Review
Glory Days 2: Brotherhood of Men Review (DS)
Despite the apparent lack of a prequel (making us wonder why this is Glory Days 2), this modern re-imagining of Golden Age arcade gameplay is a chop-lifting success, though we do have to question the slightly unsuitable platform.
If we want to boil Glory Days 2 (which comes with the terribly macho qualifier, Brotherhood of Men) to its raw ingredients, what we have is a Defender and/or Chop Lifter clone. This is no criticism, however, as those are two games can’t be cloned enough. Scour the internet for but 30 seconds and you’ll find any number of highly entertaining variations on that wonderful theme.
Glory Days 2 is easily the most intricately redeveloped of Chop Lifter reconstructions. Taking a wry and sideways glance at the minutiae of frontline war administration, we’re treat to a fast-paced, all action destruction derby while simultaneously micro-managing army unit development. A good job the DS is equipped with enough buttons, as that makes for a hell of a lot to accomplish in such heated battle. But, as the saying goes, war is hell, so why players shouldn’t be called upon to face such frantic and demanding frontline challenges?
What we have is a variety of re-workings on the horizontally scrolling flight paths seen in Defender and Chop Lifter all those years ago, in which players take to the skies in a variety of aircraft (from a chopper to a jet bomber) and attempt to support ground troops as they advance on the enemy headquarters. Either end of the 12-screen wide play area is marked by two command centres; yours on the far right and the enemy’s on the far left. A series of both occupied and unoccupied bunkers are laid out between (the unoccupied ones being up for grabs by which ever army gets there first), and it’s up to you to head the assault in both specific missions and general air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
These missions add a great deal of depth to the ancestry of this style of game, from landing your chopper to rescue civilians to taking out enemy troop transporters and bombing bunkers. All the while, one of the major factors of effective warfare – cash – must be gathered to help sustain your military machine. Every successful action brings in a little extra cash which you must spend accordingly to create more troops, tanks, ambulances, mid-air refuelling stations, surface-to-air missile launchers and a host of other military might: all while zipping around at break-neck speed above enemy territory.
Despite some slightly cute looking, manga-esque visuals (as all DS games seem to sport since Phoenix Wright) and funny little army men in large boots trotting up and down the combat zone, it should be noted that Glory Days 2 is damn hard. While it’s an interesting feature having to organise troop deployment and tank manufacturing in a brisk shoot-‘em-up, getting your flustered fingers around it all can be a bit too much. The stylus can be used to control the aircraft in a more analogous fashion, though covering up the lower screen with your hand and trying to press all the buttons really doesn’t pay off. For once, however, we’re seeing a DS game that doesn’t feel as though it should be making use of the touch screen simply because it’s there; Glory Days 2 is very well suited to button and D-pad control.
The visuals are nothing to shout about, though they serve their purpose perfectly and add in some nice environmental and weather effects as the mission’s progress. The real issue with how we look at Glory Days 2 is the screen dimensions. While there’s really nothing that can be done about it (a slightly jarring zoom-out feature is included), the horizontal play area and high speed means lots of circling above intended targets while trying to place the limited number of bombs with a bit of accuracy. Were the screens wider, this wouldn’t be half the issue that it is, and it makes us wonder if this game wouldn’t be far better suited to the delicious widescreen of a PSP.
Something that isn’t said often about a DS game is the quality of the music, and in this case, it’s tempting to advise gamers to buy Glory Days 2 just to hear the wonderfully inspiring, war-hero, chocks away, what-what, bushy moustache, magnificent-men-in-their-flying-machines compositions. Music that could have come straight from a remake of The Dam Busters was completely unexpected, and adds buckets of depth to the already entertaining gameplay.
A plethora of multi-player and online options are also available for Glory Days 2, though sadly the tight-fisted decision to make them all multi-card has been opted for – a 2D, two-player map like this could be sent over WiFi in a matter of seconds, so points off for being cheap, Ghostlight (this game could have been a 9 if multi-player was more accessible, and this has been reflected in the low “Value” score). From building your own versus map to 8-player Battle Royale, there’s lots of reason to get together with your Glory Days mates for a trip into the wide blue.
Had this game been tagged with the valuable Advance Wars franchise instead of the unheard of Glory Days brand, this game could have been massive. As it is, I suspect what we’ve got here is the Nintendo DS’s sleeper game of 2007. It has its quirks, but there are barrel loads of kite-flying fun to be had in this terrific sequel without a prologue.
Top Game Moment: Just like in Chop Lifter, crashing your plane into the ground at high speed is great fun – watching it skipping along the ground like a stone on a still lake. What’s particularly great is this doubles as a terrific kamikaze tactic – you can take out a whole tank regiment with one life!
