Swords & Soldiers

I loooooove gold! Sure, it doesn't take long before you get tired of the chubby, gold-digging Viking lady's Aretha Franklin way of stating that she loves the metal in question, but luckily you won't get tired of the game she is walking about in. Quite the contrary; Swords & Soldiers is anything but exasperating and a very well-made strategy game for Nintendo's online shopping channel and Wiiware.

The price tag reads 1000 Wii Points, but that's not much to pay for the game's three campaigns, where you get to play as Vikings, Aztec and Chinese. The setup is quite original for a real-time strategy game; Swords & Soldiers is side scrolling, in 2D and as soon you have trained a unit it will march by itself from your HQ in the left of the level to the right, attacking everything in its way (apart from the aforementioned gold-digger, who only walks between gold mines and your base).

Usually your mission consists of sabotaging your enemies base, and the challenging part is to compose a well-balanced troop and to find the time to aid your attacking guys by throwing spells. If you activate Rage they will storm on i a comical cloud of dust, and it's also important to heal your troops. Just make sure you got enough mana, and that the spell is just not pearls for swine. You can also construct heavier units like catapults or golems and simpler constructions like defence towers in wood or lethal Buddha statues. This is indeed a game of variety.

You control your armies by pointing and clicking with the Wiimote and scroll your way through the horizontal levels by pointing at the edges of the screen (or you can use the D-pad for a quick transportation). Playing in 2D like this feels like a good and fresh approach and the game itself has a lot to say in the never-ending debate of whether or not real time strategy games can be played on consoles. Even though the overview can sometimes be a problem it plays solid most of the time, and you will never get annoyed. Further more, the constant scrolling contributes to the (good) feeling of being really, really busy.

It starts off pretty easy, but it doesn't take long before I realise that this isn't going to be a walk in the park. There's a lot of stuff going on and the chaos and multi-tasking make me enthusiastic, just the way a good game in this genre should do. The movement of the troops is of course a stress factor in itself, but you also have think about the tech tree, where you research new units like axe-throwers or the dreaded Chinese Zen Master...

The campaign will last for a good while and there is also split-screen multiplayer mode, where you can battle the computer or a friend. Watching your enemies defences being smashed by your mighty golems is a hoot, and the matches can last a really long time and will therefore challenge not only your strategic sense, but your stamina. There is no wi-fi-mode though, which is a real shame.

Graphically this is a treat and the battlefields are full of well designed, funny enemies and units, and the further you get in the level the more there will be to look at. The menu where you choose your next subject of research is maybe a little tiny, the game's font aswell, but all in all this is that true Wii spirit a breath of fresh air, compared to many grey-brown titles available. I also like the sequences between missions where your characters explain in a funny way what you're about to do next.

I can really recommend Swords & Soldiers, it is in many regards a well composed game and the variety is its best feature. There are mini-games and even achievements. Just when you get tired of bashing enemy bases you get a mission to collect gold. When the Vikings get boring you get to play as the Aztec. And the moment you think you master the game a more taxing level will show up, that will force you to rethink your strategies. With Swords & Soldiers and Little King's Story, this is finally some good news for Wii owners with a taste for strategy.