Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is a turn-based strategy game from Intelligent Systems, released for Nintendo DS in 2008 as the third installment of the series on this platform after Dual Strike. Compared to its colorful and lighthearted predecessors, it brings a much darker tone - the world has been devastated by a meteor impact, civilization is collapsing, food and fuel are scarce, and the player commands surviving factions fighting over resources and survival, rather than some cheerful "bloodless war" as in the earlier installments. The story and characters are written more seriously, with an emphasis on the moral dilemmas of commanders, and the game is accompanied by a grim, post-war atmosphere without any lightening humor.

The core gameplay remains faithful to the series - the player moves units on a square grid, plans turns, exploits unit type advantages (infantry, tanks, aircraft, ships) and the commander abilities of CO characters, which temporarily change the properties of the whole army at key moments of battle. Days of Ruin introduced entirely new commanders as well as improved online and local multiplayer options, which were put to good use on the DS thanks to wireless communication and allowed players to compete against opponents around the world. The graphic style is more sober and realistic than in previous installments, yet technically clean, legible even on the small screen, and features clearly readable unit icons. The DS's second screen is used for a clear overview map of the whole battlefield and quick unit selection, which makes orientation easier even in larger missions with multiple fronts.

The game was very well received by critics, and many players still consider it the peak of the series, thanks in part to its more mature story, thoughtful mission design, and well-balanced multiplayer. After its release, the series went quiet for a long time, with no new installment arriving for a long while, which only reinforced its status as the last great move of Advance Wars in the DS era and one of the best-rated strategy titles on the entire console.