Advance Wars :: Reviewed by A Certain Swagger
War is hell. Advance Wars is heaven.
Strategy games have always found a place in my heart. Alas, the time it takes to complete even a single battle in most tactical video games can leave the busy player with a sense of dread. Will I be able to finish the stage in time? Granted, some games use in game time limits quite well, forcing the player to reach a certain threshold of skill, but the time constraints in a turn based strategy game are usually real-time.
Thankfully, we have the Advance Wars series! Packaged as a portable battlefield all your time constraint woes are gone.
Forget magic, this game is about cold, hard, steel. As a writer and a gamer, nothing irks me more than when a game breaks from it’s own theme. Evident from the art above, we’re talking about tanks, artillery, and helicopters. Modern warfare with modern technology. The only possible exception comes in the form of the CO power. Each commanding officer (a cast of roughly 10) wields a unique ability that becomes available over the events of each battle. However, only a couple seem to break the theme of modern warfare. Most of the special abilities fit real world scenarios, ranging from a boost in reconaissance, a quick skillful repair of all damaged units, to a forced march that increases troop movement at the expense of morale.
The game offers a campaign mode where you can make rank, challenge an AI, and experience a light-hearted story (that hints to the beginnings of something explored in the rest of the series, albeit darker). The first Advance Wars is both a wonderful introduction into strategy games and even for experienced strategists, sure to become an old favorite.
Other highlights include a map editor, a realistic grading system (losing a unit you could have saved is bad, and not weakening the enemy when you could have is equally so), and a war room filled with entirely optional battles that can often eclipse even the hardest campaign missions.
The downside: this is a GBA game. This wouldn’t be a problem and is hardly a shortcoming as 2d gaming is alive and well, (often showing more interactive creativity than the 3d games on major consoles), but with the introduction of the new Nintendo DSi, the GBA cart is finally phased out. If you want to play this classic series from the beginning, and I hope you do, then you’ll need to keep a device that is compatible with a GBA cartridge.
