Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising

So have they done much? well, no, but they have made it better. new super CO powers mean that more strategy is called for, unleashing your powers at more controlled moments, meaning more tactics, and more fun. the new vehicle, the neotank, or "Hell On Wheels", is a welcome addition to the fleet, and doesn't upset the balance, but rather makes ground confrontations that little bit more interesting. The overall appearance has also been sharpened, so that it feels a bit more crisp, and nicer to hear and to see. They haven't taken radical steps, just even more missions, more choice in campaign mode, and made the game a little more "comfortable".

Although I don't like to say it, this game made me somewhat of a hermit on car and aeroplane journey's, as when this is placed in your hand, you just cannot leave it alone. Buy it now, but be warned, this game is so addictive, you may witness symptoms of hibernation as you struggle to face the outside world again!!

I was derided by my PC owning friends for buying a GBA to play a stategy game, but I keep having to wrestle it off them so that I can have a go.

The game features simple, but varied missions available in campaign mode (which has some quite funny scripting and double entendres), vs play against CPU or link ups against other GBAs

You have a variety of units: from naval landing craft to attack helicopters - and each varies in its strengths and weaknesses. And you have to use them in combinations to succeed - no good having a battalion of tanks if you lack the infantry to go in and seize properties.

Your Commanding Officers are varied in their powers and abilities, my favorite being Yellow Comet's Sensei who specializes in helicopter assaults - you quickly find yourself fighting the the strengths of your CO.

Any problems? Well, the pipes that snake across some levels are a pain, since even flying units cannot cross them. this does require a suspension of disbelief.

A wonderful, addictive game. You might just have to fight to get your GBA back....

There are some good improvements - COs now have 2 special powers. There's only one new unit - the neotank - but it can kick some serious ass.

The graphics aren't amazing, but they're great for this game and still retian that cute Nintendo charm. You can easily identify different units and I was impressed by the different battle graphics for units of different armies.

The sound's good quality with some decent battle tunes. The sound effects haven't changed but they're still gr8.

The campaign mode will last you a while, especially with hard mode, and war room and versus have new maps and some from AW1, so they'll keep you hooked for months, if not years with multiplayer.

Another incentive to buy this is that multiplayer (with up to 4 players) requires just one cart and downloads onto the other GBAs.

The map designer also provides endless possibilities and you can save 3 maps on the cart and get rid of them after mastering them.

In all...

Gameplay 10/10

Sound 8/10

Graphics 9/10

Playability 10/10

Overall i give it 9/10.

So what are you waiting for...click that button up there and add this game to your shopping cart.

One warning - say goodbye to your friends and family before playing it. You'll be hooked for agesand probably won't speak to them for a long time..!

ENJOY!