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Pathway to Glory: Ikusa Islands

N-Gage owners will have a second reason to be thankful this November

Pathway to Glory: Ikusa Islands

Following up the original Pathway to Glory will be no mean feat as it’s inarguably the best handheld/mobile war game we’ve yet seen, but developer Red Lynx is aiming to score another direct hit with this, the sequel. Transplanting the action from the European theatre to the Pacific, you’re placed in charge of a squad of US Rangers fighting their way across East Asia.

The core elements of the game remain faithful to the original (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) with most of the changes coming in the form of nips, tucks and tweaks. Our primary – only – criticism of the first game was the linear nature of the campaign and while this doesn’t seem to have been addressed, we’re promised that the storyline will be much more immersive this time around.

This will, undoubtedly, come as a result of the greater evolution of the soldiers under your command. Red Lynx has strived to make them more human, even going so far as to include a psychological element in their development. Raw recruits, for instance, are going to find the events that they’re confronted with a lot more harrowing than more grizzled veterans. Quite how this will manifest itself in the finished game remains to be seen, but reduced accuracy and a general unwillingness to fight or advance on the enemy are likely consequences. It’ll certainly make a change to the gung-ho glory hogs that such games are frequently populated with.

Other changes include a more varied selection of troop types, a greater range of weaponry and more vehicular action in the shape of some very large tanks. The graphics and sound have been given a lick of paint, too. But pretty much everything else, including the fabulous multiplayer options, has thankfully been left alone, leaving us free to get excited about this Christmas-time release without fear of ending up with an over-egged pudding. Look out for it this November.