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Battalion Wars, released as group=lower-alpha in Japan, is a 2005 real-time tactics game developed by Headstrong Games and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The player controls a vast array of units ranging from infantry, armoured divisions and aircraft, completing missions through a mixture of unit management and strategic planning. In the game's story, the player operates as a commander of a battalion, who initially take part in a conflict between two nations that culminates in an eventual alliance between them, in response to a surprise attack by a third nation.
The game received generally favourable reviews upon release, and led to the creation of a sequel, entitled Battalion Wars 2, for the Wii in 2007.
For each mission, the player is given a variety of units to utilise, including infantry, armoured vehicles, and aircraft (with the exception of Air Transports), in which the number and types that can be used vary between missions; more troops can be earned as reinforcements depending on the player's progress in a mission or from capturing POW camps and helipads. While one single unit is controlled fully by the player, whom the camera focuses primarily on, the rest are given orders by the player that range from following them, moving to a location, holding ground, or guarding another unit, to attacking enemy units and structures. Players can give orders to the whole battalion, a company of the same units, or individual units, allowing for flexibility and strategic planning for upcoming engagements, depending on a given situation (i.e. defending a location). While the camera is focused on the player's unit, it can be freely switched between an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, to a battlefield overview viewpoint. The in-game HUD comprises a mini-radar that denotes the location of objectives, and units - friendly, allies, and hostile - along with the battalion bar at the bottom, which lists the units and the number in a company that the player has. In addition to the HUD, the player can also pause the game to review Mission Logs, Objectives, and view the map of the mission's battlefield, allowing them to locate the position of units and current objectives.
Units featured in the game are based on those from the Advance Wars series, though Battalion Wars features unique units, including: light and heavy recon units; a wider variety of infantry units that cover basic riflemen, to units specialised against particular units (i.e. anti-air), and long-range mortar companies; "battlestation" tanks; and "stratodestroyer" aircraft. Units function similarly to their counterparts in Advance Wars, though with some differences. Infantry units can use cover to reduce the threat of enemy fire, can man mounted gun emplacements, and can be healed individually by collecting first aid kits dropped by eliminated enemy infantry. Furthermore, some objectives require players to take control of certain points (represented as flags), which only infantry can capture. Vehicle and air units, along with their primary weapons and abilities, have manned machine guns that work autonomously against enemy units, and can be repaired by picking up jerry cans dropped by destroyed enemy vehicles. With the exception of ground vehicles, players gain additional controls when taking full control of an infantry unit, allowing them to jump over obstacles and dodge enemy fire by rolling to the side, while taking control of an air unit allows them to adjust its altitude in order to avoid enemy fire.
As the Frontier forces begin to start winning the conflict, defeating Tundran forces in a series of battles, Gorgi travels to Xylvania, a country that had been ravaged by the rivalry of the two nations, to form a pact with its leader Kaiser Vlad. However, Vlad betrays him by having bombers, commanded by his subordinate Countess Ingrid, attack both armies. Horrified by this, Gorgi goes into exile out of shame for his actions. Weakened after the Xylvanian assault, both Herman and Nova call a ceasefire between their armies, effectively ending the conflict. Both nations decide to join forces, forming the Alliance of Nations, in order to retaliate against the Xylvanians as they prepare to attack both countries.
Seeking to weaken their enemies, the Alliance conducts operations within the Dune Sea, in order to prevent their enemies from drilling for nerocite, an essential resource used as vehicle fuel. Despite difficulties in their final battle, the Alliance is aided by Gorgi, after he comes out of exile to assist in the conflict in his own personal fighter. Although the Xylvanians are driven out for good, Gorgi is mortally wounded by Vlad's right-hand man Kommandant Ubel. Before dying, Gorgi apologises to Nova for his actions, leaving his son to vow for revenge for his father's death. Learning that the Xylvanians seek to invade the Solar Empire, Colonel Austin, a Frontier officer, has the Alliance make contact with its leader, Empress Lei-Qo, in order to offer assistance in repelling Vlad's invasion, in exchange for her assistance in invading Xylvania.
As the Alliance begins invading into Xylvanian territory, Ingrid decides to take action to stop the invasion. Stealing an ancient sword from Vlad, Ingrid uses it to awaken the country's ancient army, known as the Iron Legion. In doing so, Ingrid is driven insane by the Legion's power, causing her to attack both the Alliance and Xylvanian forces. Finding themselves forced to stop the Legion, the Alliance fights towards the Legion's source of power, the Cenotaph, and destroy it. In the wake of its destruction, Lei-Qo arrives and kills Ingrid, ending her madness and the threat of the Legion. Following the conflict, the Alliance finally reaches the Xylvanian capital of Vladstag, and defeat the last remaining forces guarding it. Although Vlad escapes, the Alliance captures Ubel, imprisoning him. With the Xylvanians defeated, the Alliance celebrates the end of the war, though Nova points out to Betty that his father left him a parting lesson - in order for him to strive for peace, he must be prepared for war.
X-Play complemented the game's emphasis on strategy and third person shooting as well as its cartoonish art style while criticizing the sometimes clunky controls and lack of multiplayer.
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