Battalion Wars marches off to retail

The Advance Wars series for the Game Boy Advance showed that, in addition to being hell, war can also be addictive, fun, and, well...cute. The series was built by Intelligent Systems (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door) and has enjoyed critical success since debuting in 2001. Last month, Advance Wars marched onto the Nintendo DS for the first time, in Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Nintendo today announced that Battalion Wars, originally titled Advance Wars: Under Fire, has shipped to stores for the GameCube. Though the name and developer have changed, Battalion Wars still retains some of the elements of the series.

Kuju Entertainment developed the game, adding it to their diverse roster that includes Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines, George Romero's City of the Dead, and Train Simulator.

In the game, players will take control of a legion of cartoonish Western Front soldiers as they take on the Tundran Territories. As the game progresses, a third faction enters the fray with the intent of destroying both the Western Front and Tundran Territories. The two sides, each individually overmatched by the new marauders, join forces to expel the new common enemy from their conflict. There are more than 20 missions to fight through, as gamers use all types of guns, rocket launchers, and tanks to take out the enemy.

Battalion Wars is rated T for Teen and retails for $49.99. For more information, check back later today for GameSpot's full review of the game.