Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is a turn-based strategy game for Nintendo DS, developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo in 2008. It is the fourth Advance Wars installment, following Advance Wars: Dual Strike, but it deliberately begins again with a separate cast and world. Known as Advance Wars: Dark Conflict in Europe and Australia, the game keeps the series’ accessible grid-based battles while recasting them in a harsher, post-apocalyptic setting. Players command military forces across maps of roads, cities, mountains, seas and skies, balancing unit matchups, terrain, income and positioning one turn at a time.

The campaign opens after meteor strikes devastate civilization, leaving shortages, ruined infrastructure and rival forces competing for survival. Will, a young cadet, joins Brenner and Lin of the Rubinelle 12th Battalion as they try to protect civilians and build a future amid the conflict. The new storyline is independent of the earlier Advance Wars continuity, which lets Days of Ruin introduce its own factions, commanding officers and moral stakes. Its more subdued art direction and dialogue were a major departure from the bright, playful tone associated with the previous games, though the game still makes room for character moments and tactical set pieces.

At its core, the familiar Advance Wars loop remains direct and readable. Each side receives funds from captured properties, spends them on ground, air and naval units, then maneuvers those units to attack enemies or seize strategic locations. Most battles end when an army captures an opposing headquarters or eliminates every enemy unit. Infantry and Bike units can capture properties, factories turn income into reinforcements, and the relationship between weapons, armor, movement range and terrain reward planning several turns ahead. Fog of war, weather and limited fuel or ammunition add information-management and supply concerns to many maps.

Days of Ruin adjusts the series’ Commanding Officer system to make board position more important than spectacular powers. A CO can deploy with a unit and support nearby allies through a growing CO Zone, creating a localized advantage that opponents can contest or avoid. The CO’s meter expands the zone as damage is dealt, and a charged power can briefly broaden its effect across the map. This approach replaces the earlier game’s tag powers and map-wide dominance with a mechanic tied more closely to a commander’s physical placement and the survival of the unit carrying them.

The Nintendo DS entry also adds and revises equipment to suit its world and tactical goals. Bikes provide fast-moving capture support, Flares reveal areas hidden by fog, and Anti-Tanks combine a strong anti-armor role with unusual counterattack potential. Dusters, Seaplanes and Gunboats broaden air and sea options, while Rigs can construct temporary airports and ports that serve as forward supply points. Units can gain experience during a mission and rise through ranks, making successful survivors incrementally stronger. New terrain such as ruins, wasteland, mist, fire, meteors and impassable plasma gives maps a more damaged, unpredictable character.

The single-player campaign includes 26 story missions, optional training maps and ranking based on power, technique and speed. Outside the story, players can build custom maps, play against computer opponents, and compete locally with multiple systems or by passing one DS between players. At launch, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support allowed online battles and map sharing, a notable feature for the series at the time; those official network services are no longer active. With its self-contained story, carefully tuned tactical systems and extensive map play, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin remains a distinctive Nintendo DS strategy game for players who want a more serious variation on the series’ classic formula.