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Outstanding War Strategy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 21
Date: January 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Days of Ruin is the second Advance Wars title released for the DS, the first being the now hard-to-find Advance Wars: Dual Strike. With over 120 hours logged on the first game, Dual Strike provided excellent entertainment for under 25 cents per hour. Based on my first 5 hours on this new release, I'm sure I'll get the same value out of Days of Ruin. One can easily spend over 100 hours completing every map, mission, and rank in the game.

Days of Ruin is functionally similar to the original, keeping most everything that made the original so addictive. Still, Days of Ruin departs from previous Advance Wars titles in enough ways to keep the new game fresh. As previously, a campaign mode provides a story-line series of increasingly difficult maps for the one-player gamer. Multi-player modes are also available including a Nintendo Wi-Fi mode that allows you to challenge players around the globe. The artificial intelligence of the computer players is enough to challenge anyone, but the ready availability of human players makes the replay value of this title nearly infinite.

Bottom line:
Outstanding value.
Outstanding fun.
Outstanding replay value.

The latest and greatest Advance Wars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: January 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Being a veteran of the 3 prior games (Advance Wars 1 & 2 for the GBA and Dual Strike for the DS), my expectations are very high for the latest title in this fantastic strategy franchise. I'm happy to report that this Advance Wars satisfies most of those expectations. The addition of several new units adds even more depth to an already deep gaming experience. Surprisingly, a few units were taken out as well to keep things pure and simple, and I applaud the developer's brave decision which ultimately is for the best.

A new take on war gives this game a fresh feeling, although feeling familiar at the same time. It sheds it's cutesy, almost comical approach to war, for a more serious and rugged post-apocalyptic setting.

The addition of the CO system adds an exciting new layer to the already deep gameplay. This time around you can actually have a CO out in the field in the fray with your army. The dynamics of boosting your CO bar in order to use your CO power have been modified dramatically.

The online portion is also fleshed out: you can battle with others online, and you can upload and download maps from Nintendo WiFi Connection to keep the gameplay experience fresh through the addition of new maps. Voice chat through VOIP is also present, but you can only do this with people in your friends list, so don't expect Halo-like trash talk fests. :)

The only drawback is the lack of unlockables (which to me was icing on the Advance Wars cake). Overall this is a worthy addition to a very high Advance Wars pedigree, and a title that's worth adding to your videogame library. 5 stars.

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*Addendum*: So far I have clocked in 51 hours into this game, and I see no end in sight. I am completely hooked, even more so than the three previous games combined. I find myself downloading recommended maps every day and creating new ones every few days while whistling Gage's and Brenner's BGM. This is truly the best Advance Wars yet.

Spectacular

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: January 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Proving that change can be quite good, Nintendo's long running portable turn-based strategy series Advance Wars gets a fresh coat of paint with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Taking a more mature themed storyline, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin still features pretty much the same tried and true gameplay that fans of the series will come to expect and will be quite easy for them to pick up and play. Besides a more mature themed storyline, Days of Ruin also features a more comic-style artistic design scheme and a less cartoony feel to it as well, making it a pleasure to look at as well as play. Sadly, the Shop that was in previous installments of the series has been done away with, but what we get instead is some spectacular multiplayer and Wi-Fi options that only up the replay value even more so than ever before. The single player mode, which has been shortened when compared to Dual Strike, is still great as well, but the multiplayer options are where the most fun is to be had. While there's really nothing new in terms of the overall gameplay mechanics of Advance Wars, Days of Ruin remains a spectacular strategy game that delivers on all fronts. All in all, fans of the Advance Wars series will should cry with joy once they pop in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, which is undoubtedly one of the best installments in the series, and one of the best strategy games and multiplayer experiences you'll have on your DS.

More hours I have to find to waste!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: February 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big Advance Wars fan, having played all of the titles so far. I've been waiting for this for a while. It's supposed to be "darker", which I always thought was weird given the land is not PINK instead of green.

That's right. PINK. As in, I hope you like PINK, because you'll be seeing a lot of it. The future is full of ruined lands, and those ruined lands are PINK (e.g.: light red).

