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Even better than its predecessors...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

...which is saying a whole lot. It is my professional opinion, as a hardcore strategy gamer, that the Advance Wars series represents one of the top 5 strategy franchises of all time. The previous two GBA offerings- Advance Wars and Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising- were as close to perfect as any turn based strategy came I've seen.

I'll be forthright though- I prefer combat-oriented games over empire building/resource gathering ones. If you're a big fan of the latter, the general lack of micromanagement in Advance Wars may be a turnoff. Or then again, maybe it'll make you start to realize how boring all that stuff really is. The presentation and game mechanics are little changed in Dual Strike- even the graphics look pretty much the same as its GBA forebears. You still just have one money resource, which is accumulated by holding cities, and all of the units and COs from Black Hole Rising are still there.

Dual Strike adds a bit of extra functionality on the DS. Namely, you can control everything with the stylus if you want (I found this to be a bit cumbersome however, and quickly returned to the D-pad), and the second screen sometimes turns into a second battle front or a display of an objective. You can also have two CO 'tag' teams that you can switch off at the end of a turn, and that can activate both of their super-powers together. This is what the 'dual strike' refers to, and it also lets you essentially take two turns at once, which is extremely powerful. In some missions you actually have two battles taking place at once, and the second can either be directly or AI-controlled. There's also missions where a special objective is shown, e.g. a missile that will kill everyone if it lands in 45 mins. The added real-time aspect is actually rather fun.

Points accumulated during battles and missions can be spent on maps, uniforms, unlockable COs, and other traditional fare. Additionally, COs gain experience every time they win a battle, and every 1000 points they get promoted. This unlocks special skills that do everything from charging the power meter faster to giving you funds when you damage enemies. Each CO can choose up to 4 skills, and you can change them outside of battles.

And then, of course, there are new COs and units. All of the nations have new commanders, all with distinct powers and capabilities. Green Earth's Javier, for instance, has resistance to indirect fire and is actually somewhat decent against Grit. New units include the aircraft carrier, stealth fighter, piperunner, black bomb, and megatank. All of these have a pretty significant impact on battle, though all are also very expensive. Some of the traditional units have been tweaked as well- the most noticeable change is that cruisers can now shoot at other ships. There's also the comm tower- a new building that boosts your firepower when captured, and Oozium- a slow neutral unit that destroys any unit it runs over.

These changes, though nothing that'll make the game unfamiliar to veterans, are enough to make it new and more fun. There's even more replay value here than before, with all the skills and content you can unlock. The campaign is- as one may expect- excellent, and includes a traditional 'hard' mode. There is also a level editor, and several new battle modes.

While perhaps not the best looking DS game out there, Dual Strike is certainly one of the best in terms of gameplay. It improves upon its predecessors, both of which were impressive achievements in their own right. For fans of strategy, this title alone is reason enough to purchase a DS, and comes with the highest recommendation.

Best game for DS - Very addicing - 300 hours long

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What is Advance Wars : Dual Strike?
Advance Wars : Dual Strike is a war commanding game with a turn based grid formula. The objective of each game is to capture the Headquaters or clear out all enemy units. There are plenty of units you can play with. You can capture cities, battle, and play through many different settings. There are plenty of characters and abilities you can use. And this time, Black Hole strikes again and you must find what is draining the land's energy.

How hard is the game?
It will be really tough for a first timer. But really easyy for a veteran of the series. It's easier than the other 2. It offers hard mode. And there are plenty of challenges you can face. And you can collect 300 medals by acheiving goals.

How are the graphics?
A few white lines, but it's clean and fresh. Giant improvement over the GBA series.

How is the sound?
Superb. The character themes are well put together to express the character and there is the Sound Room which is worth listening to.

How is it compared to the previous 2?
Easier. Better story. More war units. More characters. Able to tag team (have two characters work together to unleash an ultimate power) and dual screening (using the DS's ability to have 2 battles at once. There is survival mode. And combat mode. There are medals. Better graphics and sound. More kinds of cities. Giant improvement.

