[DS] Advance Wars: Dual Strike 2

I like the character designs, but I'm not fond of the battle graphics choice at all.

One of the big draws of the series has always been the juxtaposition of the hardcore, but beautifully simple chess-with-tanks mechanics against the cute and cheerful visuals.

Having Advance Wars go grey on us and ditching the spritey awesome will be a big set back on the appeal. It'll probably be just as compulsive to play, but much like you loved playing Yoshi's Island because it played and looked so great, the same applies with Advance Wars.

How ya doing, buddy?

The only gameplay change they'd need to implement is to allow true indirect fire. That's something I've been hoping since AW1. If we saw a tank in a square of woods that is "hidden", but within range, let us bombard it to make sure. That's what indirect fire is often about.

Of course, you'd need to apply the Halo effect on the AI so that it can only react to you if it sees you, so you wouldn't end up with just tons of cheating and cheap psychic shots. But it's felt ridiculous to need to ram a unit into an enemy just to be able to pummel it with cannon shells from afar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RABicle

The Halo effect? Halo invented that kind of AI?

Not that I said anything of the sort, but since we're here, why don't you name me an older action game of that type with AI that didn't know where you were through walls, if the level so required it. Goldeneye sure as heck did it, as did Doom.

It's an easy point of reference if you've ever actually played the game, people would otherwise be quick to say "but then the computer would always hit you and the forests would be useless!".

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Like I already said, Goldeneye had plenty of levels where they scripted the AI to see you through walls, it's not nearly the same as the line sight/hearing system the first Halo employed. Once an alarm was made, everyone knew where to find you and they never went back. Using the Goldeneye style AI with the indirect fire system would lead to levels where the computer just magically bombs everything in range with pixel perfect accuracy.

But beyond that, understand it's a point of reference, like saying "Resident Evil controls". Most of us know many games used the controls before Resident Evil, but a lot more know them through RE, so it's easier to refer to them as that.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?