Advance Wars DS

When the DS first came out, I had my doubts about some of the games that would be available. I thought, like others, that the system might just be a gimmick. Then I received one from my wife and I realized what a fantastic system it is and the games are nothing less than stellar.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike is one damn fine game. I had never played the previous installments but upon the recommendation of friends, I gave this game a shot and I wasn't disappointed. It's a turn based strategy game where you control the various units of an army defending Omniland against the opposition, the Black Hole Army. As the game progresses, you gain more members and units to command and each map presents a scenario you must defeat, be it defeating an enemy with a set number of units or building your army at factories to shit stomp them into oblivion.

Controlling these units are COs who each have strengths and weaknesses and special powers that they can call upon to help turn the tide of battle. The most powerful of these is a Dual Strike. You get this on maps where you have two COs tagging in and out of battle and raising their power bars. Upon activation, you activate a special power and at the end of your turn, your partner has his turn so you can do twice the actions in one sitting. You don't get this ability until about a third of the way through and the enemy uses it against you first but it's a life saver. The battle can be won or lost by judicious activation of this ability.

In addition to a deep campaign story, there are also multiple versus maps you can play against friends with the game or solo, where you pick how many computer foes you go up against on a variety of maps. There's also a game called Combat, which plays like an arcade game where you control one unit at a time and try to wipe out the enemy with a good trigger finger. Great additions to a game that will already last you a good long while.

If you like strategy games and want something for your portable, you should look no further than AW:DS. It's fun, it's addictive and it's out now. Check it out.