Post by: WindyMan on October 20, 2007, 02:24:01 PM
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=14649
The first thing I noticed about Days of Ruin when sitting down to play it for about a half an hour was that Intelligent Systems isn't messing around with the game's tone. Instead of the happier, colorful settings that the previous Advance Wars games had, everything in this new DS version is darker, grittier, and a little more serious. No, not on the same level as Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers (at least, not in the first few levels), but you're not going to see a carefree smile on any of the COs in this game. Just like a new coat of paint can transform a car or a house into something new, so too does this more realistic take on Advance Wars. Frankly, I love it.
The new tone brings with it some new game mechanics. The new units I spotted in the early levels were the fire-spewing flame tank, and more significantly, the motorcycle unit. Motorcycles have the movement capabilities and firepower of the recon unit, but have the added bonus of being able to capture cities like regular infantry or bazooka troops. This comes into play as early as the third mission, where you can send motorcycle troops out ahead early to pick up cities and add to your daily funds. They are easily taken out by tanks, however, so you may not want charge a pack of cycles into town without some good backup.
A major change in battle is the introduction of unit levels. Taking a page from Fire Emblem, the longer an individual unit stays alive and the more enemies it attacks, the stronger that unit will become. The unit's level is denoted by a golden roman numeral on the bottom left corner of the unit (next to the HP remaining) on the map screen. Having more powerful units is certainly noticeable, as I had a Level III bazooka unit do quite a bit more damage to a medium tank than I did a bazooka unit fresh from the barracks. I think this new feature will change up traditional AW strategy by giving you a choice of overwhelming the opponent with numbers or carefully building up your force to take everything out in a single, powerful sweep.
In previous Advance Wars game, fuel and ammo supplies were never really a factor during most of the game. Only toward the end did you really need to worry about running out of gas or ammo for the common unit types. What I noticed right away in this version of the game was that ammo and fuel consumption rates had gone up considerably. After three moves with a medium tank, I noticed that I was down to 66 fuel already, a situation that never happened so soon in the older games. It kind of makes me think that having a stable supply line will be more critical than ever in Days of Ruin, though I didn't see any other evidence of that during my play time.
General gameplay has been improved upon in a few ways. For one, moving and attacking with a unit is now done in one motion. No longer can you select to make a move, move to that spot, and then cancel to move back. You won't be able to uncover someone hiding in fog of war or underwater by fishing for their location anymore. Instead, after you choose a spot to move to (with the D-Pad or stylus), you'll then immediately be asked for a command to perform once you get there. Once that's locked in, the game does the movement and command at the same time. This is a little change, but it's one for the better, I say.
Another welcome change is a map zoom feature. You can zoom out a little bit to see more of the map, and keep that zoomed-out view while playing. Although you can still see the overall map on the top screen of the DS, being able to see more of the map and the more detailed information it carries is very nice.
I really like the changes that Days of Ruin is bringing to the Advance Wars series. It's like the game is growing up with its fans. The only thing we need now is a yeah or nay on Wi-fi multiplayer...
Post by: Smash_Brother on October 20, 2007, 04:24:04 PM
I always thought that the advance wars series made light of war in such a way that was...shameful, really. Not so much the game itself but the fact that the typical anime cliche of "I'm-really-a-good-guy-but-I-was-just-testing-you-in-battle" doesn't work when you're sacrificing the lives of your men in order to perform this test.
Hopefully the new one won't fall into that same trap.
Post by: Arbok on October 20, 2007, 09:49:06 PM
EDIT:
"The only thing we need now is a yeah or nay on Wi-fi multiplayer..."
IGN already said "yeah" for this feature in the game, including the ability to trade maps over wi-fi.
Post by: KDR_11k on October 20, 2007, 10:47:18 PM
What's the flame tank good for? Doesn't sound useful, infantry is easy enough to kill.
