Review: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
Today we meet a brand-new member of The Weekly Geek family. She is an experienced writer and The Weekly Geek's business manager. As a gamer who has just recently been inaugurated into the "hardcore" ranks, I believe she is going to provide a new perspective that is refreshing in this world of cookie-cutter game reviews and news. She hates the girl-gamer stereotype and is currently forming a vast army to rid the world of cliché Please welcome Jinny to The Weekly Geek! -- Chris
Strategy games, being the games of my people, have always held a special place in my heart. What self-respecting Korean doesn’t remember the countless nights of playing Starcraft until the sun comes up? Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is quickly becoming my Starcraft, as I play it twice daily during my lengthy bus commute. Having been so engrossed in my battles against the Lazurian army, I’ve almost missed my stop on numerous occasions. This being said, I normally suck at video games. I don’t play video games because I’m good at them, but because of the immense joy they bring me. If you’re looking for a review of this game that cites plotlines from previous versions, compares gameplay with the introduction of new units, and refers to a buttload of gaming history, these are the reviews for you. I’m hoping to bring you a fresher perspective because I am literally the new kid on this figurative block.
Days of Ruin is the first in the series that I have had the pleasure to play, but fear not, because your dutiful servant has done some research on the previous games for adequate background. Thanks, Wikipedia, even if you are run by the ‘Lord of the Universe.’ From what I understand, the game introduces an entirely new set of characters. Will, our protagonist, wakes to find most of the world annihilated. While he is anxiously scouring the area for other survivors, he encounters The Beast and his minions, who threaten to kill him. Good fortune is soon bestowed upon Will, as Captain Brenner, leader of the 12th battalion (aka Brenner’s Wolves), and his second-in-command, Lin, come to his rescue. I found myself fully engaged in the first battle despite its ease. Upon completion, Brenner and Lin inform Will about the disastrous meteor and how it caused a dark cloud of dust to block out the sun entirely. Having taken notice of the gaming community’s sensitivity to spoilers, I will not “give away” any more of the plot, but it is meaty and delicious. Enjoy! If you’re really that curious, you can read about it here. Let it be known that I wasn’t the culprit who corrupted your virgin eyes because everything I have said happens in the first 10 minutes.
The game is friggin’ HARD! When I finally got to the 11th level (26 levels total), I found myself failing miserably and having to replay each level at least twice to be successful. I beat level 14 by the skin of my teeth and experienced the most epic battle between my G-boat and an enemy G-boat. My strategy? Starve them out! I destroyed all their rigs so enemy units couldn’t re-supply. Also, it took a while for my itty-bitty brain to figure out that I shouldn’t attack large, menacing tanks with little dudes on bikes. The battle scenes were entertaining to watch and for my first few hours of playtime, I sat through each and every cut scene. I haven’t had much of a chance to delve into the multiplayer aspect of the game because…I have no excuse, especially since local multiplayer games only require one DS game card! Friend codes are not a requirement for online multiplayer because you can play against random challengers. I think, however, I’ll skip getting my ass handed to me by strangers until I hone my skills somewhat.
The tone of the dialog seems a bit too buoyant to deal with the dark subject matter of a post-apocalyptic world. Personally, I think the dialog works to suit Will’s naiveté because he is still, in fact, very much a child. His difficulties with swallowing the travesties of war have led me to question my own moral misgivings on the subject. I'll save that for another post, that is, if Chris ever lets me write again.
With Days of Ruin being the fourth game in the Advance Wars franchise, I wonder if they'll release more titles. I don't have such a big problem with franchises, if they put out a good product and don't rehash the same game with new, fancy packaging as a mere distraction. I'll keep my fingers crossed and get cracking on playing the first three games in the meantime.
Score: 4.5/5 Buy it! Hell, any game that makes use of the word “modicum” should automatically be inducted into some list that exists somewhere comprised of worthwhile games to play. That fact alone is solid enough for this game to stand on its own wordsmith-y legs.
What say you?!