Veteran fans of the Advance Wars series still get the addictive game play and endless hours of strategic scenarios with new additions and a boosted storyline. Just like the three previous Advance War installments (two on the GameBoy Advance and Dual Strike on the Nintendo DS), this quality title remains highly challenging (think of chess/checkers…times 100). Familiar characters are wiped away along with the rest of the world in a darker themed installment.

Venerable characters Max, Andy and Sami are absent here. Instead an apocalyptic event storyline meshes with survivors with varying alliances in the Rubinelle and Lauran armies. This game also eliminates the characteristic Commanding Officer Powers of Max, Andy and Sami. No Neo/high powered tanks, increased repair abilities or accelerated base/HQ-capturing capabilities in a deep campaign. Players can even get off the beaten path and test their skills in the trial maps on the way to overall victory. The campaign still has the familiar format with some nice storyline twists beyond the basic good vs. evil scenario (or, in this case, ravenous vs. benevolent).

The boosted storyline includes COs Will (“an innocent kid”), the seasoned Brenner and opportunistic Lin. These characters exist more for story than for the war battles, mainly due to the reduced CO power. Isabella, a mysterious girl who seems to know vital military secrets, and top gun pilot Waylon (one of the most difficult campaign levels) also factor in.

This game also features three new vehicles. The bike, a motorcycle with sidecar, which gives a nice feel of throw back military time, even hints of Mad Max (check out the character named Beast). These long distance travelers are great from capturing bases. The duster planes can attack air and ground while the Anti-tank has indirect and direct battle capabilities. Players expect more primitive weapons, especially if there’s lots of dust (maybe the sand storms introduced in Dual Strike was the brain child behind the theme).

Article Author: Tall Writer

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