If you played the first Nano War, you know what to expect here. Click and drag gameplay, strategic assaults on enemy cells, and a creepy art style. Graphically, the game is slightly improved over the original, but instantly familiar.
Some new additions mean jumping into a multiplayer match without playing single player can be difficult. Its unclear whether upgrades earned in campaign mode carry over to multiplayer, but even so, there are improvements that the tutorial doesn’t cover, and against an opponent who understands the new units, a new player won’t stand much chance.
As far as gameplay goes, you either love or hate this sort of game, and probably know already whether Nano War interests you. The deceptively slow speed of the units disguises a need for fast decisionmaking and strong micromanagement – just what strategy gamers will love about it, but also what may put off casual players.
The netcode is very stable and can withstand momentary drops in connection, something most Flash games won’t manage. But occasionally on losing a game, not only would the game freeze for a moment but it would take Firefox with it. On the upside, that was the only bug we encountered. 
Nano War’s main strengths are also its main weaknesses. The unique graphical style sets it apart from other casual strategy games, but will put off players who prefer the cute, colorful stylings of something like Civilisations Wars. And while the new units add more to the game, its almost a requirement to play through single player mode to be able to understand what they bring to the table. Its also pretty difficult to recover if you’re on the back foot in a game, and reflecting this, many players simply disconnect if the start of a battle doesn’t go their way (for which there is no penalty).
We liked Nano War 2, and as a complete package, its an easy recommendation for any strategy fan. For someone looking for a quick battle in multiplayer, there’s much less to get out of the game. You probably already know which camp you fall into.
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Gameplay |   |
| Flawless strategy, though the speed of the units frustrates impatient players. | |
| Sound |  |
| Between the graphics and the sound effects, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were playing a horror game. | |
| Graphics | |
| The graphics are simple and slightly creepy, but effective. | |
| Replayability | |
| An exp system should motivate players to keep progressing, but be prepared to see opponent after opponent quit before matches are over. Little diversity means | |
| Game Length | |
| Battles are short but well paced. | |
| Multiplayer Weighting | |
| While multiplayer is fun, this games strengths are really in the singleplayer version. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| An excellent strategy game for fans of the genre, but multiplayer isn't the star here | |
