Advance wars days of ruin vs dual strike

5 out of 5 stars

by Sep 02, 2006

GREAT GAME FOR KIDS AND ADULTS!!!!

This is another great game in the small genre of turn based strategy on a mobile device. A lot of fun, and deffinately worth the purchase. The main mission can run you as along as 10 hours, though there is plenty to do after you've finished up the regular mission (such as an unlockable hard mission, which is many of the same sort of beginning missions, just with the odds stacked more against you). I'm a very critical person, however dont take what I'm going to say as any reason not to try this game out. Here were I noticed about the game: 1) The graphics didn't really get a boost from the previous games. There are nice touch screen functions, but this game could of pretty much been released on a GBA with the exception of its DS battles (Battles that take place on two screens... two battlefields). 2) Every Commanding Officer (CO) has their own music. A very nice change from most games where you're stuck listening to the same 5-10 tracks the whole game, though the songs do get annoying sometimes if you play the same CO's too often. 3) Being able to play 2 COs at the same time is a great idea and I'm glad they put it into this game. 4) Little work gone into creating a fun multiplayer environment. Multiplayer games are still slow and not too fun.Read full review

5 out of 5 stars

by fuzz545Aug 04, 2006

Advance Wars DS: More Units, More Balance, More Fun

This game has me absolutely enthralled. I've logged a ridiculious amount of hours on it, and I'm still coming back for more on a regular basis. Now, before I go on, I have to note: I wasn't a large fan of turn-based strategy before playing the original Advance Wars, and I still don't particularly enjoy many games in the genre. With that said, this game is amazing. It improves upon the Advance Wars mold, and makes it an exceptionally better game. The new units are fun, and with one exception, very useful. They're also very balanced, and don't make the game less fun, or much more complex. The new COs are also along those lines, with the exception of one, who seems a bit too powerful. Just ban her in multiplayer games. There are a number of other additions, too--like having your COs gain 'experience', thus allowing them access to interesting new abilities in the single-player game. The campaign is much better than that found in the last game, due to better enemy AI, and generally better mission design. In the last game, the odds were so stacked against you that the dumb enemies had to make up for it. Here, you still always start in worse position than the enemy, and there are a small number of very frustrating missions, but the overall balance is much better, and the AI truly earns its victories. For those of you who haven't played the other games, I reccomend you spend a decent amount of time in War Room (a skirmish-type mode not related to the story) before tackling the campaign, as you'll likely be a bit lost at the beginning. The only really dissappointing part of the main game is the plot, which is simply awful. However, it plays such a small role in the game, you won't notice. There's also a large incentive to replay it several times, due to a hard mode which, instead of simply making the AI better, or their units more powerful, give you entirely different scenarios--it's almost like a whole other campaign. When you're finished with that, there's the aforementioned War Room, which contains dozens of different individual missions, which can keep you busy for quite some time. Multiplayer returns (obviously), and is still the best part of the game. It benifits from the DS's wireless feature--you no longer need a huge mess of cables to avoid passing around the system. So, for those of you who know 3 friends with a DS, buy this game immediatley. Mulitplayer is extremely addictive, and requires much more intense strategizing--you'll find that human opponents are far craftier than the AI. It's also far more satisfying to defeat a friend, rather than the computer. So, this game is a required purchase for nearly any DS owner, even those who don't like turn-based strategy. It's a far better game than its prequels, and one of the most addictive titles out for the system, period. I absolutely love it, and I'm assuming most of you will, as well.Read full review

Great strategy gaming on the go!

Advance Wars: Dual Strike is the third Advance Wars title to be released by Intelligent Systems. This turn-based strategy game details the efforts of a new group of heroes defending their homeland yet again from the evil Black Hole army. As the game progresses new characters and CO's become available including the familiar faces from the previous installments. The game provides a lengthy single-player campaign complete with a new feature enabling the DS's second screen. In one instance a countdown timer is placed on the top screen requiring the player to defeat the map in a set period of time. In other examples there will be two battles to be fought, one on the top screen and one on the bottom. Another new mode, combat, causes players to choose a preset number of ground units to battle computer opponents in realtime, rather than turn-based. The graphics of the title remain consistent with the previous installments, but all the sprites have slightly more of a three-dimensional feel to them. The sound is fitting, the same songs are used for CO's as in previous installments, and the new melodies created for the added CO's in this title are catchy and well-done. The play control can be done traditionally with the directional pad and A and B Buttons, or exclusively with the directional pad and the touch screen. For the most part this game is very similar to the two which came before it. A few new units are added such as a new tank, a stealth bomber, and an aircraft carrier, but for the most part the units to command are mostly similar to the previous games. But, this is definitely a good thing as Intelligent Systems has done a great job of keeping the game balanced and making each unit feel like it can be used in many different situations. As in the previous games players will earn points for each map they successfully complete which can then be used to purchase new CO's and new maps. In addition, each CO will level up over time as they complete maps and will be able to be outfitted with unique abilities such as increasing capture speed of cities, or moving more quickly across certain terrain. In total, this is a title that should not be missed. It feels very similar to the previous games but in the best way possible. With the lengthy normal and hard mode single player campaign, the extra maps, combat mode, a map creator, and wireless multiplayer, Advance Wars: Dual Strike will likely keep you entertained for a very long time.Read full review

Fantastic turn based war game

I loved the Advance Wars series since I first played it on Gameboy Advance for its humor, challenge and just general fun. Dual Strike just adds slight upgrades to all the good things about the previous version but the two CO combat adds a whole new dimension to the strategy and interest. This is a great game and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Advance Wars series.

Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned

Games that make you think.

Like chess with tanks. This game strives to measure your tactical prowess through over a hundred different battlefields. Not to mention that you can customize your own battlefields and test it against your friends wirelessly or against an A.I. that always wants some. Fans of Advance Wars 1 & 2 wont be disappointed because ALL (except Sturm) of the Commanding Officers available in those games are back in this one with 9 more to boot. Theyve also implemented a new level system that gives you skills that make battles easier with each level you gain and a new costume at lv.10. And finally, theres an option to go to the battle with one CO and get double the points, or tag team with two, and level them both up. This just means, you dont need to play the game for countless hours to make COs stronger. When you tag team, you are able to swap COs after your turn which makes that COs characteristics come into play (ie:high defense, low production cost). This also means that you can use their CO powers one after the other, or together with the tag CO power which lets you take a double turn and do more damage if the COs know each other. All in all, its a well rounded game. combat, which lets you control a vehicle that shoots out pellets is good for a bit of fun, but tactical gameplay is where this game shines. if there are any negatives, they arent blaring enough to even notice unless you play this game for 50 hours or so which can easily be done, and they come down to opinion. The map editor could be improved by allowing any other map in the game to be edited, and by allowing black hole's cannons and crystals to be placed in your custom map. But these are small details. Good game, and worth the cash.Read full review