August 18th, 2007 by AlmightyMax
A Perfect Fit
If you supported the Gamecube in the later parts of its lifecycle, you might remember a little game by the name of Battalion Wars. This real-time strategy/third-person shooter hybrid, influenced by games such as Advance Wars and Pikmin, offered a unique take on both genres. It didn’t reach its full potential though because it was hampered by the Gamecube’s control scheme.
However, the Wii seems to be the perfect console to host a Battalion Wars sequel. The IR aiming interface looks like it will work brilliantly for both strategy and combat portions. And the other controls (shooting, jumping, etc.) are all mapped out to places that should feel much more natural. It’s almost as if the Wii was developed with Battalion Wars in mind.
A Tactical Advantage
Battalion Wars 2 starts out with Commander Pierce and Colonel Windsor of the Angelo Isles army tricked into believing that the Solar Empire has built a super-weapon in the Coral Atolls. The Angelo Isles launch an attack and plunge the world back into war. You will view this struggle through the eyes of six military factions, each trying to accomplish its own secret goals.
Missions in Battalion Wars are an interesting affair. At the outset, you are given a number of different types of troops and an objective. These can range from “get from point A to point B” to “destroy all of these types of enemies roaming around the map” to “capture your opponent’s base and protect your own”. You can run through environments and gun down enemies with moderate ease. At a glance, it seems like a fairly standard third-person shooter affair, but the gameplay goes much deeper than that of any typical action game.
The one thing that sets Battalion Wars apart from other third-person shooters is the very RTS-like ways of commanding your troops. With the touch of a button you can tell either your entire battalion or just a single type of unit to defend an area (stay in one place and kill all hostile targets that approach), follow you or attack a target. You can easily set up an ambush with careful positioning, and even if you are in a skirmish on one side of the battlefield, you can switch to another soldier on the other side with the touch of a button. It has the feel of an RTS, but you won’t feel like the commander sitting up above all the fighting. Instead, you feel like a gear in your army’s machine, directly aiding the cause instead of just watching it all play out. Battalion Wars 2 also plays many times faster than any typical RTS, so those who get bored of watching their troops meander around instead of engaging an enemy right away need not worry.
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