“It’s a turn-based strategy war game...”

A look of disbelief emerges on the directors’ faces. Clearly, the weeks without sleep for this poor developer, as he strived to complete his last project, have pushed him over the edge of sanity. Before he can continue the madness, the most senior director presses the button to open the hidden trap door in the floor. As the echoing screams of the first man begin to fade, another programmer steps forward, a confident smirk backing up his belief in his proposal. It is decided that his idea for a 2D platformer featuring a woodland animal, with attitude, (possibly a port from one of their SNES franchises) is the best option.

From the mostly uninspired GBA games line-up, it seems that incidences like this may not be uncommon. Fortunately, Intelligent Systems, who developed the original Advance Wars, worked with Nintendo, who clearly saw potential in resurrecting its old ‘Wars’ series of games for the GBA. And, as 2001 drew to a close, Advance Wars was released to critical acclaim, proving, once again, that the format is a suitable home to all genres.

Advance Wars 2, and its prequel, work so well by simplifying the genre down to its constituent parts, replacing the standard muted game design of its PC brethren with bold, vibrant and exciting stylings and adding a touch of that special Nintendo magic that many endeavour to capture but a rare few manage to realize. However, simplifying the central concept should not be misconstrued as ‘dumbing down’. There is a marvellously deep game locked within the tiny cartridge.

Playing the role of various Commanding Officers (COs) of the different factions spread across the Wars world (who have united against a common enemy - the Black Hole Army), each mission plays out with a turn-based structure. Each turn represents a single day in the campaign but during the turn there is no limit in the number of actions that can be performed, including moving units, capturing bases, building new units and attacking the enemy, although each unit is restricted in the distance it can travel per day.

Once all actions are completed, control switches over to the enemy. Obviously, it doesn’t take long for combat to take place and this can take one of two forms, Direct or Indirect. The majority of combat is direct, which occurs when two groups of units occupy spaces adjacent to one another. During direct combat, both sets of units will often take damage, although the attacking units generally have an advantage, making direct combat a strategic decision between measuring the losses either side will take. Indirect combat is reserved for units such as Artillery and Rocket Launchers. These vehicles are able to fire on enemies located further away on the map (the range varies depending on unit type) and offers the obvious advantage of not receiving any damage from counter attacks.

Indirect combat units, however, suffer the distinct disadvantage of having no capacity to fight back in direct combat situations, placing great importance on keeping these units away from the enemy as much as possible. Whilst the majority of the action is viewed from a birds-eye perspective, this is interspersed with unobtrusive cut scenes whenever combat takes place showing the units firing on each other as well as visually representing any losses sustained, generating a sense of attachment with your units that the overhead view would fail to stimulate. Watching yet another group of infantry being mowed down by an assemblage of enemy tanks can be genuinely soul-destroying, whilst watching the same tanks being decimated a short time later by a rain of rockets proves extremely uplifting.

Combat in the game works so well because there is no random element involved in any aspect. Whilst the more in-depth strategy games on other formats (mostly PC) are influenced by factors such as shot accuracy and speed of unit movement, these factors aren’t present in Advance Wars 2. The outcome of combat between two sets of units will always be the same throughout the game as long as all factors, such as strength of individual units and who attacked first, remain the same. The result is that the player never feels cheated by the outcome of combat and allows for greater strategising, as the amount of damage that will be inflicted is clear, yet this never removes any sense of peril as it is impossible to predict how the enemy CO will react. In fact, their tactics can often prove surprising, and never allow the player any time for complacency. The AI knows when it is necessary to defend vital areas of the map, and if it spots any defensive weaknesses by the player, it will exploit them.

The catalyst for this combat is completion of mission objectives, and success can be achieved in one of two ways: destroying all opposing units, thus routing the enemy, or capturing the enemy’s HQ. Whilst every mission follows these basic principles, there are certain variables that can be attributed to prevent any complaints of a lack of variety. Some missions provide you with a preset task force to utilise, with no reinforcements should things go awry, so the onus on unit preservation is high.

In contrast, other missions provide you with a base and source of funds allowing you to build the exact force you feel is best suited to the task at hand. A strict deadline may be imposed on mission completion, requiring success within a specific number of days, whilst some maps operate with a ‘Fog of War’, whereby enemy units cannot be seen until they are within view range of your own units. Certainly the game is successful in overcoming the lack of variety as, although each mission follows the same fundamental principle, over-familiarity is never a problem.

Also, thanks to ingenious level design that takes into account the pick up and play nature that epitomises handheld gaming, missions never become a chore to complete. Many can be completed in thirty minutes or less, and for those that require slightly longer, the game houses a battery backup save function that allows play to be paused and resumed at will. Yet the pithy level design does not equate to a short-lived game. The main campaign has enough missions to sustain long-term interest, whilst the War Room option allows the player to take part in one-off battles across a wide variety of maps. Topped off with a host of unlockable features (such as new COs and maps), 4-player link play and the ability to create your own maps, longevity is assured.

The central principle that underlies the game is strengthened by the piquant aesthetic design that adds immeasurably to the game’s unfaltering charm. Clearly a sign of Nintendo’s influence, the game has an exuberant, breezy style that betrays the central war premise. The battle maps are presented with strong use of primary colours, having the advantage of making everything crisp and clear on the GBA’s small screen. The audio is similarly well designed. When it is your turn to move, the music takes a gentle, harmonious tone reinforcing your belief that you are teamed with the virtuous faction, yet underpinned with a strong marching beat to place emphasis on the importance of your actions.

Conversely the enemy’s moves are accompanied with a deep, brooding soundtrack making it resolutely clear who the bad guys are. But in the best tradition of Saturday morning cartoons, the enemy never comes across as overly evil or menacing, simply the originators of the evil schemes that it is your duty to foil. Perhaps the greatest sign of Nintendo involvement is the lack of grittiness and ‘War is Hell’ ethos in the game. It is never made explicitly clear that people are dying (units are simply ‘lost’ and disappear off screen) and the central characters' cheerful temperaments are refreshing considering the subject matter. War almost seems cute.

Yet despite the game’s strong points, perhaps its greatest foil is that it doesn’t attempt to distinguish itself from its prequel. Admittedly, there was very little wrong with the original Advance Wars, but so little has been added to this sequel. Only one new unit type has been introduced, along with a smattering of new COs and the introduction of Super CO Powers to sit alongside the original game's CO Powers. For those who sucked every last ounce of gameplay out of the original Advance Wars and are hungry for more of the same, this will certainly be appreciated. However, those expecting more of a revolution will be initially disappointed, but any qualms will be soon forgotten once the compelling Advance Wars gameplay takes hold. Whilst not a massive improvement, the few additions do make Advance Wars 2 a better game. Just.

With that in mind, should an Advance Wars virgin sign up for the sequel? For these, the original game may be the better option. The sequel makes few concessions to those new to the series. The original Advance Wars featured an in-depth tutorial mode, and the structure was such that each facet of the game system was introduced layer by layer, ensuring the depth of the game was never a hurdle to progress. In contrast, the sequel throws players into the thick of battle almost immediately with only the faintest of reintroductions to the Wars world. The missions also get very hard, very quickly, with some of the later missions proving especially demanding, even for Advance Wars veterans.

Yet the flaws that beset the game are only a factor depending on what you expect from a sequel. And when a game plays this well any issues of unoriginality seem far from important. This is still an engrossing, addictive and demanding game that feels so much at home on the handheld format, it is a wonder why so many developers fail to see the true potential the GBA can offer.

Certainly, it would make a change from yet another 2D platformer.