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Jherbold's Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
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| [February 11, 2008 06:01:23 PM]
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Gamelog entry #2:
GAMEPLAY
For the second hour, I returned to the main campaign and progressed through a few more levels, getting to know the new characters
and their plight. After around 30 minutes, I moved back to standard battles, and tried the Nintendo Wifi system. At first glance,
I was amazed. By connecting to the internet, you can participate in random, ranked battles with people all around the world, challenge
friends to voice-chat matches, and upload/download new maps from the servers every day. I decided to try my luck with a 1v1 random
worldwide battle, knowing full well that I was about to get destroyed.
My opponent was, to no surprise, excellent. I began with my old fashioned Advance Wars 2 strategies, and kept figuring out new
stuff about the new units that I didn't know was possible. For example, the Resupply units in this game, Rigs, can build temporary
airports and seaports that resupply troops that rest on them. My opponent quickly overcame my weak army, and I accepted defeat. It
was a really fun fight, though, and I was ready to try again soon.
From this hour of play, it seems that the biggest improvement is the new internet battling system. Bringing the emergent gameplay
of Advance Wars online offers unlimited replay value, and by gaining more knowledge of the new game mechanics one can continually
play and challenge others.
DESIGN
Advance Wars is, at the most basic levels, a more complicated game of chess. By moving pieces, you can attack enemy pieces and
eventually either annihilate their forces or capture their HQ. Because of the fact that this is a video game, it allows for a
degree of complexity and micromanagement that far exceeds the possibilities of chess, while adding cinematic elements that enhance
the experience for the players. Although the game is not amazingly innovative, the appearance of new unit types, wifi capabilities,
and 2 screen system offer much improvement over previous games in the series.
In the campaign, the game uses the storyline to entice players to keep playing, fighting for the characters they slowly grow
attached to. As new enemies emerge, you must fight evil to prevail. The game allows for the fantasy of controlling an army to save mankind,
to be a general that's strategic input sways the battle in their favor. This is perhaps why the game is fun- it allows a player to
play a role as a strategist. By playing others, two people can compete for victory, making extreme player vs. player conflict possible.
The game's tone, music, and storyline are all essential in creating the game experience. This game takes a much darker overtone,
dealing with the death of billions of people and the struggle for life itself. Cold, barren environments span the campaign. Dark,
foreboding music helps to create drama and suspense. The cinematic elements enhance the emergent style gameplay to create something
truly fun and interesting to play. The characters help to keep players interesting, offering rewards for completing missions and
incentives to keep fighting.
Overall, the game takes what the previous Advance Wars titles did well and expands on them. New unit types, characters, internet
capabilities, and storylines make this game a new and more intense installment in the already great series of Advance Wars.
add a comment 
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| [February 11, 2008 06:00:38 PM]
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Gamelog entry #1:
SUMMARY
For this gamelog, I decided to play Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, devastated
by a cataclysmic bombardment of meteors to the earth's surface. You play as a small battalion on a mission to help as many
survivors as possible. The game is a turn based strategy game, in which you have several different units that you send at
your opponent in a chess-like fashion.
GAMEPLAY
This is the third advance wars game I've played, and as such, I was already very familiar with the combat system and general
strategies going into it. However, my first hour of play turned out to be unusually exciting, with a much different and more
realistic feel than it's predecessors.
The game begins with you as Will, a confused teenager stranded alone after the meteors hit. As bandits rush to kill you,
Captain Brenner comes to the rescue. You control several different military units while attempting to save Will- like infantry,
bikes, mechs, and recon units. By sending a unit to attack another in it's radius, you deal damage to the enemy unit. Terrain,
unit type, and unit health all come into play in determining how much damage a hit returns. By dealing 10 damage, a unit will be
destroyed.
The strategy comes into play in determining when you should attack an enemy unit, how best to protect your own units from enemy fire,
and what sacrifices you are willing to make in your own units in order to kill an enemy. The game is one of emergence, and the
possibilities for strategies are almost endless. By utilizing terrain, capturing cities to acquire money, and preparing defenses to counter
an opponent, you can lead yourself to victory.
After completing the first mission, I decided to try out some regular battles and see what was different about this installment.
The game features several new units, like anti-tank units, bike infantry, and dusters that all lead to different gameplay decisions.
The 2 screen system was a big improvement as well, as important information about unit types, terrain, and map locations are always
visible.
With all of the new improvements, this game seems to be the best Advance Wars yet. The music in particular is amazing, much more
dark and sinister than it's previous counterparts. The characters are more three-dimensional and realistic, and the storyline is
appearing to be excellent. I couldn't keep a smile off my face the entire hour I played- everything just felt so nostalgic and
yet so new at the same time. I was reminded of how great a game Advance Wars was- and just how much strategy was required to win.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 13th, 2008 at 02:57:49.
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Jherbold's Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 11 February, 2008
GameLog closed on: Wednesday 5 March, 2008 |
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