Days of Ruin (DoR) is an apt name for the next installment in the Advance wars series. The colorful battlefields and cheerful commanding officers (COs) have given way to a far darker scenario. The setting in DoR is post-apocalyptic. A meteor storm has laid the world to waste causing the surviving people to band together into groups to compete for scarce resources. The maps have taken on a slightly more realistic tone, and the CO and battle artwork has taken on a gritty hand-drawn style with thick lines, but the in-game units retain their saturated monochrome look so that players can easily distinguish units from terrain and from one another.

To go along with this thematic overhaul, the game is set to feature a metal-laced soundtrack that uses technical trickery to its advantage. It brings to mind F-Zero X's mix of pre-recorded guitar parts and sequenced MIDI drums, which resulted in music of far higher fidelity than was the norm for its platform.

The gameplay is not being overhauled, but a number of small changes are being made to refresh the experience. Individual units will be able to gain levels during the course of a battle (but this will not carry over to other battles). The special powers of COs have been toned down greatly since they were becoming too dominant in the past few games. We've learned of some new units such as motorcycles (recons with the ability to capture cities) and a light-tank that can launch a flare to enhance vision in "fog of war" scenarios. Fuel and ammo supplies seem to be a greater factor than before, restricting the power of bigger units, and requiring you to pay more attention to capturing cities for the purpose of supply.

Some small interface changes have been made as well. In previous games, players were allowed to move a unit, then consider their attacking options and cancel if they changed their mind. This could be abused in "fog of war" maps (though at the cost of fuel). Now movement and post-movement commands are chosen and locked in before the move is executed. Players can also freely adjust the zoom level of the main view to get a better perspective on the battle.

Online Wi-Fi multiplayer with voice-chat via the DS microphone is probably the most notable change to multiplayer. This will include the ability to create maps and share them online, although the precise mechanics are not yet known. Will players be able to submit maps to a server, or only trade maps when arranging a match? Either way, we'll know soon enough as Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is currently scheduled to hit shelves on January 21, 2008.