Advance Wars is based around the fictional conflict between the Orange Star and Blue Moon armies. The two countries have been bitter rivals for years but in the last few months border skirmishes have died down. Recently though, a bearded madman called Olaf – the Blue Moon CO (commanding officer) – has ordered an invasion of Orange Star. No reason is really given for this, but then Bomberman never needed an excuse to go round planting explosives, did he?
Anyway, Olaf has seized the Alara region and your job is to take it back. As the Orange Star CO’s advisor, your task is to manoeuvre troops around the battlefield, engage and ultimately destroy the enemy. Not the usual Nintendo subject material is it?
Advance Wars is a turn-based game, much like the Civilization series, where forces are moved from tile to tile around a map. The scale is such that most battles take place over a small region, equivalent to a small state or province. Fighting between these division-sized units occurs on land, out at sea and in the skies with all the associated tactics in place from ambushes and artillery preparation to street fighting and submarine warfare. Battles are won by capturing the enemy’s HQ, destroying their army and, in some cases, capturing a set number of the map’s cities. Terrain affects movement and vision, so troops can hide in forests or view their surroundings from mountain tops. Use of the landscape is crucial to victory and is heavily emphasised in the excellent in-game tutorials.