Great game though, as per usual. If you've never played advance wars, you can get any of the games and have a blast. For those who've played them, here are the differences:

-You can play ANY past mission you like after you've defeated it. I LOVE this feature.
-No more battlemaps store! :(
-Online play. Haven't used it enough to comment on it.
-No dual commanders (like the last title)
-Cannot choose COs.
-You may put COs in a unit and take them to the field. They have an effect radius, and gain CO power from enemy defeats within the radius. Then you may use a global CO power.
-Unit can get experience, 4 levels. I haven't noticed a practical difference.

Fun little game, I'd highly recommend!

Takes the best of Advance Wars and improves it, the worst of Advance Wars and trashes it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoyed the first three Advance Wars, there's no doubt you'll like this one too. While I did enjoy the games, I was not fanatical about it and I would eventually stop playing it after a few weeks or so.

I swapped out Dual Strike for Days of Ruin and I must say this is the most addicting Advance Wars to date. They basically took everything that I felt were flaws or problems with the series, and fixed it up and improved upon what was already good.

Some things to know:

* No more cheap AI during Fog of War! That's right! Now the computer is actually AFFECTED by the fog just like you are! This makes the game more realistic and the computer doesn't have a cheap edge like they used to!

* A better CO system. If you liked the insane CO powers, you may not be happy with it but I personally felt it was too overpowering. The powers are still there, but innovated in a way that is more realistic and requires you to rely more on strategy rather than Meteor Strike or Power of Money.

* A much better storyline. The days of "What's a tank?" and "Come on you Black Hole monkey faces!" are gone with more realistic dialouge and a much better story as a result. This game goes for a much more realistic feeling all the way, and it's great to finally have an Advance Wars game where the storyline and dialouge doesn't suck.

* A better unit balance. New additions and removal of units such as the Neotank and Megatank make everything more fair, and less reliant on building hundreds of the most expensive units. I have not seen better balance since the first Advance Wars, in fact I would say it's much better. Some new additions like the bike and anti-tank are great and come with pros and cons that even them out.

* Design maps mode is better than ever! You can now store up to 50 custom made maps and even adjust the size of the maps (from 5x5 to 30x30)! There is also an addition of a new paint tool that allows you to fill whole regions of tiles that are the same with one go making the design process far less tedious.

* The music is great too. It's mostly a mix of rock and techno and while the soundtrack isn't perfect, there are some really neat songs. My personal favorite is Waylon's theme.

Wonderful graphics, music, gameplay, storyline, and BALANCE. It's definitely worth the $30, and I would grab a copy before it starts becoming hard to find. I have yet to play the multiplayer so I cannot comment on that, but I can tell you with confidence this is the best Advance Wars to date! Just beware that you may be in for some long sleepless nights once you get hooked. ;)

The Best Just Got... Not Quite as Good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 27
Date: February 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In an earlier review I declared the Advanced Wars the best games ever for the GBA and Dual Strike met or exceeded everything the previous two achieved. So Days of Ruin had a lot to live up to and.... didn't.

Let me start with what I didn't like. After three iterations of Advanced Wars I grew rather fond of the cast of Commanding Officers but DoR ashcans them all replacing them with a whole new cast of characters. It reminds me of when Capcom decided to swap out almost all the Street Fighter characters in SFIII. It just doesn't feel right. There is also a much smaller selection of CO's compared to Dual Strike and you don't even get to choose your CO during the main campaign. There are no more dual commanders, commander advancements and even the shop is gone. Another thing I have to take an issue with is the music. It's a blaring beat on a short loop that grows maddening after a while like Chinese water torture. At some point I had to completely turn the sound off on my DS or go crazy. Finally, this is the most verbose Advanced Wars ever and it can get tedious. I just want to fight not read a novel.

On the plus side there are some great new units including motorcycles to get troops to cities faster and flares to temporarily get rid of fog of war for a section of the map. My worry is that the more units they add the more complicated the game gets and the whole allure of Advanced Wars is in its simplicity. The Duster, for example, is a new aircraft that can attack both air and ground units. Isn't that what the helicopter is for? There are also additional training missions during the main campaign that can be a lot of fun. Actually the training missions are sort of a replacement for the purchasable missions. In this case you have to earn them rather than buy them. The CO powers have been toned down and made more difficult to use. Whether this is an improvement or not is debatable but I think the CO powers had become more annoying than useful. The single best improvement is the addition of unit advancements. As a unit destroys enemy units it can advance up to veteran level with slight increases in power.

