Dual Strike‘s score stands as my favorite on the Nintendo DS thus far, and Days of Ruin, while an admirable effort, falls into the buttrock sand trap that so often preys upon titles that adopt the heavier tone, be it in storytelling or visual presentation - or, in this case, both. It’s as well-crafted as Dual Strike, just… y’know, different.Īlas, the same can’t be said for the music. Sprites are sharp, battle animations are crisp and entertaining (’til you turn them off, and you likely will), but how you’ll feel about the new visual style an entirely individual thang. Although it’s purely a matter of taste, by the time I had invested some serious hours in Days of Ruin, I found myself very much missing the bright battlefields of yesteryear chalk it up to next-gen exhaustion, but the one thing I can count on about my DS games - particularly my Nintendo DS games - is that at the end of the day, they don’t look like Gears of War. Battles, then, can be tackled from a variety of different angles, putting the strategy back into this turn-based strategy.Īs mentioned previously, the graphical shift is significant, but not necessarily for the better. While specialization is still the order of the day, players will find that the units at their disposal - particularly in the late stages of the campaign - are perhaps more versatile than they might expect. Several more units bridge the gap between land and air combat, lessening the rock-paper-monotony and limited use of some units available in previous titles. The mess of tanks in Dual Strike have been reduced to one brutal beast, the War Tank, blissfully counterable with the new indirect Anti-Tank unit. The bike, low on firepower but high on mobility, makes those early crawls of capturing buildings and facilities quicker, kicking off battles at a brisk pace. Several new units included in the fray in Days of Ruin also serve to strengthen some long-standing weak points of the series. It’s a reduction, yes - but boiled down, what remains is Advance Wars play at its most pure, with a few new twists to keep things fresh. This pairing of on-field play and a reduced emphasis on grinding and exploiting CO abilities makes for a much simpler strategic outing in Days of Ruin, and a more enjoyable experience because of it. When killed, the CO returns to headquarters, but if he or she can survive a handful of skirmishes, eventually specialized CO abilities will be made available for use. When they become available, COs can join the front lines by leading a unit, automatically promoting that unit to the maximum level - we’ll talk more ’bout that in a second - in a sort of “hero” mechanic reminiscent of several RTS and turn-based titles we’ve seen already. Battles in Days of Ruin, therefore, tend to be much more straightforward and seemingly much more difficult to break outright, as evidenced by some ridiculously powerful CO pairings in the series’ first DS romp. That sort of thing.ĭual Strike’s tag-team commanding officers (COs) are a thing of the past, and tag abilities along with them the role of the CO in a given battle is greatly reduced. Picked up by the remnants of the military, Will embarks on a mighty crusade to rid what remains of the world of those who would plunder it. The player assumes the POV of Will, a cadet of the Rubinelle military academy. What’s left of the population scavenges for food and supplies and, with what remaining military force is still intact, kill the crap out of each other - which is, y’know, what you do. Here’s the rub: almost 90% of the world’s population is dead, killed in a series of devastating meteor showers that have largely wiped human civilization off the map and blotted out the sun in a massive dark cloud. Unlike the previous bright, sunny all out friggin’ wars featured in the series, Days of Ruin adopts a post-apocalyptic swagger that will definitely raise some eyebrows. That’s natural, you know - it’s meant to be different. Fans of Dual Strike and other titles in Advance Wars‘ brief but beloved North American tenure will likely notice the change in the art direction, tone, and general style around which Days of Ruin is situated.
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