QJ.NET reviews Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Some fans of Advance Wars tend to lean towards Dual Strike for its abundant Commanding Officer (CO) powers and unlockables, but after easily clocking in almost a hundred hours playing Days of Ruin‘s massive package which contains single player Campaign, multiplayer of up to four through wi-fi, and the Design Room, we made up our minds – Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is no lesser, if not the more refined instalment on the Nintendo DS.

Find out why at the full article.

Some fans of Advance Wars tend to lean toward Dual Strike for its abundant Commanding Officer (CO) powers and unlockables, but after easily clocking in almost a hundred hours playing Days of Ruin‘s massive package which contains single player Campaign, multiplayer of up to four through wi-fi, and the Design Room, we made up our minds – Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is no lesser, if not the more refined installment on the Nintendo DS.

Intelligent Systems did a magnificent job in giving what’s known as a series that portrays war in the cutest ways a huge makeover. One quick look at character designs and you’ll already know a new war has started, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

What really sets Days of Ruin apart from its predecessors is its dark, post-apocalyptic story engrossed in never-ending conflict among humans who simply can’t settle down. Gone are the days of jolly COs and their subordinates, replaced by veteran soldiers and survivors of an event that could have caused man’s extinction.

Meteors hit earth and almost kill everyone, twisted leaders use the state of turmoil as an opportunity to settle political scores – a big leap from previous Advance Wars has taken the war to an entirely new world kids might not appreciate. Even if nothing along the lines will keep you too emotionally involved and there are no disarming plot twists to speak of, as an Advance Wars title, Days of Ruin is surely a leg up story-wise. A subtle case of boy-meets-girl is present, but not persistent enough to distract you from other events on the war-torn Earth.

    

Welcome back, Commanding Officer!

Luckily, It’s still familiar territory for fans and easy to pick up for those new to the series. At its core, Days of Ruin is all about solid tactical turn-based action akin to Intelligent Systems’ other works. The fun starts the moment you set foot on Earth’s remains littered with rogue raiders and hungry inhabitants, which is basically right at the start.

Early missions do good in introducing players to rock-paper-scissors style of gameplay, leaving fans right at home. It won’t take long before you get access to various units, so it won’t be just a “planes beat tanks, tanks beat infantry” kind of affair. A few hours into the game, you’ll be rolling Anti-Tanks to beat War Tanks, then learn in harsh ways that mere Mech infantry can shoot down the weapon you just used to beat the strongest unit in the game. There’s helpful info available at anytime regarding a unit’s major and minor weaknesses, so keen eyes will help you be aware that even gigantic Bombers can be annihilated by not-so-scary Dusters.

Speaking of War Tanks and Dusters, one major reason why people often say they prefer Dual Strike is perhaps Days of Ruin‘s unit selection. A handful of tanks, boats, and Piperunners have left the scene, but noteworthy combatants joined in to fill the roster. In the end, this dark and gritty iteration of Advance Wars has the same head count of 26 units like what first came on dual screens.

Gone are the Neotank and Megatank to make way for the War Tank, while the Black Bomb and Stealth Bomber are replaced by more versatile aircraft – the Duster and Seaplane. New additions include an infantry unit with extended movement range called the Bike, the Rig which is basically the APC that can now build temporary airports and seaports by consuming materials, and the Flare tank which shoots flares to let you see through fog of war.

As if to ramp up the action, the Battleship can now fire indirectly after it moves and the Carrier can produce all-rounder Seaplanes. Turtling is made more difficult since Black Boats aren’t around any longer to repair damaged ships, leading to hectic naval battles.

The real meat of what has changed in gameplay, however, is the tweak of CO powers. Back in early Advance Wars titles, Commanding Officers could cast their powers more frequently and even learn special skills; this time, they’re limited.

     

War has changed

COs now have to be picked up from the HQ to make a CO unit before helping allies by improving stats of those within range. These special units initially have very limited range of influence, and the only way to increase that is by letting units within CO range deal or take damage. There’s a gauge that fills up when units close to the CO attack or get hit, and you can only unleash global CO powers when the gauge hits max.

Unfortunately, CO units also only become available in later chapters of the Campaign, and you can’t even choose who to bring. On the other hand, when you manage to get a good grasp of the new system, it does pay off and the satisfying feeling is there when you’re able to fill up those power gauges with ease. Smart use of COs does wonders, and almost a must if you want to be competitive in multiplayer.

New to the series to mix things up a bit is the level up system. A unit that defeats another gains rank and becomes stronger; killing three earns it veteran status and significantly improved combat efficiency. While knowing this is helpful in single player, it’s more important if you’re ever to engage battle with other players because human opponents are not as predictable as Days of Ruin‘s occasionally clumsy AI.

Thanks to its updated combat mechanics, multiplayer hot seat is a blast. Waiting for your turn can be frustrating to the impatient, but all the positives ensure a fun experience. Fresh units and the CO system that can no longer be abused provide both newbies and veterans of the series a plethora of strategies that can be put into play. Taking cover under the fog of war is still essential, but this time, it’s not just Recon vehicles that you have to keep track of. The Flare tank, as it name implies, shoots flares to clear areas with fog of war, thus opens up opportunities for more indirect attacks using rockets and artillery.

We could go on and enumerate what many match-ups and tactics we employed and encountered while playing through local network and wi-fi, but we’ll probably still miss something. Days of Ruin has the Design Room for players who want to create their own maps, so every battle could never be the same as the last. Trading maps with other players is also a breeze, and you can store up to 50 of them.

    

Victory is at hand

There’s not much in Days of Ruin‘s soundtrack that you’re likely to put on speakers before going to bed, but music is impressive at times (Will’s theme, for example). Techno metal nails the game’s theme of destruction, though oddly cute tracks in some Free Battle matches are a bit out of place.

Visuals in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin are as good as comic style DS games can get. The models you move on the map are still a bit on the simplistic side, but units as they appear during combat on both screens look nice . Backgrounds, including those of new terrains such as the ruins and wastelands, are pleasing to look at.

The game is not without fault, but no glaring flaws neither. You will often hear people saying the entire single player experience has been narrowed down with the removal of unlockable items from the Shop that you’d want to invest time on, but that’s if you’d rather not have the maps ready for use off the bat. Instead of going back through stages to earn credit for unlocking maps, the main draw in Days of Ruin‘s main single player mode outside story related missions which are the often difficult training exercises will be eating up your time. When Campaign battles are too easy for your taste, you can put your skills to the test in these bonus challenges made available as you progress through the story.

To sum it up, Intelligent Systems did a great job in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Fans of the series have a lot to like about the game, while those who were previously not interested yet remotely enjoy turn-based strategy should try this out. Rock-paper-scissors type of gameplay is not exactly difficult to learn, though there’s still room for learning if you want something difficult to master.