS battles, is fought on both the top and bottom screens. Units can be sent between them, and you can either control the top screen manually or let the AI do it. In any case, it's sometimes an interesting battle when you battle on one front depends on whether you win the second one or not.

If you're a turn-based strategy game lover, buy this game. Heck, if you're a real-time srategy gane lover, buy this game. If you have ever played and enjoyed any type of strategy game, buy this game. For the incredible amount of play it packs into its small cartridge, I'd buy the game for twice what it costs.

Ridiculously Addicting

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you liked Advance Wars on Gameboy Advance, then you'll love it on the DS. Same addicting gameplay now with wireless multiplayer with one or two cartridges thanks to the DS and its wifi. The only thing keeping it from getting 5 stars is that there isn't much of a difference between this and the older games except that now you can see stats or a map on the upper screen instead of having to press start or whatever. Also there are now touch screen controls, but i find them to be harder to use accurately than just the d-pad.
For those of you who have never played an Advance Wars game it's kinda what you'd get if you combined Final Fantasy Tactics with Age of the Empires and Starcraft... Kinda. So try it out if you into that kind of stuff, you'll waste hours of your life guaranteed.

One of the best DS titles

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has a "History" screen, which logs, among other stats, the total time spent playing the game. My counter just passed 229 hours and 8 minutes.

Addictive. Can be played in long periods or short bursts. Highly recommended to anyone with a DS.

Great game, and incredible replay value

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Advance Wars Dual Strike is a turn based strategy game that pits your army against varying commanding officers in a series of battles over a vast array of landscapes. Its lighthearted nature (many of the commanding officers are quite young and speak in slang) makes it appropriate for kids, but don't let this lightheartedness mask what is an incredibly deep and very enjoyable game.

The basic concept of Advance Wars is simple--you play as a CO (commanding officer) and are given control of an army during a battle. You're up against a CO of the Black Hole Army and can win the battle either by destroying all your enemy's combat units or by taking over their headquarters. The maps have varying terrain that adds an element of complexity to the fights (forests you can hide in, mountains from which some units can see long distances, etc) and forces you to deploy and move your units strategically, and you can take over cities and factories along the way to boost your resources and unit production capability.

A new concept in Dual Strike (I believe this is the 3rd Advance Wars game, though this is the first I've played) is the dual CO battle. Fairly early on in the campaign mode you're introduced to the concept of a tag team battle where you've got control of 2 COs and can switch them and use them for their varying abilities (Dual Strike features a whole slew of COs, each with special abilities and attributes that can aid you in battle) during the course of the fight. This adds yet another element of depth to an already complex game.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike features several single player modes of play, a multiplayer mode, and an option to create your own maps. The gameplay really is incredibly deep as your COs improve over the course of several hours of play (and remember, there are many COs). This is a very deep game, and should provide many hours of entertainment.

PROS:

-The combat system is simple, intuitive, and easy to use. It takes very little time to get the hang of, yet the battles can and do get incredibly complex.
-The maps are easy to navigate, and stylus is used very well to click on and move your units around the battlefield with incredible ease.
-The many modes of gameplay, vast array of COs, and map creating options give this game a lot of staying power--this isn't one you'll play a couple times and then leave alone.
-Even though its a war game the content is appropriate for people of all ages.
-CO abilities add even more depth to the strategy of the game, and the dual CO option (and the ability to launch combo attacks with both of them) makes the battles even more fun.
-Some of the battles can be fairly quick, meaning you can pick it up and play a battle even if you don't have much time to play.

CON:

-The slang some of the COs use gets tiresome quickly and the dialogue is, overall, pretty lousy. It's annoying, but the rest of the game is so good that it's not hard to overlook.

As of this writing this game is pretty difficult to find, even used. If you see it, though, give it a shot--this is a classic.

Fun Tactics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game yesterday and I love it. Of course I'd researched and all before I just went and bought a new game, and my research paid off. I was just a little nervous that I wouldn't like it and that I wasted $35 since I had never played an advance wars game, but my worries were unfounded. This game is plain great. I played it for what must have been at least three hours straight and I only stopped when the car we were using parked at A&W. This is probably the best puzzle game I've ever played (trust me, I've played quite a few, as I'm thirteen and I started playing games at about 6), and I relish the dual strike moments, with that one girl shooting down three missiles before I switch to max and use my tanks right next to my enemies to blow them up. This is really fun, challenging but not exasperating, and addictive. On a final note, be warned: This game may take over your life for a while. It's a great game and anyone with a DS should buy it, cause there aren't many people who could hate this game. That's all.

Turn-Based Strategy is Good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

At first glance (~10 hours of play time over two days), this is about twice as much of an improvement over Advance Wars 2 as Advance Wars 2 was over Advance Wars.

To those that don't know what that means, some context: I'm a sucker for the turn-based strategy genre, and this is the only one to come out for years. So to me, this was worth buying a Nintendo DS for. If you're not sure if you'd like the game (or genre), you may want to skimp and just buy Advance Wars 2 for the Game Boy Advance first; it's a cheap purchase, and it'll serve much the same purpose.

But for some of us, "more of the same" is a good thing...

doesn't disappoint

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you've played any games in the advance wars series and enjoyed them, you'll enjoy this one. The touch screen controls are spot on and make the game play fluid.

Addicted!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had never played any of the advanced wars series and picked this up not knowing what to expect. I was very suprised how addicting this game is. Lots of game modes to keep you busy and the difficult level is just about right to keep you coming back for more. This game is perfect with the touch screen on the DS.
Perfect for a long trip!

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