The Most Realistic Nintendo Game Ever
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. Thankfully, 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, the main protagonist in the story, 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 and his minions.
Now safe from the lawless ex-soldiers, Captain 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 along with a few philosophical questions. In fact, the wonderful, and sometimes morbid, surprises throughout this game will have you ask yourself, “Wow, is this really a Nintendo game?”
Like most Intelligent Systems games, though, 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, which act as the characters, have very limited power. In fact, they don’t really affect the game all that much which is a great surprise. Instead, how you send the units into battle will determine the outcome. (Who wudda thunk?) This means that every unit is extremely valuable; every last one. 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. Unfortunately, to emphasize the online Wi-Fi multiplayer almost everything, besides the 100 extra maps and the design room for custom maps, was taken out. While I don’t think anyone, including myself, really wanted this you won’t find yourself caring too much as soon as you try an online battle or two over wi-fi (And I thought I was good!).
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 anti-tank. Overall I find these additions great and very interesting. I can't tell you how often in previous games I would just build up an army of Neo Tanks and take over whatever I wanted. In this game the most powerful gun is nothing to the anti-tank which is nothing to anything, well, not tank! This strategic game has never been more strategic!
Intelligent Systems has undoubtedly made a great game. With all the changes and risks taken, a game emerges that brings a dark side to war that Nintendo isn’t really known for, let along video games. Though only 2D it is quite possibly the most realistic game Nintendo has ever made 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.
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin will last in your DS and in your heart for a long long time.
Final Score: 9/10 AKA Outstanding
