Ahhh, can't...sleep..yet.. Just..one..more..turn...
It's refreshing to actually be curious about what happens next in the story, instead of simply annoyed when a game pauses because some cute pink big eyed kids need to say some childish nonsense.
Now, to the point: This game rocks! :)
Coming from a PC and Xbox gaming background I was quite skeptical to enter the world of Nintendo DS a few weeks ago, but now I find I spend almost all my gaming time on it.
I picked up AW recently as I am a huge RTS game fan, and wanted something to satisfy the basic RTS urge when I was traveling. Surprisingly, this game is not only temporarily satisfying this urge, it is in fact way more interesting than most RTS games I have played! :)
Ok, so it is not a true real time strategy, it is indeed turn based, but the gameplay flows so well it "feels" like an RTS. Where most real time strategy games usually loses most of the "strategy" part, focusing on action, this game does the opposite. You still feel the smooth flow of the game, while you indeed need to plan your actions carefully.
Much like chess, you need to carefully plan your moves making sure all your exposed units are covered by other units, and advance slowly while taking every enemy units abilities and range into consideration. If you run and gun blindly, you surely will lose, as the game has an excellent AI that does put up a challenge. Even as you do clear a level, you will find your performance rated, and permanently engraved into the missions map location. There is some replayability in playing the mission again to make sure you get that "A" rating on the map, if you are up for it.
The level designs looks simple at first, I mean, we are not talking about any groundbreaking visuals here. But the depth is amazing. Every tiny detail seems to have gone through a lot of thought, and spending time with the game keeps revealing something new even after days of play. And each level truly give you a new challenge.
The units are exceptionally well balanced, and you have to master each one well to succeed. After days of playing I could only find minor annoyances, like how the anti aircraft units fire range will actually be blocked by water, but after some time even these things becomes natural and blend in to your strategy in a way that balances the game out very well.
The visuals and audio are both top notch for the DS, and the battle animations play out great. Its very satisfying to see how your powerful weapons rip though the enemy's units. Its not so fun to watch yourself be killed though, but you can turn off the animation for the computers attacks. This and many other details makes the game very polished from inside out.
When you get past the single player mission, there are other game modes as well, including skirmish and multiplayer, which I did not try out yet. Suffice to say, this game has enough content to make its price worthwhile and then some.
If I only had one DS game, this would be it! :)