"Who said Advance Wars Games were always childish and cartoony?"

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is currently the latest game out right now in the AW universe. If you don't know already, Advance Wars is a turn based strategy game for the GBA and later the Nintendo DS. I'll tell you how great the latest AW game is in this review. Read on!

Story: 9/10
Prologue
This story is directly straight out of Armageddon if the meteors did smash into our planet. Anyways, 2 nations, Lazurians and the Rubinelle have been fighting for centuries until one day destruction rained from the skies. Mankind was all but wiped out since sunlight was blocked out due to the aftermath of the meteor shower, and just about everything that could breathe, walk, fly and swim died. But, admist the ruins, determined survivors struggle to survive, restore order and protect the weak, while others prey on others and seize this as an opportunity to dominate since there is no more law.

Modern Day
A lone Rubinelle cadet known as Will picks his way across the ruins of the land hoping to find some survivors. Unfortunately he encountered bloodthirsty raiders that threatened to kill him. As he was about to lose hope, the 12th Batallion rescues him and drives the raiders out of the region in a small skirmish. He is then introduced to Brenner, the commander of the 12th Batallion and Lin, the 2nd in command of the batallion. The goals of the Batallion were to rescue as much survivors as possible and provide peace, security and order to the ravaged world. However, many other factions stand in the way of their ambitions....

*play the game to find out more, not going to spoil it too much*

Anyways, the new storyline is much darker and ambient, not as cheery or colourful like in the previous games. The storyline is excellent- it smoothly flows along as you complete each mission. Also, if you played the previous Advance Wars Games, you won't expect the 5 previous armies (Orange Star, Blue Moon, Green Earth, Yellow Comet, or Black Hole) to make an appearance in this game. Instead, you'll be introduced to the 12th Batallion *nicknamed "Brenner's Wolves"*, Lazurian Army, New Rubinelle Army and IDS (Intellegent Defense Systems.) As the 12th Batallion, be prepared to face all the above armies, and also you'll come across a few subfactions (like raiders led by The Beast.)

Gameplay 10/10

Days of Ruin has definitely improved a lot in terms of gameplay. Those who remembered from the previous AW games that the only to win is to always bum-rush with big units like Bombers and Md Tanks. However, this is not so true in this game anymore-even a small squad of Mechs (3 or 4) can cripple a charging Md Tank. To be honest, this change improved my score to a 10/10. The bread and butter units remain in this game with a few minor tweaks, while new units like the gunboat and duster make their appearance. Those who remember those insanely broken Megatanks, Neotanks and Stealth Fighters and hated them so much, good news to you that those units won't appear in Days of Ruin. Instead, you'll receive a much more balanced out unit known as a War Tank.

Do you remember those insanely broken and rigged COs from the previous games? And their CO powers that can turn the tide of the battle even if they were on the verge of defeat? rest assured, there's no more of that in Days of Ruin. Most COs are now balanced out, there are no more Super CO Powers and the Tag power from AWDS no longer exists. The CO power system has also changed-now you must put your CO into a unit, attack and destroy units with that particular unit (or use nearby units, depends on the "CO Zone") and all at the same time prevent that unit from getting killed. If it's killed, you're goana have to recharge your entire CO meter.

CO powers also have a less likely chance of turning the tide of the battle now- instead they'll either help your units out, or in one particular CO, remind you of Sturm from AW1 and AW2.

I also loved the new design maps engine. You can now make and keep a whopping 50 maps instead of the puny 3 in the previous AW games! You can now also deploy up to 99 structures and special terrain, and now you can change the map size- from 10 x 10 to an enormous 30 x30 grid.

This is also the first AW game to feature a WiFi game feature. You can take your wars online and battle anyone in the world and keep a record of your wins, losses and rank.

Graphics: 9/10

Graphics have also improved a lot. The previous AW games had cartoony characters and units, while in this one they actually look more real-life like. The COs now look much more human like, instead of looking like colourful anime characters. The battlefield and background graphics also look excellent- even though it isn't colourful and cheery like, its ok since hey, this game is more apocalyptic and ambient, so I guess that works out. Although the graphics appear to a bit distorted and blurry, they won't prevent you from enjoying this game.

Music: 10/10

I only have one world for this: PERFECT!!!! The music in this game is just outstanding. Well, since I prefer techno and rock in game music. I personally didn't like the previous AW music since they were all like cartoony and childish like. But in Days of Ruin, most music is techno and rock so I can't really stop jammin to the music as I'm playing. In fact, My DS becomes a personal music player- because you can actually listen to the game's music in the music player option. The COs also have their own personal themes-and all of them have an excellent theme, let it be heavy metal, ambient or techno.

Rent or Buy:

BUY!!!! IF you're a longtime AW fan (I sure am one, because I own all 4 games) GET THIS GAME!!!!! You don't want to miss out on this great game. I suggest you also get this game with a WiFi USB connector. Veterans will definitely find this game a walk in the park, while newbies may find the game a bit difficult. But hey, that's why the FAQs and Guides board exists, right?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/12/08

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