How long will this last me?
Over 300 hours. We have Campaign, Hard Campaign, Survival Mode, Combat Mode (shooting mini-game), Sound Room, Gallery, Versus mode, Ability to create your own levels (and play them too), over 300 medals to collect, muliplayer, different costumes and colors for the characters. This is the most complete game you will ever find.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike --- Best One Yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: December 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is, by far, the greatest Advance Wars yet. A host of new weaponry and different features keep you involved. Highly addictive. Short review. Have to leave.

This game alone can justify buying a DS...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The masterful genius that went into the making of this game, I can't even describe. Advance Wars: Dual Strike follows two huge GBA predecessors- and handily exceeds them.

There is more content than ever. The number of ways that scenarios can be set up using the War Room has gone from thousands to millions. There are more COs, more units, more options; more of everything.

How many car trips? How many bus stations or train stations or airports have I whipped out my AW:DS? Imagine eagerly embracing every 2 hour delay in your life! The game is that profound.

so good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 15
Date: September 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

i played this at a friends house and i could not stop. its addicting and fun. the use for the touch screen is amazing. and the game is amazing too. this christmas i want this game and a ds. it will be a game that will be loved and played with for months to come.

Best DS game as of now!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

With all due respect to the fantastic puzzler Meteos, I have to say that in my opinion, this game is the best DS game available so far. Advance Wars: Dual Strike (AWDS) is a turn-based strategy game, which let you build, take control of, and manage different types of military units in order to win battles.
There are quite a few improvements over the previous two Advance War games (also very good). There are more Commanding Officers with more and new special abilities (the characters in charge of controlling your units, aka CO's). Also, the dual screen of the DS is utilized extremely well allowing you to fight two battles in two different fronts and/or giving you more detailed information about terrain,units, etc. My favorite improvement, which is more an improvement due to the use of the DS console than the game itself, is being able to move around the units with the stylus. This really eliminates a lot of the time spent in moving around the units and lets you concentrate more on the strategy involved in winning the battles. I'm sure there are many more improvements and features considering I've played only the campaign mode for two days. Overall, I find the game to be addictively fun and really offering a lot. I highly recommend this game!

Finally, a reason to buy a DS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: September 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you liked Advance Wars 1 and 2, and you don't own a DS and this game, you should stop reading this review RIGHT NOW and hit the order button, you have important work to do. With a credit card. Fans of the AW series, Super Conflict, and other such games, AW:DS is what you've been looking for. It's not revolutionary, but it's a worthy successor.

The stylus interface is both simple and natural. You'll give a few accidental commands on the (very forgiving) early maps of the campaign, but it's a quick learn. The developers made sure that every game mode can be played using only the stylus and the left-hand controls (though in the main game mode, you really just need the stylus).

If I were to critique one thing, it would be the campy interactions between the COs before and during battles. That being said, Advance Wars without campy dialogue would be sort of like Max Payne without overdramatic metaphors.

In short, if you like tactical simulations, this is your game.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: March 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Picked it up after seeing the great reviews it got and found myself agreeing. I never played any of the earlier advance wars games, and it came on real easy. I hear using the touch screen isn't popular with folks who played the old game, but for me it was the best method. Very enjoyable.

Its fun but where are the graphical improvements

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: August 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played quite a bit of the first advance wars and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I never played the second one but I'm sure it was a great game, so when I heard that it was coming out for ds I was excited. The biggest turn off for me when it comes to handhelds is that the graphics look like crap. I find it very hard to get into games that look like a mediocre snes game. While I understood the challenges of making a game look good on the gameboy advance I really don't understand why they didn't do anything with the power of the ds. If I toss in super maro 64 on my ds it looks great and I was looking forward to many more games on the ds with the same great graphics but why is it that the two best games for the ds (meteos and advance wars) look as though they are snes games. why did they even bring out the ds if they aren't going to use its power? I'll agree with everyone that this is a good game and its cool that it takes advantage of the dual screens and the stylus but next time can that take advantage of the improved power of the ds. Is that really too much to ask.

A rEaLlY fUn GaMe

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: February 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Advance Wars Duel Strike is a really fun game. There are a lot of game modes and each of them is really fun. The game would keep you playing and playing. If you don't have one , you should get it, but you don't have to take my word.

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