Days of Ruin takes a departure from the previous three games with few improvements. The world differs, the commanders are new, and even the style of art has changed dramatically. What remains the same is the gameplay which continues to be excellent. My feeling is that games in a series should always improve and unfortunately, in almost every way, Dual Strike was superior to Days of Ruin. Because of this I cannot in good conscience give DoR anything higher than four stars.

Days of Ruin = Days of Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is my first Advance Wars game. That being said I must confess I had no idea what Advance Wars was really about or how to play the games. However, I kept hearing all this hype about how great they were and how addictive they were. I decided to take a leap of faith and try this out. Boy am I glad I did. Days of Ruin is by far one of the most fun handheld games I've played. It's very easy to pick up and learn. I didn't even look at the instruction booklet. I just popped it in and let the on screen tutorial introduce me to the game play. I've only made it through the first 4 missions, but I know I'll be playing for many hours to come.

A change of direction for advance wars

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Buy this game it's a lot of fun with very high replay ability. If you are new to Advance Wars this is a good place to start because of the completely new story and characters. Fans of the series will fall in love with this new edition. The new story is in depth and adds to the addictiveness of the game. The units and structures are similar to the old ones but with a few twists. The new maps and controls are a nice improvement. My only disappointment was that there wasn't as many CO's in comparison to Dual Strike, so it's a good idea to get that one too or keep it if you already have it . The long awaited wifi capabilities are awesome too.

Best tactical strategy game on the DS, but just shy of perfection

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: February 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I like tactical strategy games in general (e.g. Panzer General, Final Fantasy Tactics, Heroes of Might & Magic series), and I adored Advanced Wars: Dual Strike. I play exclusively 1P games, I don't use the multiplayer functions of this game at all, so I write my review from this perspective.

Clearly, AW:DoR is the best, most refined AW game to date, and so far, it's the best strategy game I've ever found for the DS. It definitely deserves a full 5 stars, as I've been glued to it non-stop for about a month. If you enjoy strategy games at all, pick up this title, you definitely won't be disappointed.

And yet I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. The two major improvements were to the touch screen control system and to the online capabilities, both taking greater advantage of the DS platform. Unfortunately, I'm just not that interested in either advancement. I do not use the touch screen for this game at all, I definitely prefer the direction pad and buttons (though I have to admit, the touch screen option is very well done and fun to use). I also don't use the wireless options of any DS game. It's not that the wireless options are bad, just that I prefer single-player games in general as there's no need to coordinate schedules, no delays at all. The DS in particular is an excellent system to fill dead time during bus or air travel, neither of which work well with other players. The multiplayer options of this title are actually very tempting (not only can you compete against your buddy in another location, but you can voice chat while doing so!), but multiplayer gaming just doesn't fit well into my busy life these days.

As a 1P game, AW:DoR is the best 1P strategy game that I have yet found for the DS. But it's just not better *in every possible way* than the previous title, Dual Strike. This is disappointing, and I considered rating the product 4 stars. But given how well designed it is, and that I've enjoyed 100 hours of gameplay already and look forward to more, I feel it deserves the full 5 stars.

The rest of my review is a detailed wish list of ways the 1P experience could be improved, along with some praise for noteworthy improvements over Advanced Wars: Dual Strike. If you're not interested in those details, my bottom line is that I highly recommend this as the best strategy game available for the DS today.

Wishlist for improvements:

The campaign is linear, with no optional side quests to explore. I miss the little secret labs, and the ability to unlock special unit types for later in the campaign! I wish there were more optional goals, side quests, and perhaps some strategic choice about how the campaign proceeds.

The game no longer keeps track of your score for the extra "free play" maps, nor do you get medals for solving them, nor do you win points for solving them, nor do you have to win access to unlock them. In short, the designers basically gutted all the reinforcers that made playing the extra maps fun! This is my single biggest complaint about the new game.

