Game Boy Micro goes retro

Addictive 'Advance Wars'
Game addictions come out of nowhere. One moment you’re bemoaning the lack of interesting titles, the next you’re sneaking in game time late at night and between meals.

My current drug of choice is "Advance Wars: Dual Strike," a turn-based conquest title that originally appeared on the Nintendo Game Boy.

Re-tooled for the Nintendo DS, "Advance War: Dual Strike" supports wireless play for up to eight players and takes advantage of the DS's dual screens to simultaneously report battle statistics — troop strength, firepower, location — on one screen and the grid-like battle map on the other. This division of display ends when two battles erupt at once, but more on that later.

The goal is conquest. The player takes a turn, then the computer, or an opposing player, takes a turn. Each turn involves a number of smaller moves such as creating new battle units, moving existing units around the grid-based map and, if the enemy occupies a nearby space on the map, initiating battle.

How a particular unit fares depends on a number of factors from its relative strength to the location of the battle, which may favor one side over the other.

Nintendo of America Inc. "Advance War: Dual Strike" is an old school strategy game. Old school like chess. Or rather, cartoon chess.

There is a hierarchy of arms. Infantry units can capture towns and factories — essential for earning conquest points to build new units — but in battle against armor units they crumble like the French Army. Rocket launchers beat tanks. Stealth fighters dominate virtually anything.

This is old school turn-based strategy. Old school like chess. Or rather, cartoon chess because “Advance Wars” is set on a planet called “War World” inhabited by armies with names like Blue Moon and Green Earth and Yellow Comet and commanded by officers who speak in a hip-hop patois that was old when LL Cool J was still wearing a Kangol hat.

The commanding officers do have a purpose beyond groan-inducing dialogue. Leading an army means choosing a CO to oversee the action and because each CO comes with his or her set of tactical strengths and weaknesses, the one chosen shapes the strategy the player takes. One may have masterful control of armor; another may specialize in fixing or replenishing depleted troops.

The "Dual Strike" component comes with the new ability to choose two COs to lead the troops. The fun is in learning how to combine their respective powers for devastating effect. Occasionally a second front is established. With two battlefields, both screens on the Nintendo DS relay the action. Players can let the game control one of the commanders or take on the task of managing two fronts separately themselves.

“Advance Wars: Dual Strike” packs additional game modes like a real-time slug-fest (think Atari 2600's "Combat") and a survival mode where the player is thrown into almost no-win situations and must ward off an aggressive enemy.

As mentioned, the wireless multiplayer component supports up to eight players. I didn't get a chance to participate in such a melee, but with standard head-to-head battles running long enough I can’t imagine how long an eight-player battle would last. One major bummer — you can’t save multiplayer games in progress.

I’m perfectly happy with the single player version, however. Like a true junkie, I don't want to share.

Warmed-over 'Death Jr.' for Sony PSP

Konami Inc. With some nice 3-D graphics and a whimsical, Tim Burton-inspired cast of characters, "Death Jr." starts off with promise. But repetitive game play dooms it to purgatory.

With apologies to John Donne, R.I.P., and readers everywhere:

“Death Jr.” be not proud, though Konami has called thee
"Zany” and “wacky,” for thou art not so;
Though you boast C4 bearing hamsters to throw,
Die not, "Death Jr.," although you bore me,
Suburban horror, thy Tim Burton scenes leave
Much pleasure, but from thee much more must flow,
Such as plot and better, addictive game play
3-D graphics you most succeed on delivery
Still thou art slave to marketing and spin
And dost with near-misses and B-games dwell;
And Mario or Jax can make us game as well
And better than thy play; why swell’st thou then;
One short scene, goes on eternally,
And "Death Jr." could be so much more; "Death Jr.", why o; why?

MORE FROM GAMES

Games Section Front

10 best Xbox 360 games of 2009 10 best PlayStation 3 games of 2009 Dungeons & Dragons fight: Hasbro vs. Atari Top 5 reasons to keep playing your PS2   'The Saboteur' is stylish but not strong 10 best Wii games of 2009   Game designers take aim at Tiger Fitness video games are reshaping medium November video game sales slump at retail   Harry Potter is back, with a LEGO update Games Section Front   Add Games headlines to your news reader: