"Perfectly balanced, turn-based rock-a-thon."

Advance Wars really, truly, rules. It's like the perfect cut of the most enjoyable elements of games like Shining Force and Civ 2... no keeping track of unit's equipment or technology research... just pure, straight, tactical combat.

The units have tons of variety, and they're all totally balanced (except maybe the Jeep, it mostly just stinks, lol). Even the APC units are great, not only to they ship Infantry back and forth, they can be used to reload the ammo in high power, long range units, like the Artillery and rocket and missile batteries.

There are also air and water units. There are transport helicopters, which shuttle infantry back and forth across the map. There are also a variety of attack air units, some better at taking on ground units, some better at taking out other air units. There are submarines, battleships, and the curious cruisers. Cruisers can only attack subs and air units, but are very good at doing either. They can also carry two helicopters. Definitely a unit to learn to master the use of.

The terrain is balanced perfectly, too. Only Inf and flying units can traverse mountains, and Inf get long range view when they stop on top of a mountain (when Fog of War is turned on). Another cool thing with Fog of War: Units hiding in forests are shrouded by fog unless an enemy unit is right next to them! The same is with reefs and subs.

More on terrain, each kind of terrain has a defensive value. A unit standing on a road has zero protection, and takes full damage. Plains and Forest provide some cover, while mountains make ''Mechs'' (Inf with rocket launchers) a good adversary for the smaller tanks that happen to drive by. Cities provide good defense, too, meaning a unit healing in a city has fairly good defenses against invaders.

Each unit has fuel and ammo to worry about, but it's implemented excellently. Vehicles like Tanks and APCs don't burn fuel unless they drive somewhere. However, air and water units burn fuel every turn, regardless. They have a lot of fuel, but just little enough to be a concern if you try to abuse the air units. Subs, when submerged, burn a LOT of fuel, so it's a good practice to keep them above water.

Ammo is cool, too. Most units, like Tanks, Jeeps, and Infantry have (nearly) endless ammo, given that they're always close to building for restocking. Superpower units like Missiles and Rockets (they have super long range) only have about 4 or 5 shots before they need to reload. This means they need to either stay near towns or have APCs restocking them.

Another great choice about long range (indirect fire) units. They can't fire if they've moved this turn! I've always wanted that in games like this. This means that you really have to keep your Artilery safe, as they're entirely defenseless against and direct fire unit (since they can't back up and fire).

The graphics are amazingly clear and entirely charming. The long range units bring along an adorable little ''spotter'', an armorless troop standing next to the units with binoculars, finding targets. The COs (Command Officers, or leaders each side) make wincing or confidant faces based upon whether their unit won or lost a particular skirmish.

More on COs. First of all, they all have a ton of personality, the mid-battle conversations are fantastic. They also each have a special attack, only unleashable after they've had a certain amount of their units damaged. One guy repairs each of his units by 2 hp (each unit starts with 10). Another guy makes all of his direct fire vehicles (tanks, AA tanks, jeeps) have super damage for a turn. Also, some COs have weaknesses. Players using the tank guy (Max) will find his indirect units like Artillery to be practically useless.

Although I have not yet tried, them, there are lots of other things to do besides campaign. After winning each battle, you get a certain number of ''AW Coins''. You can use then to buy more multiplayer/skirmish maps, and you can even unlock more COs this way (though I have not gotten far enough to try this).

You can also design your own maps! This is the most amazing part. I tried the map editor for a little while, and it was incredibly intuitive and flexible. I look forward to making many a campaign with this editor.

Multiplayer, which I have not yet tried, appears to be as flexible as it is entertaining. You can play Worms style, passing the GBA around. You can play off of one cartridge and two GBAs, but this is a limited mode with small maps. Once you get multiple GBAs and multiple cartridges, this game lights on fire. You can trade custom maps, play co-op, or play up to 4 player free-for-all. I'm tempted to buy my little brother a GBA and this game just play multiplayer.

If any Game Boy Advance games deserves a perfect 10, it's Advance Wars. The game is simply the most FUN, INVOLVING, and ACTION-PACKED strategy game I've ever played. With perfectly balanced units, attractive presentation, fantasticly deep playing field, boisterous & distinctive Commanders, flexible map editing, and what promises to be fantastic multiplayer, this game is just a must-get for any GBA owner with even a slight taste for thinking games. It's easy to learn, but promises hours upon hours of gameplay.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/17/01, Updated 09/17/01