Post by: PopeReal on October 20, 2007, 11:54:16 PM
Yep this is going to be a great game, the graphics look improved and more units are always good
Post by: Shecky on October 21, 2007, 02:54:07 AM
Be sure to follow the officially unofficial Advance Wars thread on known unit types/terrain etc.... it's available here
Post by: WuTangTurtle on October 21, 2007, 06:30:42 AM
Post by: Rize on October 21, 2007, 10:35:51 AM
Post by: Arbok on October 21, 2007, 11:28:11 AM
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Originally posted by: Rize
Am I the only one dismayed by unit leveling? One of my favorite things about AW (compared to Fire Emblem) is the LACK of unit leveling. Each map was self-contained. Now the gameplay is going to be a lot more like Fire Emblem (and we have plenty of FE games to play; frankly I'm just about sick of them).
I never got the impression that these units would come with you from match to match, so I don't see the FE comparison. It gives you more motivation to do a "Saving Private Ryan" type of scenario too, to bring home a unit who has been successful on the battlefield rather then just sacrifice him for the good of the troops that are moving in from the factories.
Post by: Rize on October 21, 2007, 02:10:23 PM
Post by: NeoThunder on October 21, 2007, 11:42:55 PM
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Originally posted by: Arbok
Unit... levels? Oh god, I'm in heaven. I can't wait to play this game, and I'm really hoping a reference to it manages to sneak into Brawl...
EDIT:
"The only thing we need now is a yeah or nay on Wi-fi multiplayer..."
IGN already said "yeah" for this feature in the game, including the ability to trade maps over wi-fi.
I have seen a video where little advance wars troops come marching accross the screen and do damage to players
Post by: Shecky on October 22, 2007, 12:29:04 AM
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Originally posted by: NeoThunder
I have seen a video where little advance wars troops come marching accross the screen and do damage to players
Ummm... wrong game
Post by: WindyMan on October 22, 2007, 04:57:08 AM
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Originally posted by: Rize
If the leveling doesn't carry over from map to map (and the more I think about it, you're probably right) then that's fine. That would make it a welcome strategy element. Although I'm not sure how it would affect unit combining and that sort of thing. Probably averages.
It doesn't. As a matter of fact, there's a bit of dialog that explains why you can't carry over units built in one mission to the next. (Note: This is just a corny explanation given by the game, not something that will affect gameplay in any way.) The bits and pieces of any units built in a factory are tied to that factory in some magical, mystical way. If those units stray too far from the map with those factories, they'll turn into useless piles of junk!!
Mystery. Solved.
Post by: Mario on October 22, 2007, 06:16:18 AM
Post by: Shecky on October 22, 2007, 02:30:27 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: WindyManQuote
Originally posted by: Rize
If the leveling doesn't carry over from map to map (and the more I think about it, you're probably right) then that's fine. That would make it a welcome strategy element. Although I'm not sure how it would affect unit combining and that sort of thing. Probably averages.
It doesn't. As a matter of fact, there's a bit of dialog that explains why you can't carry over units built in one mission to the next. (Note: This is just a corny explanation given by the game, not something that will affect gameplay in any way.) The bits and pieces of any units built in a factory are tied to that factory in some magical, mystical way. If those units stray too far from the map with those factories, they'll turn into useless piles of junk!!
Mystery. Solved.
The past games never needed an explanation; not sure what prompted one for this release... it's a bit, "creative"
Post by: KDR_11k on October 25, 2007, 10:39:12 PM
Post by: Shecky on October 26, 2007, 01:52:51 AM
Zooming has to be for better stylus control, no question - the video makes that obvious I think.
Interesting they cut you off at the building portion of the game. Probably just some marker for them to gauge how much people could record. You had already pulled up the units, but I couldn't make them out anyways.
Post by: Mashiro on October 26, 2007, 02:05:54 AM
::rocks out::
Post by: Rize on October 30, 2007, 12:51:10 PM
Advance Wars: Days of METAL!
