Now that E3 is pushing up daisies, Germany's Leipzig Game Convention may be the next big thing - Nintendo today used the conference to announce sequels to two of its 2005 hits, Battalion Wars and Super Mario Strikers.
The biggest news bundled with this announcement is that Wars 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) will support three online multiplayer modes. Yes, after what seems like a lifetime of dancing around the obvious, one of Nintendo's consoles is openly embracing online play. You'll pit your squeaky-voiced troops against each other in Assualt, Skirmish or co-op modes, with all-new vehicles and Wii-enhanced controls for driving and shooting.
Naval units make their first appearance as well, further connecting this game to its Advance Wars origins. More importantly, you'll also be able to capture enemy territory and use it to re-supply your units, a small bit of strategy that should remove some of the trial-and-error gameplay of the GameCube original.
On the other side of the spectrum is Mario Strikers Charged, which seems to use the remote for flicking incoming strikes away from the goal. Supercharged attacks obviously make this harder to pull of, while the metallic soccer balls flatten your goalie into the dirt.
Look for more from Leipzig as the show rolls on.
August 23, 2006
