"War, hoo, yeah, what is it good for?"

War sucks. You can’t deny that. Good people die due to idiotic acts of terrorism, bullets from another human being, or grenades being tossed at their faces. But really, what is war good for? Do we really achieve anything from defeating an enemy that threw planes at us? Do we really, truly feel that justice is being served by killing those people who hijacked those planes that fateful day and the other people that planned the mass destruction that was September 11th? Have we ever thought of the poor innocents that have gotten caught in the crossfire?

War is massive in it’s complexity, not only because of the strategic planning needed to defeat the enemy, but because of the massive range of human emotions that filter in to war. One day, I feel that us Americans are no better then the terrorists that attacked us, and the next day, I feel that those bastard terrorists should die for what they’ve done.

Advance Wars is a highly complex game that rarely invokes the human emotions associated with war, but instead focuses on the heavy strategic planning needed to defeat the enemy. In times like this, it is hard not to resist pretending that the enemy in Advance Wars is none other than Osama Bin Laden.

Advance Wars takes place on a continent where four countries reside. A sudden attack on the Orange Star country by the Blue Moon country leaves Orange Star surprised. Nell, a Commanding Officer in the Orange Star Army, manages to hold off Olaf, Commanding Officer of the Blue Moon Army. This battle between countries acts as your training tutorial, where Nell teaches you the basics of war.

During this attack, an unknown force is attacking the other two countries, Green Earth and Yellow Comet. After the battle between Blue Moon and Orange Star is finished, Blue Moon continues attacking, which leaves Orange Star the only choice of rushing into Blue Moon territory to stop Olaf’s rampage. What follows is a beautifully constructed story where Orange Star learns of this unknown force attacking the other countries, and how the separate countries join together to stop this force.

Playing on a grid map, you and the enemy Commanding Officer take turns moving your soldiers, attacking, and gathering supplies or checking out the area. You gather funds and cash by capturing cities, and you use the funds and cash to provide fuel and ammo to your soldiers and sending out new soldiers from bases, which you also must capture if you hope to have any chance in the game.

In order to win a battle in AW, you must either capture the enemy HQ or destroy every enemy unit on the map. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your enemy has a plentiful supply of bases to deploy troops, as well as cities to provide funds. Most maps also are set up to provide the enemy the upper hand, too, terrain wise. Mountains, rivers, and forests often flank the enemy stronghold, making rushing into battle often a foolhardy decision.

Terrain and other elements of Mother Nature are often deciding factors in who wins in Advance Wars. The terrain is varied; you’ll encounter plains, reefs, mountains, and forests, among other things. Some units cannot travel on certain terrain. Units that have treads for their mode of transportation cannot travel on mountains, but a few of them can traverse a river. The foot soldiers, like the Mechs and Infantry, can travel mountains easily.

Sometimes you’ll not only be up against an enemy Command Officer, but also a darkening fog. This happening is called the Fog of War. Fog hampers you vision greatly, which means you won’t be able to see where your enemy is hiding. Don’t fret, the enemy won’t be able to see you, either. Often you’ll progress into an area only to be shot down by an enemy unit hiding in a forest or across the mountains. Different units have different vision ranges in Fog, so you must utilize them properly.

The choices for soldier units are large and plentiful. There are three types of soldier units: ground, air, and water units. Ground units are the standard soldiers, such as bazooka wielding Mechs and the uber-powerful Medium Tanks. Air units range from the Battle Copters to the Fighters, which can pretty much destroy any other air unit. Water units are the sneaky Submarines, important Landers, and the deadly Battleships. If you want to go far in the world of Advance Wars, you must learn to balance your army and learn the subtle differences each unit offers.

The differences in the units are there, but some you must look at more closely to tell. The Infantry and the Mechs are the only “human” troops, and while the Infantry is the cheapest to send out of the base, the Mechs are a little more expensive and pack more firepower. The Infantry moves quicker then the Mechs, but also pack the weakest firepower.

Adding more strategy to the game are the Commanding Officers. Each officer has special strengths and weaknesses. For example, Max’s direct fire units are super strong, but his long distance attack units like Rockets are weak. Sea captain Drake has awesome, strong water units, but his air units are among the weakest in the game. Aside from these strengths, each CO has a special ability that can be called upon in the middle of battle. Andy, for example, can heal every unit of his on the field. Drake uses his ability to call upon a massive wave that damages every unit on the field that isn’t his. You must use the CO, which suits your ability.

Being a turn-based strategy game, Advance Wars doesn’t attempt to amaze you with beautiful visuals. The game’s graphics are understandably simple, and get the point across. Each map is just a fancy grid with different terrain features. The mountains and forests look a tad generic, but other than that, the cities, bases, and other terrain and features look nice. When a CO uses his ability, the screen flashes like a fancy anime, which will make you chuckle. Speaking of the Commanding Officers, each one is a nicely drawn anime character that vibrates with personality. The units, while small, contain the right amount of detail. You can tell that the Infantry units have guns, and other little features, but the units aren’t so amazingly detailed that they look out of place on the relatively plain grid map.

AW’s crippling flaw is its lackluster music. Each CO has a tune that fits their style. Grit, the western sharpshooter, has a western tune. Captain Drake’s tune sounds just like some old seaman shanty. The tune plays constantly in each battle, and that gets quite repetitive. The sound effects are good. The sound of your sub diving underwater sounds neat, as does the sound of your air units rushing through the air. The explosions and footsteps are especially nice, and manage to fit through the tinny GBA speaker wonderfully.

The interface is surprisingly easy to use. Within minutes you’ll be commanding your troops at ease. It is amazing how a game so complex and well done is so simple! Simplicity is great, and this game is awesome at parading it.

Advance Wars offers replay value in the form of a shop. After playing a few battles, you’ll earn coins. Using these coins you can hire different Commanding Officers, buy new VS. maps, or new War Room maps. The game also grades each battle you finish on the always-used “S-E” ranking guide. After you finish the story mode, the game gives you an overall rank on how good you’ve done. This game actually makes you want to get an S ranking. Something about the complexity and the simplicity entices you to go ahead and get every secret this game has to offer.

Sure, Advance Wars is a tad goofy. With humorous looking Commanding Officers, strange CO Abilities, and somewhat unrealistic units, it is hard to take Advance Wars as seriously as a real war. But even with it’s strange sense of humor, Advance Wars offers a highly complex yet simple take on a massive subject.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/01, Updated 07/07/02