"One of the most realistic Nintendo games ever."

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 3 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 more deep and darker one. The game begins as you learn of the meteorites that struck the planet and left 90% of the civilization dead and the world covered in ashes. Seemingly alone, 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, as well as 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 most odd situations unveiling an interesting and wonderful story.

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. 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 foes.

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, pretty much everything besides the 100 extra maps and the design room were 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.

Speaking of which, the online multiplayer is terrific. Featuring voice communications along with 100 pre-made maps, as well as the ability to use custom made ones, is what makes this game so great. Sure the campaign is great but the online multiplayer is the answer Intelligent Systems is giving fans that have been calling for it for years.

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.The only bad thing about the music, to me, is that sometimes you have drums going wild with a flute. The clash of the music at these points really takes away from the story unfortunately.

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 of all making Advance Wars: Days of Ruin one of the best DS games of all time. A must have for previous fans and a great game to look at for curious newcomers.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/08

Game Release: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (US, 01/21/08)