"They didn't ruin anything."

THE GOOD:
• Intuitive control with both the stylus and buttons
• Great cast and plot
• Challenging
• Good tutorials
• Variety of units, options, and modes
• Easy-to-use map editor allows for endless possibilities
• Online play

THE BAD:
• Difficulty can be somewhat frustrating to learning players
• AI can be unbalanced
• Series veterans may be angered by new storyline and characters
• Online play ruined by others' bad connections

War. What is it good for? Absolutely… something, apparently.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for the Nintendo DS is another game questioning about what war is good for. Set in your typical post-apocalyptic world, two countries are still fighting a war even though everything is decimated after the meteor shower. This, though, is only part of the plot.

The game starts with a run-of-the-mill cadet named Will, presumably the sole survivor from the meteor that hit Rubinelle Academy. Though he's just in training, he runs into a bunch of savage raiders who are killing survivors for the small food supply available. He can't put up a fight against them, but is rescued by the 12th Battalion of the Rubinelle Army, also called Brenner's Wolves after their leader. Captain Brenner is an awesome commander on the battlefield, but he has a huge heart and doesn't want to see anybody left behind. His lieutenant, Lin, is calm, cool, collected, and knows a lot about war. The rest of the cast is well-developed as well, and most of them are very likable characters. There's even some humorous moments thrown in, even though the tone of the game is pretty dark.

The plot in general mostly consists of fighting a war against Lazuria – Rubinelle's enemy – and the raiders. Though there are a few plot twists here and there, it's about winning every battle, even if fighting in a post-apocalyptic world seems pointless and stupid. The characters even question this at several points throughout the game.

As for gameplay, this is a war. You need to fight the enemy and destroy them, while still being defensive. Being a turn-based game, the outcome can change drastically from one attempt to the other. It's all in what you do. Strategy is essential. Being a reckless, aggressive commander will almost always leave you in defeat. This makes the game challenging. This is a good thing and a bad thing. The good being that it makes you think, the bad being that you may have to retry a lot. Given that some battles can take over 45 minutes, it can be very time-consuming and it could get old fast. This is motivation to get it right the first time, although doing so is difficult.

There are also sub-missions which have nothing to do with the plot. The game treats these as “training exercises,” to test what you've learned. These are relatively difficult. There are several maps built into the game to play on, and you can even play a friend face to face on one of these. The maps vary greatly, and here, you can even tweak the options (something you can't do in the main game). Even with the maps the games come with, you could easily get a good 50 hours of playtime, and that's probably low. It really depends on the experience level of the player. Those with more experience can usually take missions quicker; those that are learning are… well, learning. These maps are a useful tool to learn on if you get stuck in the main campaign.

As far as units go, there's a good variety of them. There are 14 land units in all, and even more when you add the planes and boats later in the game. As I'm new to the series, I don't know what's new and what's been there before, but I know that there are new units in this game. LOL Wikipedia. Battles with multiple types of units are harder and more insane than those with fewer, adding to the variety, which I'll get into more detail later. Each unit, of course, has its own restrictions in range and movement. This makes the game very realistic, yet doesn't restrict the fun.

The controls are solid. The stylus controls work well for the most part, although sometimes you'll tap the wrong item, since they're spaced pretty close together. Playing with the buttons is preferable and works better because there are no issues with the spacing. Stylus fans, though, won't have any problems. Movement is easy either way.

Each enemy commander has a bit of a different strategy. The leader of the raiders – a thug who goes by “The Beast” – is very reckless and doesn't seem to pay attention to everything. He just likes to kill things. More serious commanders, including the leader of the Lazurian army, are very difficult to outsmart, since they play chess every day and plan ahead. This usually results in a loss for you. Given this, though, every mission is somewhat different than the previous one.

Another thing to take into consideration is the map design. There are a few different terrains, mountains, and water. You can even design your own maps with the well-designed map editor. You can even trade maps online. This allows for endless possibilities, and you can have fun for a long time.

Every commander also has their own special ability, although in every in-game mission both you and the enemy get a commander automatically. You can only pick a commander when you're playing online, and even customize their outfit and hair color. The online play will allow you to play with anyone around the world, all you need to do is search. It will even match you to someone near your level. Unfortunately, I tried this several times and every time the other guy disconnected. They were either cowards or their Internet likes to fail.

On the good side, friend codes are present, and if one of your buddies has the game, you can play online or trade maps. The possibilities are endless.

On the downside, the game can be frustrating at times. Due to its difficulty and high retry rate, players can easily become frustrating. However, once you master it, this won't really be a problem. The unbalanced AI is somewhat problematic for new players, however. Considering that this is the fourth Advance Wars game, some players will definitely have experience. Those players have already purchased this game, though. However, this is the first game in this arc – the prior trilogy ended, and the series took a turn. Though I haven't played any previous Advance Wars games, I know how I feel about parting with characters. See the change from Phoenix Wright to Apollo Justice. The characters in this game are solid, as is the plot. Though the premise is nothing original, the plot and dialogue are well-executed. To those veterans cursing off this game because it's different: GIVE THIS A CHANCE. They may have changed it up, but they didn't ruin anything. If they did, this game would have been a total disaster, right?

In the end, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is a very solid turn-based game. Though it may be frustratingly difficult in parts, it's a lot harder than most games of today and will give you plenty of play time trying to beat it. With the online play being solid – and moreso if people would stay connected – the game's possibilities are endless. In the end, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin gets an 8 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/08

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