Men, man your battlestations!

The Advance Wars series has come a long way, and has made a smooth transition from Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo DS with Advance Wars Dual Strike. Well, now that the next DS version has been out, it proves that series can keep going when you innovate in the right places. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin has undergone a few changes to the formula that the series has usually stuck by. First off, the art and mood of the game has been turned from anime-ish and fun loving to a little more serious, darker tone. For one thing, the game leads you to believe that all of the characters from the past games are dead, and you are trying to find salvation in a world decimated by meteors. Well enough with the story for now, because the most important, and addictive part of the Advance Wars series is the gameplay. Advance Wars Days of Ruin is a turn based strategy game that is simple, yet complex, and has undergone a few tweaks from the other games. The gameplay is less one sided; the developers have made the game a little more balanced, to make it more strategy oriented. This was done by limiting special powers and adding and subtracting units. This, and the addition of online play, are the two reason why I love this game so much. The game is very addictive, and calls for you to meticulously plan your moves, and take out the enemy, using tanks, battle ships, fighter jets...you name it. The sprites in the game are good, and the soundtrack is pretty good as well. There are numerous maps to play, and hundreds of hours to play in the game. Online matches are great, and there really isn't more you can ask for in a portable game.