Nintendo has successfully created a military game for three year olds.
(-) weirdly cartoony portrayal of military combat; boring and linear single player mode with no depth at all; too much following directions and not enough shooting; online mode doesn't hold interest that well either; voice acting is way over the tops
Battalion Wars 2 is basically a military game that has some highly evolved cut-scenes as well as production values, but the gameplay is to far simplistic to keep you interested for long.
There's a single player campaign, which I'll describe later, and an online mode that I haven't gotten the chance to play due to lack of internet connection before I SENT THIS GAME BACK.
I found the graphics to be pretty good. The environments looked crisp and clean, and your soldier looks pretty well done, but no level of quality that sets any bars for the Wii. The controls were also pretty good, simple if you will, because all you're doing is running and shooting. Occasionally you go into a chopper or a tank but I found the controls to be a lot clumsier and hard to manage.
With the good points over with, here's why I disliked the game. The campaign mode is basically just following directions given to you by your commander, and that's pretty much the only dept there is to speak of. Sometimes you have to take your chopper somewhere on the map. Sometimes you have to take your soldier on the map. Really lame. Although you do get involved in a decent number of battles on ground, in air, and on sea, even those you have to follow a large amount of directions otherwise you won't win and you'll have to start over.
There is no local multiplayer. That was really disappointing considering that would pose as a nice distraction from the follow-the-directions single player mode that felt inadequate and no redeeming qualities whatsoever. However there was an online mode that I haven't gotten the chance to use, but based on what I've heard from other reviewers it is as shallow and simplistic as the rest of the game and it's doubtful that it will hold your interest for long.
And even though I said the graphics are good, that is from a technical perspective. The game's presentation itself is very childish, with cartoon soldiers and chiefs with over-sized chins and mono-brows, which leads me to assume that this is a military game for five year olds. I back up this claim because most of the campaign and online modes are simplistic and shallow therefore a five year old might be able to understand, as well as a sharp minimum of violence even in what could be assumed as the most intense of combat. And again my claims are supported by the voice acting. It sounds as if the voice actors are going overboard with their tone especially, because it layers well above the words they say, and the result is campy and cheesy voice work the definitely doesn't fit well with a military game.
Perhaps I'm just a little too old for this game, but here's my opinion. Good graphics and good controls aren't enough to save this game due to the boring campaign mode, shallow online mode (I assume), awkward cartoon presentation, and absurd voice acting. Mainly because this is a game that has a target audience that is in much paucity: 5 year olds interested in war. It's going to be hard to find any of those. But for those who are older, this game will definitely be a disappointment.