Advanced Wars II: Black Hole Rising

Developer: Nintendo (Intelligent Systems) Release Date: 6/03

List Price: $29.95

Pros: Superb game play, graphics, multiplayer with one cartridge, huge number of battle maps and endless replay value.

Cons: Graphics appear low-contrast but only on the battle maps.

ESRB Rated: E (Everybody)

More of the same--and that's just what we wanted!

First off let me state that the Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising is not a major upgrade of the original game that appeared on the GameBoy Advance in August 2001. Instead what we have here is a mild tweaking up of the game in graphics, presentation, with the addition of several new characters, new battle maps and one new combat unit. I'm pleased to say the great game play of the original is left intact and it's as absorbing as the original. And as Martha would say…"that's a good thing."

Advance Wars was the first game I bought for my GBA when I got both in late 2001. I love strategy games to begin with. It's quite engrossing to build up little armies (complete with air and naval units), supply them, upgrade and refit them, send them into battle to conquer territory and defeat an opposing army. I've spent many an hour with this game and it's the longest playing experience I've had with any game, other than Halo. It would be a major understatement to say this game has great replay value. You could play it for years. You can fight the main campaign mode, design your own maps, fight the against the computer AI and earn coins to buy new maps to play on, play as other commanders or go into battle with an opposing commander's army, employ weather effects to alter game play and lastly, link up with friends and go to war with them. You see what I mean? Simple balanced game play, yet flexible enough for an endless amount of gaming fun. It quickly became a hit and one of the top ten GBA games to own upon its release.

What's New
The turn based strategy game the original had is still intact, still as deep and additive as ever. There are changes in most areas of the game by they are just small tweaks here and there. The campaign mode returns with a new enemy-the Black Hole Army. They are a dodgy looking bunch that has taken over just about everything so it's up to you and your fellow commanders (COs) to defeat them. One thing different from the original Advance Wars is that the training mode has been incorporated into the beginning of the Campaign mode. So you'll get your training in during the first few battles fought, and then you are on your own to battle your way through. It's a nice touch and a nice streamlining of the game, although the training missions seem a fewer in scope compared to the original.

In the previous game you earned coins that could be used to buy maps. Now you earn points to purchase new maps and new for AW2, editable colors for the Commanders. The maps are higher in price but you earn more in points so it all balances out.

New CO's
Besides the former cast of Commanders (Nell, Andy, Max, Sami, Olaf, Eagle, Grit, Drake, Sonja, and Kanbei) new to AW2 is Colin, a nerdy kid in uniform that can deliver units at reduced cast but also at a reduced attack strength. Sensei-this CO has faster movement of transport helicopters and increased firepower of the battle helicopters. And finally Jess, who gives vehicular units superior firepower but can't do the same for her infantry, air or naval units.

The new Black Hole Army features Sturm, who has a devastating meteor attack and superior attack strength but is weak in winter weather. Flak--this CO has great attack power but a lack of finesse. Lash--she uses her troops in well in terrains for added attack bonuses. Hawke-he has superior firepower but his CO strength takes longer to power up. Lastly, Adder-he's quick with strategy and hence, can use his CO power faster.

CO Power
In Advance Wars, each Commander has special power that build up over time. They can be either offensive or defensive in ability and can be accessed when fully charged up. In AW2, there is a second level that goes beyond the regular CO power level, which if used at the right moment can make for a devastating attack. For example, a player can wait for the power to build up and release it at the right moment to stave off a rout or an intense attack from the enemy. Very cool!

The New Unit
I was disappointed to see only one new unit but the new Neo Tank is a whopper. It's a very powerful armored vehicle that is very costly to purchase but offers and an extremely powerful field of fire. All of the original units make their return.

Graphics
The graphics upgrades are very subtle. The units all look the same. The CO's look a bit different. Andy sports a more "grown up" look and Nell appears to have lost her blonde highlights! However, the main changes appear to be the maps. To this reviewer's eye the colors look a bit washed out. Please remember I'm viewing it on a lit GBA SP. It appears like the developers went for a graphics look that would be good for the old GBA screen but not for the new front-lit GBA SP. When I turned the SP's light off it did improve the look of the maps. Still, it's not a major determent to enjoying the game and I'm glad they didn't go too far in this area. The graphics taken on as a whole, are still some the best to be seen on the GameBoy.

The new maps feature new terrain types such as pipes, missiles, lasers, a volcano, labs, a deathray, large and small cannon emplacements and so on. Most of these new features are only available in the Campaign mode. Some are destructible, something I would like to have seen more of and maybe we will in a future upgrade.

Sound
Just about nothing much new except for the usual tweaks. When you capture a city a small cheer goes up but a disgruntled roar goes off when the enemy takes a city. There are a few different sounding explosions here and there but mostly everything remains the same, including the sound track.

The Cartridge
One thing that really blows me away about AW2 is the how much stuff they have crammed into the little cartridge. You have 38 new battle maps, which in itself is something. But you also have all the battle maps for AW1 stored in there as well. Plus 20 buyable battle maps to boot! Amazing. There's enough stuff here to keep you busy for many, many months.

Overall
Advanced Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, though not steeped in the innovation of the original is still an excellent, must have game for the GBA or GBA SP. The tweaks are mild and fortunately they didn't try to fix what is not broken. It's fun, addictive, balanced, challenging, and intellectually stimulating with a tremendously long replay value. Parents will like it for its "E" rating. It doesn't get any better than this for the GBA.

This one is 5/5.

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