Metachronos overall score = 8.6 / 10
Positive
- Terrific online support
- Solid map editor
- Huge amounts of single- and multiplayer content
- New visuals look sharper, more detailed
Negative
- Single-player mode is too tough
- It's a Modern Turn-Based game
Intelligent Systems' long-running turn-based strategy series returns to the Nintendo DS with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and it's far and away the most divergent entry in the series yet. The game eschews an absurdly happy-go-lucky attitude toward military conflict in favor of a darker, more ponderous tone, which suggests that the series is going through its sulky teenage years. The gameplay itself will still feel familiar to returning players, though even veterans will notice an increased level of difficulty, making it a slightly less accessible experience. Even so, Days of Ruin still stands as a very satisfying strategy game with a ton of content.
The main single-player campaign in Days of Ruin consists of 26 campaign missions of varying length, as well as a number of optional training missions, which are often even more punishing than the campaign missions. Frankly, all of the really exciting stuff in this game exists outside the single-player campaign. In addition to local multiplayer support, Days of Ruin features online play for up to four players, complete with voice chat. If the 150 maps that the game comes with aren't enough, there's also a fully featured map editor that works in tandem with the game's online abilities, allowing you to upload your custom maps and share them with friends. Even if the stiff challenge and clumsy new "serious" tone don't make it the most accessible or recommendable entry in the series, there's still a lot to like about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, especially if you're looking for some really compelling online action for your Nintendo DS.
The boxshot for Advance Wars
http://www.tothegame.com/boxshot.asp?picnum=us&id=7411
Subject: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin ( DS ) 
Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:19 am
