Amazingly fun and one of the best games the DS has to offer.
In this one, it takes place in the new land of Omega Land. Here, the Black Hole Army mysteriously gains new military power and make a sweeping assault. As the Alliance of the nations of Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet, and Green Earth, you must band together and fight back Black Hole once and for all. (even though not really since we all know a sequel's bound to come up eventually) The game is a TBS, or a Turn Based Strategy and you and your opponent take turns moving your units on the map. There are many different units each with its own advantages and weaknesses. With many various units, from Tanks, Infantry, Fighters, and Submarines, it never gets old. Also, with the addition of Black Boats, Black Bombs, Stealth Fighters, Aircraft Carriers, and my personal favorite, Megatanks, it brings much more variation to the the table.
The gameplay is great and personally, it never gets old. But lemme warn you, Advance Wars games are famous for being HARD AS F***ING HELL. I mean seriously, I haven't even beaten the first two! But the difficulty is taken down a notch in this one, but it's still very challenging and don't get angry if you have to redo a level more then once or twice.
The animations are all clean and well done, but it has to admitted, the graphics haven't changed much. They still retain a GBA look, though it is cleaner and more colorful. The CO's remain as unique and well designed as ever, from the over-zealous Grimm to the Head Banging (albeit slightly irratible) Jake to the over the top but very chivalrous Javiers, the characters have some great dialogue.
The best part of the AW series is probably the CO powers. With these abilities, each unique to its own CO, you can turn the tides of a seemingly lost battle. These range from simply doubling firepower of units, adding range to your indirect fire units, to even launching 3 missles at your opponents from space.
The sound is well done and while there is no voice acting, the dialoge is very good and makes up for it. The music is also well done and each CO has its own memorable theme song. Believe me, if you play this game long enough, you'll be humming the tune of your favorite CO. (My personal favorite is Griff. Gotta love that slow Mid-Western theme of his.)
Multiplayer in this game is great as well, it adds a lot of value and with a friend, you can be playing each other over and over again for militaristic supremacy.
Also, with the points you obtain in the single player campaign, you can buy even more maps for multiplayer, thus adding more replay value. That and an added hard mode where you fight in literally, deathly odds, adds a lot of replay value as well.
It should be noted though, while AW is fun, for those who are turned off by "kiddy graphics" should stay away from this game as it is literally oozing with immaturity. Instead of dying, infantry simply fly of the screen, Bomber planes are fat and squat and have a very humorous look, and for the most part, this game doesn't take itself too seriously. While there are some serious parts, involving death, the philosophical meaning of face existence, and ecological threats, the game remains lighthearted for the most part. A lot of people love this game for its lighthearted outlook on war, but some complaing about it. My note to those people, you suck and probably had no childhood anyway. :P
Overall, Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a very great game and with its great characters, varied units and maps, amazingy replay value, and overall greatness, Advance Wars is a game that I recommend for anyone who owns a DS and loves a good strategy game.
Oh yeah, and a personal note, Griff rocks! Belive me, he kicks ass.