Advance Wars 2 is what those in the know call a "turn-based strategy game" and what those not in the know call "a bit like Risk only with more guns and tanks and stuff." For those just slightly in the know "it kind of reminds me of Axis & Allies." It is, in other words, a video game for people who ordinarily prefer their fun with a board and a card table and a handful of actual dice. It is surprisingly, alarmingly good.

The game is all about combat. Bloodless and jolly combat, mind; the commanding officers are guileless children who trade quips and barbs like schoolyard rivals, and we are never sure whether any of the losing soldiers and pilots are being killed or just sent off the field. The ambiguity is helpful. Without it either that much-craved "E" rating or the word "Wars" in the title would have to go, and who would play a game called Advance Dodgeball?

Further to that: In our first moments at the controls, we learn that Wars World (the planet/cluster-of-continents where all the action takes place) is in big trouble, and that an ill-tempered army from the north is set on conquering it. The words "Wars World" suggest big trouble is kind of the default in these parts, but everybody in the game seems totally surprised at the approaching strife, so maybe "Wars" is the founder's surname or something.

Anyway. There are several empires in Wars World, all of them named after the little marshmallow surprises that come in Lucky Charms cereal. There is Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet, Green Earth, and Black Hole. Sadly, there is no Purple Horseshoe. Black Hole is the evil empire. Its forces are storming the gates of Orange, Blue, Yellow, and Green, and they are powerful indeed. Back in the original Advance Wars, all the marshmallow charms fought for themselves, but old differences have been shelved in the wise belief that a united front represents the best defence against the vile Black Hole invaders.

War itself here is a highly stylized process that plays out on a grid map according to firm rules. You find yourself and your forces gathered in one corner, the invader in another, and in between many squares marked as grass or forest or mountains or what have you. You and the invader take turns, and on each turn you can move each of your pieces (infantry units, tanks, helicopters) a set number of squares, the precise number of which depends on whether said piece is moving on legs or wheels. Should one of yours wind up next to one of Black Hole's, battle begins. The screen splits to show fighters from both sides, some background electronic dice rolling determines who suffers how many casualties, and either one side loses or both survive, albeit with diminished fighting capacity. The general rule is that it is better to attack than defend, so wise players will seek out and punish Black Hole pieces rather than sitting around waiting to be attacked.

All this fighting is tough not only on bodies and machines, but also on finances. To sustain yourself and the other marshmallow charm empires, you must capture cities and use their cash to fund the construction of new forces. You must assemble new infantry units and build new tanks and helicopters, and you must time the process so the goods and services arrive before some jerk Black Hole officer stomps into your factory and puts his own flag up.

Like you were saying, it sounds like Risk or Axis & Allies or any number of other military strategy games. The big difference is that here all the officers have super powers and one of them can make big deadly meteors fall from space.