"A rare genre-defining title that will have you coming back years later"

Overview:
Advance Wars is like no other game on a handheld system, or any system for that matter. It is so jam-packed with features that you will never stop playing it. After over 3 years of owning this game, I still come back and play it every once and a while, and it is more fun than ever. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning…

Advance Wars is a turn based strategy game. In non-gamer terms, that means this is a strategy game where each person makes all of their moves in one turn, and then the other player makes their move, and back and forth. Chess is a turn-based strategy game in a broad sense. The only difference between this and chess in mechanic's sense is that in Advance Wars, you can move every troop/vehicle you have in the same turn, just only as far as they will go. But even then I'm still getting ahead of myself.

Advance Wars is basically a game where you own an army. It is your job to defeat the enemies who want to take over your home island, and then you must go on the hunt to destroy the evil doers once and for all. You do this by capturing an enemy base, which there will be one of in each map, or level. You can use troops, tanks, jets, bombers, artillery, battleships, cruisers, helicopters, and more. You can transport troops in helicopters and armored trucks called APCs, and you can transport vehicles on transport boats. The game isn't just battle through, because more often then not you will be outnumbered heavily in vehicle terms. It will be your job to destroy the enemy using skill and deceptiveness. You will constantly be thinking three or four turns in advance. This is a very though-oriented game, and it pulls out every stop well. But with this simple idea of command and conquer, how does it gain the status of one of the best strategy games ever? In it's overwhelming options.

First, it boasts over 100 levels. The main mode can take you to different maps depending on which CO, or Commanding Officer you choose for a mission. Each CO has a special CO power that they can use when they gain enough energy. You gain energy by destroying troops. Some of these powers are healing troops, empowering troops, or even things such as tidal waves that can damage enemy troops. Once you beat the main game, you will gain money which can be used to buy more maps for use against the AI or multiplayer opponents. One of the things Advance Wars is known for is it's multiplayer. You can challenge up to 3 other players with just one pack in a simple map, or 3 other players who have their own pack and you can play on any unlocked map. You can even make up your own map, and trade them with friends or play against friends on them!

Advance Wars is one of those rare games that could easily be a great game on the PC or a console and yet fits everything on the handheld, shooting it even higher among great games. You will be scratching your head wondering how the developers ever fit all of the good stuff inside of that tiny little cartridge, because I know I have. Advance Wars is a game with no flaws, and a great play by yourself or with friends.

Graphics: 10/10
Advance Wars boasts cartoonish anime graphics during cut scenes that show dialogue between COs and troops, and it is very comic-book influenced. The animation is smooth and flawless, and the troops and vehicles are very well animated. When you move them, they chug along and you see full animation. The maps are very detailed and show such things as reefs in the water, hills, lakes, rivers, and mountains. There are even weather elements, such as rain, snow, and fog of war, which is something that is very challenging, because you cannot see further than one or two blocks in front of you, and you must use recon vehicles to scout out areas where enemies might hide. The game even goes as far as to have your troops see further when they go on top of a mountain. When you battle with an enemy troop or vehicle, you see the close-up animation of the two troops or vehicles fighting. Battle ships shoot missiles out of the cannons, Bombers open up the flap under the wing and drop bombs, and you blow away enemy troops and vehicles. When you kill an enemy troop, they just fly away. Everything is cartoony and it works very well for the atmosphere set up.

Sound: 9/10
The sound in Advance Wars is crisp and clear, and puts you into the environment that is set up. In beginning levels, the air is calm, and you hear nice tunes. When you are in later levels with elements such as fog of war, there is eerie music that puts you into a state of fear. The troops make walking sounds, tired screech along the road, and planes fly with the whoosh of air behind them. The only drawback is that there is no voice over sound when the COs are talking, but they developers might have done this on purpose, not because of limitations, but to add to the cartoon feel of the game. Either way, there is still great sound in this game.

Gameplay: 10/10
Advance Wars is one of the few genre games created that turn you onto a genre that you previously had no interest in. I personally had no interest in strategy games before playing Advance Wars, and I picked it up because it got so many good reviews. I was blown away by how much fun it was. It is violent without being violent, intense, and it is very clever and funny. The game never takes it's storyline too seriously, and throws in some of that great Japanese humor into it that we Westerners rarely get to see. But not to underestimate the story. This has a great story with plot twists and betrayals. But in the meat of the game, no game has better made use of so many great options then Advance Wars. It is so much fun to make up your own map and then battle on it, as well as play against friends. This game is so much fun; you will never get sick of it.

Replayability: 10/10
There are so many options in this game that it will take you a few months just to get through them all. And one you unlock all the maps and COs, you want to play them over and over and over again because they are so much fun. Advance Wars is a game that you can play the same map 20 times and it will still feel fresh and new the next time you play. The multiplayer option will give you countless hours of fun, and the create a map will too give you endless possibilities. The developers made sure that you got every penny's worth, and let me tell you, I'd easily pay twice what I did to get my hands on Advance Wars and I wouldn't look back.

Rent or Buy?
There are few games that after almost four years are still being sold at full price. Advance Wars is one of them. But don't let that stop you, because it's handheld, it costs less then console games, and it is a LOT more fun then most console games. So buy two of them! That way you can give one to a friend, he or she can get better, and you can battle at school or home or work. The fun never ends with Advance Wars, and is one of those genre-defining titles that you will love until the day you die.

Final Thought:
Advance Wars is one of those rare gems that comes out once every 5 to 10 years. You won't find a better strategy game around, and that is guaranteed. Please get this game, because you are really missing out on a classic. I know that in 10 years people will be saying about Advance Wars what they say about Donkey Kong and Mario 64, how it defined a genre and generation of gaming.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/05