$20 Game of the Week: Advance Wars – Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS)

The Advance Wars series was one of the best kept secrets of the Game Boy Advance. Its easy to learn yet hard to master gameplay made both GBA iterations hits among players, and the series’s first DS entry, Dual Strike, wasn’t bad either. However, did anyone else beside me feel that the game’s atmosphere was a bit too cheery and colorful for a game about war? I mean say what you will about Army of Two’s fist pounding, but for crying out loud, we’ve had people high-fiving, bragging with Internet slang, and cheering each other on as if they just won the super bowl rather than participated in something that results in the deaths of thousands. Thankfully the crew at Intelligent Systems shares my sentiment, and has completely changed the face of the Advance Wars series. While the game has been retooled from top to bottom, the turn-based strategy action has thankfully been left intact. While it may turn off some audiences, both longtime series fans and new players alike will eat this game up.

First off, no more of this Red Star, Blue Earth, Green comet or whatever. A meteor has hit the planet, devastating a large portion of the planet and killing a large percentage of its population. The survivors have been left behind to contend with famine, plague, bandits, and generals hell-bent on settling old scores. It’s in this setting in which we find out main protagonist, Will. Will was one of many that were left behind wen the comet hit, although he was a student at a military academy. After being attacked by bandits, he is picked up by Brenner’s Wolves, an outreach group dedicated to helping survivors. While trying to make their way in the world, they have to contend with more bandits, rival armies, greedy politicians, and a mysterious virus. While there are some hints of anime silliness, the narrative is being handled with a the seriousness that a game about war should have. The graphics and sound reflect this new atmosphere as well.

For those unfamiliar to Advance Wars, you create units and use them to destroy the enemy. You use infantry to capture cities, factories, and other structures. By capturing cities, you gain credits you can use to purchase more units, and by capturing factories, players have more facilities with which to build units with. The game’s challenge is such that one minor mistake can send a whole campaign spiraling out of control. This entry adds in several new units, such as a motorbike (which can be used to capture buildings with its increased range), an anti-tank artillery canon(self explanatory), and a duster plane (which can be used to take out both ground and air units). A few of the older units have picked up some new tricks too. The APC can make temporary harbors and supply depots, useful for a quick refill. Command officer powers are back as well, although they are done a bit differently. They add a temporary stat boost while not breaking the game. Anyone who had their supplies halved by a tidal wave in Dual Strike will appreciate the change. COs can even board vehicles, increasing their abilities as well.

Sadly, some things from the previously game didn’t make the cut. CO tags, dual front battles, and the shop were removed from this game. Instead, there are well over a hundred maps available for multiplayer mode. Speaking of multiplayer, the game can now be played over Nintendo Wi-Fi. The map editor has increased functionality, and created maps can even be traded over Wi-Fi. It’s as if for everything that was cut from Dual Strike, the developers replaced it with something even cooler.

Even with the new style, Advance Wars retains the addictiveness and challenge that hooked in fans for the past 3 installments. Hopefully with the DSi coming out soon, we may see a sequel that makes even better use of the system’s online capabilities.