"A Gamer's Gold-Mine"

So, you are in the store, looking for a new game to plug into that new Game Boy Advance you got. You flip through the titles and boxes until you come to a box called Advance Wars. Since you like strategy games (who doesn’t) you pick it up and read how you have to end a war. Exc. Exc. Well since you are rich from all the cash you have saved up, you go up to the counter, pay the money and walk out the store. Congratulations, you just made one of the best purchases of your life!

Here’s how it goes. You are currently an Advisor for the country of Orange Star. That pesky neighboring country Blue Moon has been having conflicts with the borders and a war has broke out. Your job is to advise a cast of eleven Commanding Officers (CO) to end the war. Simple right? WRONG!!!

Advance Wars has loads of the real aspects of a battlefield such as how units have ammo and gasoline supplies. If your tank, or one of the other many units, runs out of gas, you’re stuck as a rock. Run out of ammo and you have a 16,000 G tin can on wheels. Like most other games for the GBA, Advance Wars has a single pack as well as a multi pack VS. Mode.

The music in the game is quite unique. Each CO has their own special tune, from the classical compositions of Sonja to the country sounds of Grit. Sound is a great factor too. You hear the loud blasts of the tanks, and almost every bullet hitting those un-expecting infantry.

Take one look at the art on the back of the box and you’ll say something like: “That’s a kiddies game. I can beat that in a few minutes.” Well, first of all the graphics are outstandingly done, you can see the great detail that the artists put into the units. Also, every country has it’s own architecture. For example, a Blue Moon’s Recon would look different than a Green Earth’s Recon.

The second thing wrong with that saying is the difficulty. You start in Field Training, learning basic commands like moving and attacking. Then you move onto the Campaign mode. Not only does it have 22 different levels but most levels can be played as different CO’s, making the maps different. Also, if you finish the campaign, you can move on to advanced Campaign, making the levels a whole lot harder. And don’t forget the War Room, a great place to try new strategies!

Should you ever get tired of this great games map-selection, you and your friends can make your own maps! In the Create Maps section you can build mighty bases or just a small rural area.

What more could you want from a great game? That’s why I give it a PERFECT 10/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/02, Updated 01/27/02