Advance Wars: Days of Reflection

1UP has posted an excellent interview with some of the names behind Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, in which the team reflects on the new direction taken by the game, and explains why many of the changes were made.

As well as addressing the new "serious" tone adopted by the game (they wanted to "surprise" people, and also attract sci-fi fans who wouldn't usually play war games), the team also revealed why lead protagonist Will is such an unbearably self-righteous bore why so many features had been left out of Days of Ruin (the game has no unlockable hard mode, no Survival or Combat mode, no dual-screen battles, no War Room, and no opportunity to purchase maps).

Unsurprisingly, the reasoning behind said omissions makes perfect sense, and the cuts arguably resulted in the most streamlined, balanced Advance Wars game since the first GBA title. 1UP also opened the floor to members of its community, who made one or two cracking suggestions for the next entry in the series -- an infantry unit equipped with smoke grenades (thereby allowing 'portable' Fog of War) would be a welcome addition!