Great Little War Game: All Out War

Particularly studious readers of this website will recall that we quite liked the original Great Little War Game when we reviewed it last year.

A cunning mixture of Cannon Fodder’s humour and Advance Wars’s gameplay, the turn-based classic allowed us to indulge in Apocalypse Now fantasies for several weeks.

News that a sequel of sorts was in development caused more than a few excited hoots at Pocket Gamer Towers, but our elation was tempered a little upon loading up the game for the first time. The big issue is that Great Little War Game: All Out War isn’t a sequel in the strictest sense - it’s an add-on.

Developer Rubicon has acknowledged this. GLWG: All Out War takes the core gameplay mechanics of the original title and offers up two entirely new campaigns.

If you're a hardened veteran, that might sound like a dream come true. These fresh missions are challenging right from the off, and will test your military training and tactical thinking to the limit.

As before, you manufacture units and guide them around various locations, with the ultimate intention of gaining total superiority over the map in question. This naturally means moving your forces against the enemy, who is usually trying to achieve the same goal.

The action is turn-based, so your units can only move and attack once per turn. As well as anticipating what the enemy’s next manoeuvre might be you’ll also need to use the environment to your advantage, as well as take note of each unit’s strengths and weaknesses.

If you’ve played the original Great Little War Game, all of this will be known to you, thanks to that title’s tutorial mode.

Because GLWG: All Out War is seen as an expansion pack, it does away with such aids. It drops you very much into the deep end, giving you little time to learn the ins and outs of battlefield command.

In that regard, it’s not advisable to download GLWG: All Out War if you haven’t played its predecessor. Chances are you’ll buckle under the weight of the challenge - newcomers are likely to switch off in frustration as the enemy repeatedly sends their plucky troops packing.

On the other hand, if you've already enjoyed the previous instalment then playing GLWG: All Out War will feel like slipping into a pair of warm, familiar slippers. It picks up where the original left off, testing your mettle right from the opening mission.

Some may argue that it would have been wiser to grant access to this new content via an in-app purchase in the original title. We can only assume that Rubicon is hoping that by launching this as a standalone game it will gain more traction and sales on the Android Market.

Whatever the marketing strategy is behind GLWG: All Out War, it certainly comes with a high recommendation - although total novices are better off starting with the first game before signing up to this punishing but addictive tour of duty.