Advance Wars I & II are a couple of the most highly acclaimed GBA games yet released. Advance Wars Dual Strike: Battle of Omega Land has a really long title and is also looking to expand heavily on the Wars series with tons of new modes, wireless features, COs, maps, and basically everything.

The base elements of Advance Wars are the same; select CO characters with special powers and wage turn-based war on various terrain. It looks a bit sexier with extra animation and details, thanks to the DS hardware. In addition to classic units like infantry, tanks, bombers, etc., there are several new units, including the Stealth Fighter and Mega Tank (which is even tougher than AW2's Neo Tanks). Altogether, there are about four or five new types of units. Of course, there will be new COs with new powers, as well as plenty of returning ones.

AWDS also takes advantage of the dual displays and touch-screen. "Dual Screen" mode separates the air battle and ground battle, and normal play uses the top screen for statistics and intel. The touch screen is also very handy for issuing orders. Also, the map editor returns, made even more convenient by use of the touch-screen. For those who needn't be bothered to make maps and get right to the game, there's also a large pool of maps from AW 1 & 2.

On the topic of COs, AWDS allows the player to use two COs together and switch them at will, as opposed to using them in separate turns like in AW2. They can even use both of their CO powers at once, hence the name, "Dual Strike." Also new is "Combat" mode, a new way to play in real-time with direct unit control. Units fire, capture, get manufactured, etc., in real time. This will probably be a good option for playing without waiting for turns, especially when up to eight players can play. There's also a 'Survival' mode that plays like regular-turn based AW, but with a real-time countdown to a missile strike, so you have to issue orders quickly. AWDS takes full advantage of DS wireless support, allowing for eight players to play these modes with only one cartridge.

Advance Wars Dual Strike releases on 8/22.