Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Review

Advance Wars has been consistent, releasing games every 1-2 years and keeping the gamers very pleased. Advance Wars 1 and 2 were great hits on the GBA. The first Advance Wars on the DS was simply amazing, and is still considered one of the best DS games thus far. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is not a direct sequel from Advance Wars: Dual Strike, but it brings many features over from that game.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Review, by RivalDestiny


Gameplay: 9.5/10
Gameplay, like on any on advance war games, have been great. The game let's you go at your own pace. Whether you want to go slow, or fast, it won't matter. The game has the option to use the stylus or the d-pad (preferably, I use the d-pad), both of these options seem to work and respond very well.

All the units you found in the previous advance war games have returned and more have also been added. Speaking of units, each unit is strong or weak against other units. For example, how infantry men on weak against tanks, on the flipside though, tanks are weak against anti-tank units. This creates a balance in the game, and it surprisingly, it will make you think a bit.

As you pass the first few levels, you will have to start capturing buildings and factories. The factories can be used to produce any units, as long as you have enough money to recruit them into the battlefield. The way you get money is by the different buildings you capture along the way. The more buildings you have, the more money you will make, resulting in the making of units. Also to note, only mech, bike, and infantry units may capture buildings. This gives a board game feel to the game, and it feels great.

Another great feature transfered over from Advance Wars: DS is the map editor. You can create your own maps and use them in battle. You can also trade your maps to others either locally or online.

Story: 8.5/10
Most turn-based games don't rely on their story to keep the game going, but for some reason, the story is great in this game. If you've ever played the previous advance war games, you'll get the upbeat and happy feeling. DoR provides a depressing view of war and how it affects the whole world. The story starts out with Will, who dug himself out of collapsing building. This building was supposedly a place where he goes to school. As soon as he dug himself out, all he could find were dead bodies, no survivors except himself. It seems the "Raiders" were the ones who destroyed the building in the first place. The Raiders, and many other antagonists, will rise and battle you. You'll also meet numerous allies along with the way.

Graphics: 8/10
Graphics are what you expect in a DS game. Although, the design of this game and feeling you get from it, is amazing. The battlefields are well thought out and the sprites are well detailed. The cut scenes and battles are good enough. Graphics aren't a huge thing for the game and something that shouldn't be taken on heavily.

Sound: 7.5/10
Sound is O.K. Music selection is up par and the sound effects are alright. The depressing view of the game limits the amount of music selection for a game. Nothing much to explore in this category.

Online/Multi-player: 9/10
A game with multi-player is great, something that I always want in a game. You can face up with other owners of Advance Wars or have local play with someone around you. In multiplayer, you can also trade maps that you've made and send them off to others eithe locally or even online.

Replayability: 9/10
The game has great replayability. You can play with friends or hit up some free battles with random opponents. You may also feel like creating maps or play the story over again. The game brings awesome content and it's something that's worth replaying.

Gameplay: 9.5/10
Story: 8.5/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Online/Multi-player: 9/10
Replayability: 9/10

Overall: 9.2/10

Other Advance War games to check out:
Advance Wars 1 (GBA)
Advance Wars 2 (GBA)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)
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Other Branched-Off Advance War games to check out:
Battalion Wars (GC)
Battalion Wars 2 (Wii)

Originally Posted by RivalDestiny CO Powers in this game are non-existent. I actually don't mind it, as it wasn't a thing that really stood out in this series.