I wish free play maps came pre-configured for different default scenarios (e.g. this one has fog of war, this one has snow, this one uses these COs, etc.). It's great that the game allows you to tweak all settings for every free play map, but provide interesting and unique defaults for each map so you can more readily compare your experience with others. (Note that this also undercuts the fun of trying to complete a "checklist" of beating all "free play" maps, because now every map has identical defaults unless you expressly choose otherwise.)

Like other reviewers, I miss the Shop. Basically, the previous game required you to rack up points by playing the game, which could be spent to unlock various things (maps, CO uniforms, etc.). Human nature being what it is, having to win these little things is more fun than being given them up front. In this title, all the free play maps and CO outfits are available immediately, which is slightly disappointing.

The one multiplayer / community aspect I'd love is some sort of scoreboard, or score comparisons with your friends. This would allow me to play at my own pace w/o having to coordinate schedules with others, while still competing on the big board.

But even given the above limitations, the 1P game is still better than AW:Dual Strike. I love the new CO system, whereby the CO is attached to a specific unit. I prefer having a single CO over having tag team pairs like before. I like the fact that the units have been streamlined (stealth units weren't that interesting), though I would like the occasional oddball unit in the campaign mode. I love the fact that units can gain experience -- an excellent gameplay mechanic. I love the new tutorial screens, as well as the strategic advice screen. All in all, this game is extremely well done.

Solid Game Carrying On a Good Tradition

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

A departure from the standard Advance Wars games, "Days of Ruin" is a more serious-toned game than its cartoonish predecessors.

Days of Ruin takes place after a cataclysmic meteor strike that devastated the entire planet. Covered by soot and dust, the survivors of the impact must stay alive amidst the warring factions that seek control of the chaos. To sum it up: imagine if "Advance Wars" met "Mad Max". That's this game. The game follows Will, a survivor of the Rubinelle armed forces, as he teams up with other survivors from his army to protect the citizens against bandits and hostile forces.

The basic rules of Advance Wars still apply, and all the units from previous games (minus some of the setting-specific units like the Neotank) are present. There are a couple things that have been changed, gameplay-wise. New units have been added; these include the light recon Bike, the fog-of-war-destroying Flare launcher, the specifically designed Anti-Tank Cannon, the missile-launching Gunboat, the carrier-built Seaplane, and the anti-air/anti-ground plane, the Duster. The most distinct new unit is the Rig, which can build certain temporary structures like makeshift airfields, ports, and radar stations. Also, more conventional units from previous games are available - tanks, infantry, artillery, and so on. Another change is the scarcity of supplies. In previous games, there were counters for fuel and ammunition that would deplete after use (moving depletes fuel, shooting depletes ammunition). In AW:DR, these empty much more quickly to indicate the status of the destroyed world. There is also the added bonus of veterancy for units, granting bonuses in attack and defense for each kill the unit gives. This doesn't carry over between missions, but it goes up fairly quickly. Finally, the use of Commanding Officers (or COs) has changed - to confer their unique bonus on their units, they must be leading them. A unit can have a CO attached to it to make a zone of effect around it where the CO's bonus applies. Defeating enemies with units in the CO zone fills the CO's power bar and allows them to use a special technique that can change the tide of a battle. If the unit is defeated, the CO simply returns to headquarters.

Online gameplay is now available as well. The pre-made maps can be used, or design maps can be traded. There is also an option to add friends and make a friends list. The system is simple, but it works pretty well.

The graphics have been changed to reflect the more serious nature of the game. The cartoonish, bright, mis-proportioned characters of the previous games have been replaced with a more washed-out, somber color tone and realistic character proportions. As a whole, they are pretty good, though the use of colors like red, blue, and yellow for the uniforms is still sort of disorienting. The sound is pretty good, having been changed to an overall more rock-based sound than previous AW games.

As a whole, this is a pretty neat turn for the Advance Wars series to take. I like that it's more serious, though it seems kind of odd to jump straight to "post-apocalyptic scenario" with the new graphics instead of doing a regular wargame first. Either way, "Days of Ruin" is a solid game that carries on a good tradition.

9/10.

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