Get ready to be pleasantly surprised.

After popping in the cart and watching the little intro movie, you reach the main menu screen. I was a little confused at first, since I didn't see the main mode, Campaign, from the start. Instead there were only the Field Training, Vs. Mode, and Link Mode. So me and a friend decided to take each other on in Vs. From the start of the battle it was apparent that we had no clue what we were doing. The Field Training acts like a hands-on tutorial that takes you through every aspect of the game step-by-step. The depth and easy explanation make this an invaluable tool in learning how to play, plus it's pretty fun in it's own right. After completing the Field Training, you earn your stripes to engage the other four game modes, Campaign, War Room, Stats, and Design Maps. The Campaign is the main story mode that takes players through different battles while following a small plot thread. In the War Room, one can test their battle skills in various combat exercises. Stats keeps track of how you've fared in the game and Designs Maps is pretty much self-explanatory. The greatest fun can be had in either the Vs. or Link modes. In Vs., two players can pass one Gameboy Advance around, taking turns moving their men in a sort of pseudo-chess match. If passing the system around makes for a little too much idle time, then hook up a link cable and up to four can go at it on separate systems. These multiplayer features add a lot of excitement and replay to this already addictive little game.

Visual excellence wasn't the objective of Advance Wars and rightly so. Images are clear, crisp, and colorful, but in the end are just images. While small battle animations and various character expressions are present, there aren't a lot of eloquent graphics. The maps look like a cheap Sim-City town and only small effects pop up here and there. Surprisingly, though, with all the movements taking place onscreen, it's pretty impressive that the graphic balance is sustained. With all the other great looking games out there, Advance Wars really doesn't measure up. Intelligent Systems decided that this wasn't where their focus should be. However, the images are nice and clean and even in their simplicity are better than quite a few others.

While the graphics aren't one of the shining factors, the gameplay is. Right from the start, you can see that Advance Wars has more gameplay and depth in one battle than most games in total. It pours on the strategy like hot gravy on mashed potatoes, but also keeps it easy enough for anyone to understand. With each turn, one can select from a plethora of options for their units to perform. From moving to attacking, merging to capturing, the possibilities might seem overwhelming at the start. But using the Field Training, these battles become much easier while keeping the level of challenge good and high. Attacking isn't as simple as just approaching and firing. Sometimes it takes a lot of skill to lure an enemy into your range or set up an attack for another unit. If moves aren't planned well, you could find yourself outnumbered and overmatched early. Strategic movements are the key to winning, which can be achieved by either defeating all of the enemy units or capturing the enemy's headquarters.

Other elements play a big part in the game as well. Terrain can turn the tide of a battle in a single turn. Different terrain can offer various benefits. For example, landing on a city will boost your unit's defense to three, while landing on a road won't offer any defensive advantage. Another point comes from the various commanding officers players can control. Each CO brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the field, but most importantly, each brings a different power. The first CO you control, Andy, has the ability to repair all units for two points. Max can increase the power of his direct combat units. Eagle can allow his units another chance to attack in a single turn. These abilities add another degree of strategy and make battles a lot more interesting. After completing each battle, players will earn a different rank based on how well, or poorly, they performed in combat. Gaining a good ranking garners special coins that can be used to purchase new battle maps for use in the Vs. and Link modes. Clearly, the gameplay is very deep and takes a great deal of concentration, but a good job has been done to make it fun as well.

The audio another part that may seem neglected, but it really doesn't make too much of a difference. Music is repetitive and not very catchy, quickly compels you to turn the volume down. There are no voices and aside from the small explosions during combat, there aren't any effects either. While some players, like myself for example, may find themselves humming along while establishing your strategy, others will find rate of songs played in continuous fashion to be annoying.

What it all comes down to is enjoyment. That's what games are for, in case you didn't know. a lot of a game's value can be judged on how much playtime you get out of it. Advance Wars boasts 114+ battle maps, around thirty missions in the Campaign mode and practically infinite replay in the Vs. and Link modes. It might not sport the most impressive graphics or have the best soundtrack since Final Fantasy 6, but it more than makes up for it with incredibly deep and equally solid gameplay. In my humble opinion, Advance Wars does for strategy games on handhelds what Tony Hawk did for extreme sports. Advance Wars sets the stage for strategy to become a viable and popular genre on the Gameboy Advance and future handhelds to come.

· · · Space Cowboy