It's not like this game has much competition, considering the medium, but Advance Wars 2 is a very good game, but unfortunately, as mentioned, a couple of factors bring it down. I know my review will sound very negative, but I feel that all the good topics have already been covered by my fellow writers. Do not get me wrong; other than the flaws I am about to mention (I will try to get them all), the game is very well executed and is quite an amusing experience. I don't think AI is supposed to stand for Amusingly Idiotic. The computer players in this game quite desperately leave something to be desired. They execute their spending well and their strategies are sound...until YOU do something. The AI simply does not noticeably respond to anything you as a player do. They just continue to do what they were doing and all reaction that does occur is so predictable that its frustrating. Now, I may have been playing strategy games since the dawn of Overlord so my experience in the genre is pretty extensive, but the fact still stands. The only way to lose to the computer is to be outrageously overpowered by them at the start. HA! I block your sub with my transport copter! I hope you can see the problem with this. This is just something that needs to be fixed. It creates a very annoying gimmick that can easily be employed as a strategy despite the lack of sense it makes. Artillery are too powerful. Don't even get me started with Grit; indirect attack units do too much damage. You can either buy an Artillery for 6000 or a tank for 7000. The tank can kill off soldiers, recons, and APCs with moderate efficiency. An Artillery can punch a considerable hole in a Neotank unit (another unbalanced vehicle that I won't bother to mention other than the lack of realistic mechanics). Artillery can even receive a salvo from the regular tank unit without being decimated. The funding system is subpar, especially when it comes to customizing income values at the beginning of the game. In a large number of scenarios the 1000g income of a city stacks up so much that you can pump out bombers and neotanks without a thought. There is nowhere to climb to; you're already there. How can you fix this? Well, you could change the amount acquired from each city! How low does it go? 1000. It will go all the way up to 9500 per city but it does not allow for a lower number than the usual 1000. Four COs stand out rather predominantly as being too powerful for the rest of the group. 1. Grit: As if the ranged units weren't powerful enough, Grit gives every one of them an extra space of firing range and a boost to firepower of 10%. The deficit? A meager 10% loss to firepower on all direct-fire units. This difference rarely shows up in combat. 2. Lash: She's like Olaf...except that she gets bonuses to her attack if her units are placed correctly. Lash has no weakness and one strength, making her a very definitive step ahead of her competition. Her CO powers are good to boot. 3. Hachi: Sure he's supposed to be a cool unlockable character, but that doesn't mean he has to be better than everyone else (especially poor Colin). He gets the benefits of inexpensive units AND normal firepower. His CO power is ludicrous in strength. 4. Sturm: Can there be a better definition of overpowering? He has units as strong as Kanbei while costing the normal amount, all of his units can cross over any terrain with no movement penalty, and he has an awesome CO power. His "balance?" He can't move fast in the snow. Boo-hoo. I'm sure Olaf will cry him a river for THAT one. As a rather short note on a very disappointing topic is the lack of actual change to the combat breadth. Only one new unit was added and the Neotank is as fast as a tank which makes no sense whatsoever anyway. A few new COs and the better made campaign were nice, but not nice enough to actually draw any defining lines between AW 2 and AW 1. Bad points aside (I think that's all of them), Advance Wars 2 is definitely worth playing. Most of these problems you might, in fact, never actually notice unless you play for a good while and with other people. This game is ideal for: -Very long trips -Exerting little to no mental energy on a strategy game (this is NOT an insult to the game) -Multiplayer fights (do not expect to finish them) -People who didn't buy the original -Any strategist of most any level (though more advanced players will most certainly need a friend or two to play with for a challenge) -Younger strategy gamers just starting out in the genre
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