Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)

“Another addition to the Advance Wars series, and with plenty to keep you busy. With a shop and changeable difficulty this is a great game to start with if you have not played the Advance Wars series.”

“Another addition to the Advance Wars series, and with plenty to keep you busy.
With a shop and changeable difficulty this is a great game to start with if you have not played the Advance Wars series.”

“Advance Wars as a series is best for its multiplayer, and is incredibly diverse in the number of tactics that you can employ. It practically invented the portable pass-around game, and has achieved cult status among the turn-based strategy...”

“Advance Wars as a series is best for its multiplayer, and is incredibly diverse in the number of tactics that you can employ. It practically invented the portable pass-around game, and has achieved cult status among the turn-based strategy community.

Dual Strike, the first DS game to incorporate the DS abbreviation into the game's title, came along and added way too much to the series. More than a half-dozen new commanding officers, several new units, and an RPG style stats system for each CO make the game infinitely replayable, but way too deep for the casual gamer. In addition to the above, you can now use two CO's at a time, and combine their superpowers with varying degrees of efficiency. This mechanic is a bit of a game-breaker if you focus on a single pair of CO's through the main campaign.

Dual Strike still offers good strategical gameplay, if you can get past the platefuls of cheesy dialogue and cliched characters that have come to be a trademark of the series. The new additions don't take anything away from the gameplay, but nearly upset the entire balance of the game due to their sheer volume.

Dual Strike is one of the weaker titles in the franchise, but is still a solid turn-based strategy game, and one of only a handful for any portable platform. I recommend Dual Strike if you didn't get enough out of Days of Ruin, the most recent title in the series.”

“Haven't played this one in the series, but love all of them so far.”

“Haven't played this one in the series, but love all of them so far.”

“AW:DS, another originally named game with the release of the DS gaming system xD + 2 battlefronts. You heard that right :D It basically comes down to playing two maps at the same time, each 1v1 with the victor getting a strategical advantage for...”

“AW:DS, another originally named game with the release of the DS gaming system xD
+ 2 battlefronts. You heard that right :D It basically comes down to playing two maps at the same time, each 1v1 with the victor getting a strategical advantage for the main map.
+ Pipe runners. These won't be used often but are simply a load of fun :D I seriously suggest you make a design map just for these bad boys.
+ The experience system and alternative costumes. It's awesome that you can actually min/max (up to a certain degree) your COs and who doesn't love Sensei's alt costume? you can find them all here: http://advancewars.net/multimedia/sprites/cos/advance-wars-dual-strike-co-sprites/
+ Tag teams are fun and can prove real usefull. Not to mention some COs are getting some spotlight (Sammi anyone?)
- Ooh! Sturm's back aga... wait, what? Some old dude in life-support is this game's Big Bad? damnit, I want Sturm back, he was awesome xD
- Tag Team exploitation. No, seriously, this is like "how can we further break Colin?". If you see Colin+any themed CO, prepare for spamming <. He's not the only one but Infantry/ tank spams with this mechanic are just awful.
- Dual Strike mechanic. Yes, it's the new gimmick and people love it. I don't. Why? Oh, I don't know but I think I don't like the enemy taking two turns making you suddenly having to play defensive or be obliterated. And can you imagine the exploits? Sensei+Sammi: surprise drop on your HQ, switch to Sammi and insta-win. Great fun in fog of war <
”

“This was the first Advanced Wars I ever played and I loved it. Insanely hard at some points but I loved the heroes and how you can customize and mix heroes to make some very powerful effects (keyly in multiplayer it was impressive.) A lot of...”

“This was the first Advanced Wars I ever played and I loved it. Insanely hard at some points but I loved the heroes and how you can customize and mix heroes to make some very powerful effects (keyly in multiplayer it was impressive.)

A lot of side stories, just about impossible to master, secrets, multiple ways to beat levels and a pretty polished and well thought up game despite the lack of graphics or colours. (but I must say, it was kind of the artistic appeal... The simplicity.)”

“Although the new CO's weren't as great or unique as the old ones (kind of like pokemon), Dual Strike still amazed me. The ability to control twice as many CO's at one time, along with new units, new buildings, and 1 kick ass level editor. Loved it.”

“Although the new CO's weren't as great or unique as the old ones (kind of like pokemon), Dual Strike still amazed me. The ability to control twice as many CO's at one time, along with new units, new buildings, and 1 kick ass level editor. Loved it.”

“So when I first played this I hated it cause I did not understand strategy, but now I love this game. I can now play this for hours and have no problems really at all. I like all the different types of games and such things like that. This is a...”

“So when I first played this I hated it cause I did not understand strategy, but now I love this game. I can now play this for hours and have no problems really at all. I like all the different types of games and such things like that. This is a must buy if you like the Advance Wars series or like Strategy games. Very fun and enjoyable!”

“It's Advance Wars 3, offering more of the same. The game's balance has gone right out the window, introducing game-breaking moves called "Tag Powers". Furthermore, overpowered CO's and stat boosting skills run amok. It's still a fun...”

“It's Advance Wars 3, offering more of the same. The game's balance has gone right out the window, introducing game-breaking moves called "Tag Powers". Furthermore, overpowered CO's and stat boosting skills run amok. It's still a fun game though.”

“A great turn-based strategy game that is great to play solo or with friends. The map editor is a great and easy concept, and allows for freedom in what kind of matches you want to play.”

“A great turn-based strategy game that is great to play solo or with friends. The map editor is a great and easy concept, and allows for freedom in what kind of matches you want to play.”