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 GAMES: 
(Formerly known as "Advance Wars Under Fire") Advance Wars makes its way from the Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo GameCube where the turn-based strategy favorite transforms into a fast-paced, 3-D, real-time combat action game. Players take to the battlefield with dozens of soldiers, organizing them into small squads and directing them into the fray. While you can only command a small number of soldiers at a time, the ones not under your direct control don't just stand at ease-- they'll respond to enemy attacks and protect any areas to which they've been deployed. Give the orders, and your soldiers will follow behind you wherever you lead or attack the targets you select. [Nintendo]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
Detroit Free Press
At first glance, Battalion Wars may look like a cartoon with campy echoes of old suspense movies. But, make no mistake about it, in the end this game successfully grasps the full potential of the Gamecube.
 90
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Brilliant fun. An absolute blast from start to finish and, without question, the best action strategy game available. [NGC]
90
Cheat Code Central
The game gives you a great feel of control, allowing you to give orders to your units with the press of a button.
90
Play Magazine
The character design and animation are absolutely brilliant. [Nov p.92]
89
BonusStage
The only severe flaw holding Battalion Wars back from the truly elite is its serious lack of content. Everything the game has to offer is strictly tied to the campaign, which only lasts about five hours in total clock time.
88
IGN
With tight control, mostly intuitive squad management, a wide assortment of soldier and vehicle types, great physics, and huge landscapes upon which epic wars wage, Battalion Wars is a blast.
86
Pelit (Finland)
Fun while it lasts. The game mechanics are simple, but they work well. It is a shame there is no multiplayer option and that the game does not last very long. Still, one of the best light war games on the GameCube. [Dec 2005]
85
Nintendo Power
RTS drawbacks aside, the game's onfield heroics are intense and satisfying. [Nov 2005, p.116]
85
Kombo
Sometimes gameplay can feel slightly repetitive, and sometimes managing all the units on screen can be more challenging than it should be. In fact, this is probably the number-one-most-challenging thing about the game.
85
Armchair Empire
The control aspect takes a bit of practice and some of the longer, tougher missions take a bit of patience to replay a few times to find the best points of tactical advantage, but Battalion Wars succeeds on being both an action game and a game of strategic pondering.
85
Worth Playing
While perhaps too Saturday-morning to capture the imagination of hardcore real-time strategists, Battalion Wars, existing as it does between playful and dramatic, warlike and dopey, feels at home on Nintendo's console.
83
Da Gameboyz
A great game for those not wanting a complicated storyline mixed in with a fair amount of detail and strategy.
83
GameSpot
A well-made action strategy game that offers a whimsical art style, setting it apart from other games that try to take a more serious approach. But don't let the cartoonish looks fool you--even veteran players will get a satisfying and serious challenge from the campaign.
82
Gaming Horizon
From the orchestrated theme music to the chaos of cartoon battles the game delivers loads of entertainment and even requires some creative thinking to beat the tougher levels.
80
G4 TV
Battalion Wars carries over the charm, fun, and visual style of the "Advance Wars" games that came before it. However, with no multiplayer and minimal replayability, this is a considerably shorter war than the portable ones.
80
RewiredMind
Never losing focus on the fun design and interesting gameplay, Battalion Wars succeeds in presenting itself as a solid, well-rounded title.
80
DarkStation
Kuju's strategy title steps up to fill the void left by Zelda, thrilling GameCube owners with a truly superb RTS - the way it's meant to be played.
80
GameZone
A few annoying control issues do indeed hurt the flow of the game, and also puts a damper on your desire to keep playing.
80
Nintendojo
There's a lot of potential here, unrealized because technical limitations doom the game to single player only.
80
GameSpy
Layered with outstanding gameplay, cutesy visuals, and spot-on sound effects. It's one title no self-respecting strategy fan should be without.
80
GamePro
B-Wars does a good job of establishing its tactical challenges, and you have to exercise some strategic thinking into how to best deploy your forces and juggle them around according to the changing tide of battle.
80
Yahoo! Games
Battalion Wars' only real flaw is that it's short. 20 missions plus bonuses contained in four campaigns is what you get.
80
Sydney Morning Herald
Surprisingly, there is plenty of freedom for tactical experimentation. An occasionally wayward camera and the inability to save mid-mission can annoy but the reward of new firepower and the chance to improve your mission grades keep you playing.
79
eToychest
The chief problem with Battalion Wars is the AI, or more specifically the lack thereof. Units will do exactly what they are told, to a fault, oftentimes standing firm and getting peppered with enemy fire instead of moving to safer ground.
78
N-Insanity
Unfortunately, Battalion Wars fails horribly in the replay value department. While it is a fun game to play, it isn’t exactly enough to make you play the campaign over again.
75
NintendoWorldReport
The action-oriented portion of the game works better than the strategic portion, which is hampered by a control scheme that’s too simple to provide enough depth. The game’s is also too short.
75
Nintendophiles
It contains solid gameplay, which involves a great amount of tactical decision-making.
75
GameShark
Its lack of any type of multiplayer support is a serious hindrance to its long-term enjoyment, but lonely strategy fans gaming on the Cube will find it a must-buy.
73
GameBrink
The game isn't bad, but it's really nothing special.
71
netjak
But, if you can get past the unnecessarily complex controls and obscene difficulty of said missions, you’ll be rewarded with a rank based on the speed with which you completed your objectives, the damage inflicted on your enemy, and the number of letters you’re gonna have to send home to your troops’ families.
70
N-Europe
Battalion Wars has his problems. Map overview; save options; irritating voices; no multiplayer mode. However this game also has a lot of potential.
70
games(TM)
Action-packed, but with thought behind it. [Christmas 2005, p.106]
70
AceGamez
Those expecting a fully featured console iteration of Advance Wars, one containing the same strategic might that the handheld titles possess, are bound to be as disappointed as a rather plump gentleman who can't lay his hands on a nice pie.
70
Edge Magazine
As a game, Battalion Wars is good; as an experiment in genre cross-breeding and subtle, hand-free franchising, it's very nearly a triumph. [Dec 2005, p.96]
70
1UP
The strategic elements that are firmly in place seem to be working against the action elements, when they should be working together: that is to say, it's difficult to be both General and Private in the same fight.
70
PALGN
Another one of those games with a lot of good ideas and solid gameplay which just lacks that extra layer of polish needed to make it an A class title.
70
EuroGamer
Despite the odd camera and control niggle, it stands out an unpretentious and largely unique example of how to blend strategy and action in a relentlessly entertaining way.
65
Electronic Gaming Monthly
It's real-time-strategy warfare made simple, complex, and messy, all at the same time. [Nov 2005, p.152]
60
Thunderbolt
Before it was called Battalion Wars, this game was slated to be named Advance Wars: Under Fire. I’m glad they changed the name. Fans of the Advance Wars series would have blindly picked this game up, and found out how badly executed this console wartime strategy turned out.
55
Game Informer
I can't think of a single part of this I'd like to see again - unless it's the graphics engine being reused in a completely different game. [Oct 2005, p.136]
50
GamerFeed
While Battalion Wars is a fun game for those looking to almost mindlessly blast their way to victory, trying to use any kind of strategy is difficult and troublesome thanks to the way the game controls.
50
Computer Games Magazine
this isn't likely to be a disk you'll have in your GameCube for more then a few days. [Dec p.89]
25
Game Revolution
Most of the game is as tedious and exciting as burning ants with a magnifying glass.
Foo Fighter gave it an8: Ross R. gave it a10: Shinn A. gave it an8: Jamie W. gave it a9: F. F. gave it a10: Andy T. gave it a10: |
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