A amazing experience on the gba thats fun for gamers of all ages . Its one of those games that everyone can enjoy
The game's story mode opens up with the defeated Blach Hole Army from Advance Wars returning to power and hoping to engulf the world under its dark banner; as a total of four different countries, the player must play through increasingly difficult missions until they beat back the Black Hole from the planet once and for all. The first set of missions are set under the Orange Comet banner, and it is during these missions that the player learns the ropes. Displaying the rock-paper-scissors style advantages of certain weapon and vehicle types (cannons against unarmed vehicles, machine guns against infantry, etc.), and familiarizing the player with the concept of different COs and tactics, the first continent brings the player up to speed before sending them on up to tougher challenges with new Commanding Officers, goals, and territories.
The basic thrust of the gameplay is that typically, a player must build an army, march them into contested territory, and beat back their opponents through smart strategy, financial advantages, overwhelming power of numbers, or whatever other leg the player can get up on their opponent(s). It's a very simple gameplay conceit, but it is also a very enjoyable and deceptively deep one, as the player can come up with new and interesting ways to defeat opponents even after hundreds of hours of gameplay.
One of the game's more interesting features is the Commanding Officers feature. WIth over a dozen different CO's, Advance Wars 2 allows players to pick an officer whose style meshes with theirs (i.e., those who like "Zerg" their opponents can pick on-the-cheap Colin, while quick-starters can side with fast-capturing Sami), and many missions allow the player to choose a certain CO to run a mission with, although some dictate which they must use. The variety of strategies that change with each varying Officer really adds a lot of depth to the game, and that the player faces off against an opponent with their own strengths and weaknesses complicates things further. In multiplayer matches, these combinations can get very interesting to overcome and deal with, and require the palyer to be agile-minded with how they approach each battle.
It is worth mentioning that the story mode itself, and in fact the game as a whole, is somewhat difficult. With some missions under strict time limits and others requiring very careful thought with a finite amount of resources (which are technically infinite) available, the game throws many different variables and mission types at the player. The variety could definitely be greater, but since the gameplay itself is so good, the mission variety of the main story mode is fine. Add to this the different goal structure of War Room (defeat foes under difficult odds on varying maps) and the free-for-all dozens of other maps (with 2-4 players per map), and there really is a lot to do in Advance Wars 2.
In fact, it is this wealth of gameplay options and scenarios that stands as one of this game's greatest strengths. Not only are there the story mode missions (of which the player can unlock alternate, much tougher versions later), there are over 100 maps the player can take part in, including three slots for entirely player-created maps. The mapmaking tool is incredibly simple and easy to use, and the player can create maps that play to whatever design they want. It's a very fun distraction, and the ability to share maps means that the player can challenge others with their own designs as well. Whether the palyer wants to recreate the Battle of Pelennor Fields or D-Day, there is virtually no limit to how they want to create and play out a map.
The visuals in Advance Wars 2 are crisp and clean; the menus are easily accessible, the units all look different, and the optional conflict cutscenes (effectively zoomed-in representations of the course of one given fight between combating units) are fairly entertaining. The animation is basic but effective, and the colors are bright and well-represented. There isn't anything that ever looks like it pushes the GBA's boundaries, but it's a very well-put together visual showcase in terms of organization and what aids the gameplay. It may not be flashy, but it serves the action onscreen perfectly, and the artistic direction is smooth and attractive.
The audio is interesting, as each Commanding Officer has their own theme, and when it is their turn, whether they are controlled by the CPU or another player, that music plays. Not every character has great music, and mostly it's just background, vaguely militaristic tunes, but it's a neat effect to be able to hear a track play and immediately know who's up and moving units. The sound effects are largely perfunctory, and much like the visuals, the audio in Advance Wars 2 seems mostly designed to aid the flow of gameplay without ever upstaging or detracting from it.
Multiplayer is one of Advance Wars 2's strengths, as even the artificial intelligence (which is fairly good) will eventually be overcome by dedicated players. After a while, the flow of gameplay becomes easily predictable once a certain point of skill has been reached. Much like in chess, good players will always be planning several moves in advance, and at times will feel like the round is over well before the match has been won to the terms of the round, simply because they have played enough to know they have won. Playing with friends, however, alleviates this to a fair degree, as the unpredictability and wily nature of a game full of human opponents is much more interesting than playing against the single-faceted gameplay style of the AI. Playing in turns generally leads to lots of waiting around, as human players will always move quicker than computer opponents, but it gives the player more time to watch the battle unfold, and generally more time to strategize. Also, multiplayer and CPU vs. matches are all alrgely customizable, so players can play with low funds or high, with varying weather conditions, and other adjustable options.
Advnace Wars 2 is a game that takes a normally slow and difficult genre like strategy and boils it down to the essentials, streamlining the process of gaining resources (using only money as a requisite for unit production) and embellishing the combat aspect of the genre. With no time spent maintaining one's own land and 100% of their time spent simply defending or attempting to claim a position (or going to or from one of the two situations), the game is all about combat and structure acquisition. Combined with the wealth of maps, the lengthy story mode, and the strong replayability inherent in such an open-ended genre (no two matches play out exactly the same), Advance Wars 2 is one of hte best handheld games of all time. Neither dumbed-down for the system it calls home nor bearing an overly complex front end, Advance Wars 2 reveals itself to the player as they play it, showing gentle nuances and gameplay intricacies as more time is spent with it. It is an abnormally fine product, and a shining example of how a game can transcend its genre to be fun for gamers of all ages and tastes.