Advance Wars: Days of Ruin -- 9/10

[B.A.M.]

This is basically my first real review. I made it 3 days after the release and put it on gamefaqs under ?bamboom? so I didn?t steal it. :P Enjoy.


Basic Information

1.Platform: DS
2.Publisher: Nintendo
3.Developer: Intelligent Systems
4.ESRB Rating: E10+ For Everyone 10 and up
5.North American Release Date: January 21st 2008
6.Genre: Turn-based tactics
7.Multi-player: Yes

Advance Wars, believe it or not, is one of the longest running series in all of Video Games! While it may only have 4 games in America, it started out on the NES in Japan. The last three Advance Wars games have been based around the same characters with a very similar niche story. While each game improved with new features to use along with the campaign, each game was just an upgrade; never its own. This is not the case for Days of Ruin.

If all of the other Advance Wars games were the children then Days of Ruin would be the adult. Unlike the other AW games, Days of Ruin?s story is a much deeper and darker one. The game begins as you learn of the meteorites that struck the planet and left 90% of the civilization dead along with causing the world to be covered in ashes. Seemingly friendless, Will is trapped by an antagonist called The Beast. Just when all seems lost Captain Brenner, Lin, and his troops come to your aid and fight off The Beast.

Now safe from the lawless ex-soldiers, Brenner talks with Will about the situation in the world and how he wants to bring it back to its former self. Dedicating himself and his army not to pillaging the remaining survivor towns, which are struggling to get by, but to rescue survivors and restore order and law in a lawless world. Though, this may be how the game starts, soon enough evil and hope come out of the oddest situations unveiling an interesting and wonderful story. In fact, the suprises in this game will have you ask yourself, ?Wow, is this really a Nintendo game??

 

Like most Intelligent Systems games, AW:DoR is a turn-based tactics game. Each turn you get to build, move, capture, and fight other units. Unlike other AW games, Days of Ruin?s COs have very limited power. In fact, they don?t really affect the game all that much. Instead, how you send the units into battle will determine the outcome. (Who wudda thunk? :P) This means that every unit is extremely valuable. Even the units with low health you will find yourself trying to save as you try to fight against your numerous and powerful opponents.

Though many risks were taken, fans of the series will rejoice in the direction Intelligent Systems has brought the series. Before, AW was just a single player game with advanced AI. Now, multiplayer is what is going to keep you playing for a long time. To emphasize the online Wi-Fi multiplayer mostly everything, besides the 100 extra maps and the design room, was taken out. While I don?t think anyone really wanted this, you won?t find yourself really caring as soon as you try an online battle.

Being that the game is in an Apocalypse-like world, units such as the Neo Tank, Mega Tank, Piperunner, Black Boat, Black Bomb, and Stealth Bomber will not make an appearance. However, new units do present themselves. The most common of the new units is the biker. Like the ordinary soldier units Bikers can capture factories. The catch is that they have a much larger range of movement. Other new units include the Duster which is a plane that can attack both air and ground units, the Flare which can increase your visibility greatly in times of fog, the Anti-Tank which can destroy every kind of tank with ease, and the War Tank which destroys pretty much everything in its path besides, of course, the anit-tank.

 
Maybe not too surprising, the graphics and the sound are also much different from the previous games. Because of the darker story Days of Ruin brings, the music and sound also resemble such with metal playing through the fights along with comic book graphics. In the end, the music isn?t inspiring but it certainly fits the mood. The graphics on the other hand are one of the best on the DS that I have ever had the pleasure to see.

Intelligent Systems really has made a great game. With all the changes and risks taken, a great game emerges that brings a dark side to war that Nintendo isn?t really known for. Though only 2D, it is quite possibly the most realistic Nintendo game ever making Advance Wars: Days of Ruin one of the best DS games of all time.  This game is a must have for all DS owners.

Final Score: 9/10 AKA Outstanding