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| The stylus control can be useful for the strategic elements, but gets in the way when it comes to fast action | Deploying troops by parachute is a valuable tactic for capturing vital bunkers – just don’t bomb your own men! |
If we want to boil Glory Days 2 (which comes with the terribly macho qualifier, Brotherhood of Men) to its raw ingredients, what we have is a Defender and/or Chop Lifter clone. This is no criticism, however, as those are two games can’t be cloned enough. Scour the internet for but 30 seconds and you’ll find any number of highly entertaining variations on that wonderful theme.
Glory Days 2 is easily the most intricately redeveloped of Chop Lifter reconstructions. Taking a wry and sideways glance at the minutiae of frontline war administration, we’re treat to a fast-paced, all action destruction derby while simultaneously micro-managing army unit development. A good job the DS is equipped with enough buttons, as that makes for a hell of a lot to accomplish in such heated battle. But, as the saying goes, war is hell, so why players shouldn’t be called upon to face such frantic and demanding frontline challenges?
What we have is a variety of re-workings on the horizontally scrolling flight paths seen in Defender and Chop Lifter all those years ago, in which players take to the skies in a variety of aircraft (from a chopper to a jet bomber) and attempt to support ground troops as they advance on the enemy headquarters. Either end of the 12-screen wide play area is marked by two command centres; yours on the far right and the enemy’s on the far left. A series of both occupied and unoccupied bunkers are laid out between (the unoccupied ones being up for grabs by which ever army gets there first), and it’s up to you to head the assault in both specific missions and general air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
These missions add a great deal of depth to the ancestry of this style of game, from landing your chopper to rescue civilians to taking out enemy troop transporters and bombing bunkers. All the while, one of the major factors of effective warfare – cash – must be gathered to help sustain your military machine. Every successful action brings in a little extra cash which you must spend accordingly to create more troops, tanks, ambulances, mid-air refuelling stations, surface-to-air missile launchers and a host of other military might: all while zipping around at break-neck speed above enemy territory.
 |
 |
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| The linear map at the top of the upper screen shows the length of the play area and locations of allied and enemy controlled bunkers. Damn useful | War continues regardless of the weather, and flying through a snow blizzard adds an extra element of danger |
Despite some slightly cute looking, manga-esque visuals (as all DS games seem to sport since Phoenix Wright) and funny little army men in large boots trotting up and down the combat zone, it should be noted that Glory Days 2 is damn hard. While it’s an interesting feature having to organise troop deployment and tank manufacturing in a brisk shoot-‘em-up, getting your flustered fingers around it all can be a bit too much. The stylus can be used to control the aircraft in a more analogous fashion, though covering up the lower screen with your hand and trying to press all the buttons really doesn’t pay off. For once, however, we’re seeing a DS game that doesn’t feel as though it should be making use of the touch screen simply because it’s there; Glory Days 2 is very well suited to button and D-pad control.
The visuals are nothing to shout about, though they serve their purpose perfectly and add in some nice environmental and weather effects as the mission’s progress. The real issue with how we look at Glory Days 2 is the screen dimensions. While there’s really nothing that can be done about it (a slightly jarring zoom-out feature is included), the horizontal play area and high speed means lots of circling above intended targets while trying to place the limited number of bombs with a bit of accuracy. Were the screens wider, this wouldn’t be half the issue that it is, and it makes us wonder if this game wouldn’t be far better suited to the delicious widescreen of a PSP.
Something that isn’t said often about a DS game is the quality of the music, and in this case, it’s tempting to advise gamers to buy Glory Days 2 just to hear the wonderfully inspiring, war-hero, chocks away, what-what, bushy moustache, magnificent-men-in-their-flying-machines compositions. Music that could have come straight from a remake of The Dam Busters was completely unexpected, and adds buckets of depth to the already entertaining gameplay.
A plethora of multi-player and online options are also available for Glory Days 2, though sadly the tight-fisted decision to make them all multi-card has been opted for – a 2D, two-player map like this could be sent over WiFi in a matter of seconds, so points off for being cheap, Ghostlight (this game could have been a 9 if multi-player was more accessible, and this has been reflected in the low “Value” score). From building your own versus map to 8-player Battle Royale, there’s lots of reason to get together with your Glory Days mates for a trip into the wide blue.
 |
 |
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| Supposedly the included 3D glasses add visual depth to the visuals, though their actual effectiveness is in doubt, and results more in blurry eyesight | Gosh, these chaps are macho, what! |
Had this game been tagged with the valuable Advance Wars franchise instead of the unheard of Glory Days brand, this game could have been massive. As it is, I suspect what we’ve got here is the Nintendo DS’s sleeper game of 2007. It has its quirks, but there are barrel loads of kite-flying fun to be had in this terrific sequel without a prologue.
Top Game Moment: Just like in Chop Lifter, crashing your plane into the ground at high speed is great fun – watching it skipping along the ground like a stone on a still lake. What’s particularly great is this doubles as a terrific kamikaze tactic – you can take out a whole tank regiment with one life!
