"GBA's BEST strategy game"

Advance Wars is a GBA turn-based strategy game in which two to four teams take turns building and ordering military units to attack the enemy force. The game allows you to create your own maps to fight on or buy pre-made ones. There are also several multiplayer modes for those who wish to fight their friends.

GRAPHICS: 6/10
The game is on the GBA, so great graphics isn't expected, but Advance Wars simply did not meet up to the low expectations that were set for it, graphically. There were barely any animations; it might as well have been a bunch of still photos moving around. The resolution, though, was good on both the smaller things, such as the environment and units, to things like the characters. So, all in all, it wasn't that bad, but it was disappointing to not see anything really move, like you would see in an RTS game that Advance Wars is trying to mimic. The units simply have poorly drawn wheels that move even when they aren't going anywhere. Of course this is better than having them be perfectly still, but I would have liked some decent animations. Additionally, the moving logos in the background on the menu grew to be real annoying. The only above average part to the graphics would be the battle animation. It gets pretty close up and the explosions look cool considering this is a gameboy advance game.

SOUND: 8/10
The sound in Advance Wars is truly spectacular for a Game Boy Advance game. The music, while there is really only one song, is appropriate and entertaining, yet not distracting. It is something that sounds like a modern Japanese song without any words, and some drums thrown in there too. The other sounds such as gun shots sound realistic, yet somehow fake at the same time. They were probably real gun shot sounds, but they had to be cut down to fit in the cartridge. But you really can't complain as the smaller sounds do not change the gameplay expiernce at all.

MULTIPLAYER: 9/10
Probably the key factor to Advance Wars' success is the multiplayer. It features several different ways to play. There is Single Pak link with up to four players, Mutli Pak Link for up to four players, and single GBA for up to four as well. You get to choose from what seems like hundreds of maps, plus created ones. You can be any of the characters that you have unlocked/purchased already. Also, you can control several conditions such as the weather and the animation style. The possibilities are endless, and nothing beats the look on your friends face when you just annihilated their bomber that they spent 4 turns saving up for. It is the multiplayer game that the GBA was made for.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10
Advance Wars follows a linear style of gameplay throughout the entire game. It isn't a bad thing; it just doesn't vary much in this way. You take turns with your opponent; building, moving, and attacking units. The weather sometimes changes for a turn, changing the way your units move, or how far they can see in Fog of War. Controlling everything is really quite simplistic as well. You move your cursor over a unit and press "A"to move it, then press "A" again to fire. Don't let the game's kindergarten control scheme throw you off because there is so much strategy involved with your every action. Should I move onto a forest for defense? Or should I go ahead and attack? What should I build? These are just a handful of questions you will be asking yourself throughout the entire experience of Advance Wars. It truley is one of the most entertaining expirences that you will have using a Game Boy Advance, even though it is a fairly old game.

REPLAYABILITY: 9/10
This is probably the reason for Advance Wars success. There is a never ending struggle to beat your friends, get high scores in the War Room, or unlock some new character. Also, the store alone will keep you playing for months. You always have to do another level to get more coins to buy that map or that character that you have been saving up for. The Design Map feature adds huge points to this as well. You can create any map imaginable for any scenerio. I myself have often created my own campaigns using this. Perhaps the most enjoyable feature in Advance Wars also happens to be replayable too, the story mode. Every time you go through, you can make different choices to get to play different maps, or if you do very well on certain missions, you unlock other missions that in turn can help you unlock characters or COs(commanding officers) as they are called in Advance Wars.

OVERALL GRADE: 90%
Advance Wars is the first GBA game in a long time to really grab my attention. While it lacks great graphics, it makes up twofold in Multiplayer and Gameplay. It really is a must-have for any GBA owner. Not to mention that now that it has been out for a while, you can find it for a very low price at EBGames or eBay.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/04