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> Results: BWii: Battalion Wars 2
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The ESRB says:
Violence: GamerDad found cartoon soldiers shooting at each other and destroying vehicles causing many explosions but no blood or dead bodies to be found. When Battalion Wars appeared on the Gamecube it mixed a style of graphics bordering on cute from the popular Advance Wars strategy games on the DS with an entirely new style of realtime first person action wargame. Rather than remaining above the action, players were placed in the thick of battle hopping amongst control of individual units while assigning goals to still other units. The result was an engaging title with strong story elements. Battalion Wars is back on the Nintendo Wii with a sequel, BWii: Battalion Wars 2. The subtle mix of action and strategy is once again paired with some very clean cut, cartoonish war themed graphics, but the game's weakest element is now a rather scattered storyline acted out with almost painfully poor voice acting. In the game, the player controls a single unit out of an entire group. Control can be moved between any of the many units and unit types, or simple commands can also be given to units or groups of units without changing control. The controlled unit is moved with the Wii Nunchuk controller and the Wiimote is used to point and shoot at enemies onscreen. Most missions are primarily a series of scripted actions, where the player must achieve a specific objective indicated by a gold star before being given the next objective in the sequence. A typical mission might include taking control of a scout vehicle and driving it behind enemy lines to free and return a prisoner. Rendezvousing back with the main group, the remaining troops gather together to assault an enemy fortress with the combined arms of various ground troops, tanks, and anti-aircraft vehicles. Combat is somewhat reminiscent of rock-paper-scissors style strengths and weaknesses: flame troops are effective antipersonnel weapons, bazooka troops are great against armored vehicles, and tanks are best suited for assaulting defensive structures. Commands are assigned to units using the d-pad on the Wiimote and are limited to simple things like attack, wait, or assault. In the thick of battle it can be tricky to manage the many different types of units while simultaneously trying to do a reasonable job controlling the battler for whichever unit is currently under one's direct control. Thankfully, the computer AI does a decent job managing things if left to its own devices. However, in the most difficult scenarios controlling everything can sometimes be a stretch. Multiplayer is available using the Wii's online capabilities, cooperative and competitive matches can be fought either through exchanging friend codes or by random opponent selection. The mix of direct control of one unit while managing many others makes the game great for gamers looking for a more unique type of first-person shooter or action game. However, the somewhat clunky controls for managing many kinds of troops in the heat of battle makes the game less attractive for strategy wargame fans. A weak story and somewhat difficult controls changes Battalion Wars 2 from a great game to simply good. ![]()
Despite the obvious war theme to the game, the graphics are quite tame. Exploding vehicles, ships, and planes abound but the exaggerated cartoonish people are never explicitly hurt. While the T for teen rating is appropriate for the level of violence, it is clearly on the lower end of the spectrum. The lack of blood or gore keep the game less disturbing than most other shooters. The complex interactions and strategic decisions stemming from the control of multiple forces keep the game best played by young teens or older.
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