First off I have to admit these are the most difficult impressions that I’ve ever had to write for Planet. Due to the complexity and the size of Advance Wars, it’s almost impossible to play this game in the period of time that I was allotted. Don’t get me wrong, this game is fantastic, but it’s not the type of game that you can only play in a couple hours. How so you ask? Well, according to an inside source, Ken Lobb has been reported to have played Advance Wars against another Nintendo big wig for a period of 7 hours. This is in one sitting mind you. After playing the game for a few hours I don’t doubt it in the least.

In a nutshell, Advance Wars is a strategy game that could be compared to (as Kelly explained) a blend of Command and Conquer, Chess, and Rock-Paper-Scissors. It’s much more involving than something like Mario Advance or Tony Hawk. How deep and how big is this game? Well, the tutorial mode takes around 3 hours to play through. Yes, I am serious! This is not a game that you can just pick up for a few minutes and play.

Under the hood Advance Wars is a challenging turn based, resource based strategy game. You are in command of an army that needs to take out the other army. You choose a commanding officer, all of which have different abilities and attributes. Once you get into battle you deploy your troops, jets, tanks, helicopters, subs, and carriers to battle the enemy. Initially there are 4 commanding officers and armies that you can control, but you can unlock more. There’s over 100 scenarios to play through as well as the ability to create your own (and you can trade these over a link cable). Also add in the fact that you need to build your army, deal with terrain, and control your resources. There’s more than enough to play here. I think the last thing you should worry about is finishing the game too early. The single player mode will keep you busy, but multiplayer is where I think Advance Wars will really shine. With Multi-Pak link play you’ll be able to play all the options, but with one Pak it’s going to be stripped down a bit. How much I really couldn’t tell.

The sound and music is simple but effective. I don’t think they are all that complex due to how much gameplay is packed into this cartridge. I think I was more immersed into the gameplay to really notice.

On the surface Advance Wars looks like a cartoony style war game, but I would bet kids will not be drawn to this game due to it’s complexity. Graphically it’s not all that mind blowing, but the art of the characters and the battles are done extremely well. Advance Wars is all about gameplay and strategy, and everything else seems secondary.

Overall, I’m really excited about Advance Wars. After playing for a couple hours I had to put it down. It’s one of those games where you just don’t want to ruin it. I would like to sit down with it for a week (more like a month!) Having said that, I have to admit that this is a title that I was extremely surprised about. I normally don’t like strategy games like this. What makes this game different than a C&C-ish title is Advance Wars has got the Nintendo flavor to it. The game’s got personality! The Commanding officers cracked me up! In a period of just a few hours I have to admit that I am really hooked. It’s no wonder import fanatics rave about the previous Wars titles that never made it out of Japan. I would almost bet that this will sell well with adults and perhaps move systems into the older demographic. If you have the time, make sure you chalk up September 10th on your calendar. You won’t want to miss this game.