LONDON: Twenty-two years since its original release on the Gameboy Advance comes a remake of the legendary turn-based strategy game, “Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp.”
Filled with Japanese manga style characters, it is a story of bloodless war told through colorful but conservative graphics that do not really push the envelope of what the Switch is capable of.
However, the cartoony and light-hearted presentation disguises the depth and complexity of the game itself, even if it takes time to fully reveal itself with a shallow learning curve and millions of offers of tutorials or extra advice along the way.
Too much handholding aside, you take the part of one of a series of commander officers (COs) of “Orange Star” army who have been attacked and invaded by their neighboring “Blue Moon” forces, complete with a leader called Olaf who sports a suspiciously Russian-looking attire including furry hat and a big beard.
Other actors pop up as the campaign develops and grows steadily harder. The missions range from resource-management focused — capture towns, save money and build units — to also discovery-focused through revealing a fog of war or a tactical free-for-all with numerous routes to success or failure. Rarely does all-out assault do the job and instead tying up enemy forces whilst ambushing and seizing their headquarters seems to be an example of a route to success.
The cartoony and light-hearted presentation disguises the depth and complexity of the game itself, even if it takes time to fully reveal itself with a shallow learning curve and millions of offers of tutorials or extra advice along the way. (Nintendo)
A solid range of units means the player is not overwhelmed and can get to grips with what is strong against what. Players and their opponent also build up a power bar that allows that to unleash a special ability, although these vary enormously in quality; repairing a few units versus getting an entire second turn for instance.
In addition to reacting to enemy tactics, players must keep an eye on levels of ammunition and fuel, as well as the impact of the weather on what their forces are able to do. The geography of the maps is likewise important, with forests, mountains and various water features encouraging players to consider their strategy patiently. An annoying feature that places the “do nothing” option next to the “attack” is mitigated somewhat by the “reset turn” option but is still something to be wary of.
The updated game allows you to fast forward through cut sequences, which is welcome, and the banter between the opposing commanders does not add a huge amount to things. That said, just like the original, the core game is addictive fare, made more so by the addition of online challenges or the ability to play an opponent sharing the console.
For those who really want to get under the bonnet of the game, success earns coins which can buy more maps and even soundtracks to the game.
The game, originally due to come out in April of last year but was delayed due to the war in Ukraine, now faces the challenge of being launched just ahead of the blockbuster “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” game. This is a shame because it means newcomers to this excellent strategy game may be delayed in getting to it.
