Wii Review: Battalion Wars 2

Review by: Drizzt

Battalion Wars 2 (BWii for short) is a war game that has a sort of rock paper’s scissors style combat. It’s a series spinoff from the acclaimed Advance Wars series which are known for their deep tactical strategy and challenging difficulty. While Battalion Wars 2 isn’t as hard or as deep, it’s still a great game that’s fairly engaging.

The games presentation and how it all starts off is very well done. It’s a prologue mission which takes place a few hundred years before the game’s actual storyline. It’s also a tutorial mission and it makes it very easy to learn the game’s basic controls. The overall game’s learning curve is almost non-existent because of helpful tutorials that show up when a new unit with unique controls appears, such as a fighter jet.

Once the first campaign is complete (which takes less than an hour to beat), you’re pretty much into the meat of the game where all the action takes place. The other five campaigns are lengthier, and more difficult than the first one. The campaign overall is noticeably improved from its Gamecube predecessor but it’s also a bit easier. The stylistic charm of the game, fortunately, remains intact in this sequel and the storyline continues from the previous game. If you haven’t played Battalion Wars 1, don’t sweat it. The story itself isn’t very complex and, although you may wonder who a few people are, you’ll pick it up in no time. The story, though, isn’t very special but it is engaging enough to keep you playing. The funny characters and dialogue are all well done and memorable enough.

One difference from BWii and Battalion Wars 1 is that, in the first one, you were constricted to using one empire. In BWii, you are able to play using several empires that each have their own unique units, but in the end, they all still play pretty much the same.


New units such as the Battleship are a lot of fun to use.

Control-wise, it’s all well done and easy to use. There’s nothing overly complicated about the controls so there’s nothing you’ll have much trouble with. You use the Wii remote to point and aim, the B button to fire, the nunchuk to move, the Z button to lock on, and the A button to change unit commands. The only motion sensitive controls there are relate to the nunchuk. For grunts and footsoldiers, you can tilt the control stick to one side and motion with the nunchuk towards the same side to perform a combat roll. You can also flick the remote upward, when you’re not tilting the control stick to the side, to jump. It’s easy enough to learn and in no time, it’ll become pretty much second nature. The C button changes the camera to three different zoom settings which can help out when you’re controlling a large tank or battleship that takes up most of the camera space. As for the 1 and 2 buttons, they are only usable in online mode. They are used for very simple communications with your online partner. The 1 button generally asks for help or requests and the 2 button is basically just acknowledging the request. This feature can sometimes be useful but in the end, it could have been done without. It would have been better if these buttons were used for deeper unit control. The ability to command units “go to” an area and stay there has been taken out from BWii but was present in its prequel.

Combat is done easily by pressing the B button to fire your weapons. The Z-lock on is very helpful and allows you to command your troops to interact with a lot of things. Enemies can be attacked by ordering your troops which is done by locking to the enemy, pressing the A button on whichever troops you choose, and taking part in, or watching, your enemy fall. Certain troops are effective against other certain troops so this makes a rock-paper-scissors combat. Anti-air troops are used against, you guessed it, aerial units. Bazooka vets are used against tanks and enemy armoured units. Grunts and Flame Vets are best used against footsoldiers like Bazooka Vets and other Grunts. There are several other units you can use that all come into play with this rock-paper-scissors combat.

The AI is well done, the missions are a proper length so you have to conserve your troops (the majority of the game's strategy is on that), and you get higher ranks for how quickly the mission was cleared, how many troops of yours remained , and how many troops destroyed, S being the highest rank.

While it might sound strategic, it's the overall combat that's not very complex. It's a rock-paper-scissors sort of combat and it's restricted, meaning you can't tell your troops several commands. For example, there's no retreat command so you have to get your troops to follow you and you have to run away with them which is inconvenient if you want only a certain squad to retreat. Also, you can't give orders for certain troops to "go to" a position like you could in the first Battalion Wars. This could have made moving and commanding your battalion a lot easier and more strategic. Instead, it's a bit unnecessarily hectic and slow, especially in the heat of a battle, trying to get troops to follow you to a certain place and then telling them to stop there.


Aerial units are also fun to use!

Objectives in campaign mode usually require you to capture a flag or destroy something. Capturing a flag can only be done with footsoldiers so make sure they don’t get killed. It’s simple on how you order your troops to capture a flag and it’s the same as ordering them to attack an enemy. You simply lock on to the flag with the Z button and you command your troops you capture the flag with the A button. Simple enough. You can also help to capture the flag by going up to it and flicking the nunchuk (the same way you jump). The maximum number of troops that can capture one flag is five or so. The more units you have capturing the flag, the faster it will go.

Multiplayer is fairly well done and is among one of the better done jobs of Nintendo’s limited online service and yes, friend codes are used. It’s not really a big deal though. You are also able to play with anybody which is similar to other online games such as Mario Strikers Charged which lets Nintendo pair you up with someone looking for a game to play. But in BWii, it’s noticeably more accessible in a way. There are three types of modes you are able to play online. Skirmish, Assault, and Co-op. You are able to choose one of these modes to play and you are also able to choose a map you want to play on as well as your empire of choice. Then, Nintendo pairs you up with someone wanting to play the same game as you. If you don’t care for choosing a map, you can pick the “any” choice. If you also don’t feel like choosing between these three modes, you can also use the “any” choice which chooses a random mode with a random map. One thing is also assured with online: there’s practically no lag. Everything runs smoothly and reacts fluidly.

Graphics are also a step up from Battalion Wars 1. Lighting and Bloom effects are more noticeable and it’s been smoothed out as well. There’s rarely a frame rate drop and it all flows together. Textures and environments are a bit drab and some parts look rough and washed out but that’s all made up for by the vibrant colours and smooth character models.


The graphics look smooth and clean. The explosions look real nice.

Audio sounds as it should. Since the game is a light-hearted game with more of a cartoon-like artstyle, it just sounds, like I said, as it should. The Wii-mote speaker also works well and provides some nice reloading and shooting sounds that don’t sound bad at all unless you turn up the volume. The soldiers chatter is amusing and gunfire, explosions, and all that sort of stuff sound great. The dialogue and voice acting in the game fits the games style and, while some might find it a tad annoying, it’s done properly.

Overall, Battalion Wars 2 is a great war game with a healthy difficulty, a great campaign, and fun multiplayer. It radiates with charm and is loaded with style. I give Battalion Wars 2 an 8/10.