5 stars

Some of you out there might not have heard of the Advance Wars series. If you haven’t, it’s a war strategy series from Nintendo that requires a lot of tactical knowledge and good thinking skills. Don’t let this discourage you, though. It’s easy to learn, but hard to master, a lot like a chess game. You have several units that you can deploy, move them around a map, capture properties, and defeat enemy units. There’s a lot of thinking going into the process, so don’t expect a bloody shooter.

The graphics are fresh and very attractive, as is the music. The game’s story is deep; it takes place right after a series of natural diseasters. Your characters, including newbies named Will, Brenner, and Lin, band together to rescue survivors and protect them from the bad guys. The plot unfolds nicely and it’s very well done compared to the Saturday morning cartoon style of the previous Advance Wars games.

Gameplay remains as smooth and entertaining as ever. Some units and modes of play are gone, while others are brand new. I’m a little disappointed that the War Room isn’t in Days of Ruin, but the free play mode and the excellent multiplayer make up for that. There are also over 60 missions in the game, some of them taking several hours a piece.

For parents, don’t be frightened by the “grown-up” appearance of the game. It’s a little more serious and warlike than the past Advance Wars games, but it’s a million times cleaner than any other war game like it. I think your child can handle it if they’re old enough to see a PG movie… It’s rated E as well, and it is appealing to both younger and older strategy lovers.

The new Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is instantly one of my favorite games and there isn’t much I can criticize it about.

5 stars

What do you get when you cross the dramatic story of a Fire Emblem game with hi-tech units, a fun single and multiplayer experience into a game that’s safe for kids and fun for older players? You get Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Nintendo’s newest title in the famous strategy series. Everything I didn’t like about the past games was fixed and perfected in this title, plus the developers made the game less like a cartoon and more like an actual war. The gameplay remains fun, there’s over 60 single player missions in addition to a free play mode, you can create your own maps and scenarios, plus there’s a great multiplayer that allows you to play wi-fi with anyone in the world! It’s a definite five stars!

5 stars

I loved Advance Wars Days of Ruin and I think its one of the best, if not the best, Nintendo DS games out there. I’ve been playing the Advance Wars games since they came out in the US several years ago and consider myself a huge fan of the games. This is the first one that takes a more “warlike” approach. The game looks a lot more serious and dark than it really is though (probably to appeal to older players), and it still keeps some of the lighthearted nature of the Advance Wars games, just on a smaller scale. The story is more deep than I expected and it gets really good really fast. It’s a rated E game and doesn’t really have anything in it to keep younger players from having fun with the game. It’s not any worse than a PG movie, really. I totally recommend the game to anyone looking for a good strategy game to spend a good 100 hours playing.

5 stars

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is an excellent addition to the critically acclaimed turn-based strategy series. Everything about the old series has been made new and I welcome it. In case you’re not familiar with the Advance Wars series, it’s a long running Nintendo strategy game, kind of a sister series to the popular Fire Emblem games.

Gameplay wise, Days of Ruin shines more than any other DS strategy game. The turn-based strategy system is perfected and new features meet with old to create a deep and fairly challenging game. The story in the game is darker compared to the cartoonish Advance Wars games of old, but it still feels like it fits the name and is written very well.

Just to give a synopsis, the world has just been ravaged with meteors, tsunamis, and fires and a large amount of the population has been wiped out. Young Will is one of the survivors and bands together with a determined Colonel Brenner to rescue those still alive and keep the “bad guys” from causing any harm during the crisis. New viruses and problems break out and your players are forced to figure out how to solve the problems. That, along with a group of people intent on stopping you and taking advantage of others, creates a deep and enthralling story.

The music and graphic match the tone of the game and are very well done. The new style of art is interesting but still keeps the game “Advance Wars”-ish.

As far as appropriateness, the game is targeted more towards teens than younger kids, but there is certainly no content in the game to prevent younger players from enjoying it as well. There very little violence, despite the way it looks on the cover, as you are primarily moving units and watching the little guys fight each other. There isn’t really anything to worry about; Advance Wars is the cleanest war series I’ve ever seen.

Overall, I’d recommend this game to anyone that loves strategy games and give the title two thumbs up.