"The shot heard around the world..."

Let's flash back to the middle of 2001. The gaming world was being overrun with previews for the titles on the upcoming GBA. One of the games featured was a quirky little strategy game called Advance Wars. Since I knew this would be my first foray into these types of strategy games, I was looking forward to giving this much-hyped game a shot. When I got this game for Christmas, I spent hours and hours learning the strategies, playing the fields, and taking in as much as I could…until I got annihilated partway through the game and I gave up for a few months. Eventually, I came back to my first GBA game and finished the war I had started so many months before. Looking back, I can say that Advance Wars provided me a new gaming experience.

Take a look at the title of this game. If you honestly can't figure out the overall concept of the game…Well, I really don't have anything to say about that. Just in case you don't get it, this game is all about warfare. You start the game as a tactical adviser. You're partnered up with Andy, a young commanding officer in the Orange Star army, an elite division of your country's military force. Everything is going well in your corner of existence…until a rival country attacks your homeland! It's time for you to beat back that invading scum with all the military might of the Orange Star army! You're given everything from countless expendable foot soldiers to expensive fighter jets. You have to use all of your military's resources to fight your new enemies. But be warned: just because you have countless soldiers willing to die at your command doesn't mean that winning will be easy. You'll meet plenty of other memorable commanding officers as you make your way down the warpath. Your enemies are just as resourceful as you are, and are more than willing to annihilate anything that gets in their way. It's your duty as Orange Star's commanding officer to guide your troops through the war to victory!

Patriotism aside, Advance Wars is a strategy game. You have to fight through plenty of tough battles to fight your way out of the war. You'll have to move your forces strategically in order to gain an advantage. If there is some terrain that provides better cover from attack, you had better move your weakened soldiers there if you want to see them live. Or would you prefer to have them charge out into the open and provide a distraction while forces with more priority can sneak by unnoticed? Why not capture a city and get more funds and resources? Or if you're feeling bold, why not attack the enemy base directly? All you have to do is choose a unit, move them wherever they can possibly move, and watch a cool little cut scene of the two sides shooting at each other. Remember, your playing with the lives of people that don't care if they survive or not. They just want to ensure that Orange Star succeeds in the end. But if you actually care about maintaining your forces, you can carefully develop your own strategies as the game progresses. You have to consider terrain when setting up your perimeters. You have to remember how weather affects your forces' morale and their effectiveness in combat. Also, you have to create your own battle style and use it to adapt to any situation that may arise. Do you prefer long range attacks with rockets? What about an unrelenting ground assault? There will be all sorts of weapons of minimized destruction available to you. It's just a matter of using your military resources wisely and effectively to ensure your victory.

But don't count out your enemies just yet. Unlike a lot of permissive and hapless foes that we've come across in this generation of consoles, your opposition is fully capable of crushing you if you happen to make a few wrong decisions. The AI in this game can be overwhelming if you let things get out of hand. You have to be on the look out for any offensive fronts that your enemy could be setting up. And you go into the battle underestimating the capabilities of your or your enemy's units. That little mech platoon may not seem like much on its own when it's put up against a tank, but enough of those platoons are devastating. Also, you enemies can use special abilities to strengthen their forces or hinder yours. One of your foes can make it snow, making your progress slow and unbearable. Another foe has an ungodly amount of range to complement his distanced style of fighting. There's even a certain annoying little girl that can see units that you've tried so hard to conceal. While these special powers take away from the overall realism of the game, they are still a clear and present danger to your success.

But as you progress further and further into the game, you'll discover that the enemy AI isn't quite as daunting as it seems. Once you've established battle strategies and played a number of battles, you'll start to notice all sorts on consistencies in your enemy's attack pattern. For some reason, be it the programmers fault or not, the computer almost always goes after certain targets, concentrate in a single area, or make some sort of colossal screw-up that could change the tide of the battle. And once you get a hang of these little programming errors, beating your enemies senseless can be a casual affair. If you pay attention to the actions of the computer, this game starts to lack the intimidating AI that was supposed to be present. Of course, you can't let your guard down completely, lest the computer actually does something unusual. Also, the overall difficulty can fluctuate wildly as the story pans out. Some of your enemy commanding officers seem completely inept, while the next enemy can dominate if not kept under control. Although the AI can be predictable at times, it can still give you a run for your money if you don't stay sharp.

The combat of this game is fraught with bloodshed and massive destruction. Thankfully, the graphics don't include all of the gory details. When two units are fighting each other, there is a small cut scene where the opposing sides march onto the field and open fire. While the landscape isn't highly detailed, it is good enough to create a sense of atmosphere. You can see the flashes as the guns are fired. You can see the explosions and watch the smoke clear from the mangled machines. At least we can't see any of the blood that your soldiers sacrificed for your victory. There are no screams of agony of cries for help, only the indistinct pixels of your soldiers' battle-hardened faces. At least there are the drums of war and some upbeat music to help liven up the grisly scenes on the battlefield. To ease the effects of the bombshell concussions, the sound effects of the explosions and gunshots seem muted. While this may make it easier for you to concentrate on your overall battle strategy, it takes away from the sense of realism and the portrayal of direct combat. Nevertheless, you'll be getting a birds-eye view of everything that's going on. Hopefully you have the stomach for all the destruction that will go on around you.

But don't let me dissuade you. Advance Wars is an excellent game for all of you strategy fanatics out there. It features a quirky story, funny characters, and a fair amount of difficulty. A few programming problems and exploitable AI bring down the game, but its gameplay is still solid enough for you to enjoy your experience. For those of you that prefer hacking and slashing your way through a battle, don't bother with this game. It requires plenty of thought and a keen eye for strategy. If you enjoy carefully planning out your battlefield tactics and annihilating your foes with your unique battle plan, have a look at Advance Wars. The war is just beginning…

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/04