A great and addictive turn-based strategy war game.

User Rating: 9.5 | Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising GBA
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising is a fun, yet very challenging, strategy game that can keep you entertained for quite a while. To be honest, I've never played the first Advance Wars, or any others in the series besides this one.(I don't have a DS) I've never felt much need to play the first one, as they're apparently very similar. But it's a great stand-alone title in its own right.

Gameplay: A classic deploy-your-units-and-send-them-to-destroy-the-enemy strategy game. This game really requires you to think, it can get pretty challenging, and the AI can be unpredictable. Luckily, the game has a well-made tutorial explaining pretty much everything that needs to be explained. You'll find yourself getting immersed in the gameplay, trying to come up with ways to penetrate your enemy's defenses. There's also plenty of units. You have infantry, tanks, copters, and battleships to name a few. There's also a map editor, where you can completely make your own maps and use them.

Story: The story isn't too original, but it's pretty good. It also has some decent dialogue in it.

Characters: There's like 19-ish CO's to play as and unlock. Unfortunately, only 4 of them are available from the start. The characters are rather likable, and each CO is unique in their own way. Such as Sami's superior infantry and capturing, Grit's indirect combat specialties, Sonja's advantages in fog, Eagle's superior aircraft, and Lash's usage of terrain. Each character also has a power and a super power(!), that boost their unique effects. In their little profiles, it also tells you one thing they like, and one they don't. (Ex: Andy- Hit: Mechanics. Miss: Waking up early.) This is a very minor thing, but it's still a nice touch.

Sound: The sound is pretty good. The sounds of explosions and bombs dropping are simple, yet very well done. Each character also has their own song for when it's their turn, adding to their character. Most of these were forgettable to me, but some were pretty catchy. I especially liked Lash's and Sonja's.

Graphics: I don't have too much to say here, but they're also well done. The game is crisp and colorful, and looks nice when a battle is ensuing.

So overall, this game is a great one. You should be able to find it cheap, so if you're a fan of turn-based strategy, or just like a good challenge, I suggest trying it.