Advance Wars will receive an extreme makeover with Days of Ruin. As the name hints, this new installment of the Advance Wars series will shed its bright colors in favor of a darker tone. No familiar characters will return, and the story takes place in a new world. In the new setting, an apocalyptic meteor shower decimates the land and kicks dust up into the atmosphere, completely blocking out the sun. Wars ensue in the wake catastrophe as warlords come to power and people struggle for resources and survival.

The change comes as response to the contradictory nature the Advance Wars series is famous for. On the one hand, it's a challenging hardcore strategy game. On the other, it includes cheery commanding officers and soldiers that happily march into battle in the face of impending doom. The new setting and more serious tone brings a stronger sense of consistency. CO powers will also get dialed down so they won't be so overwhelming, and access to them is granted much later in the game. Gameplay remains largely the same as Dual Strike, except for the grayer, less cartoony, graphics and units that gain veteran status. That means surviving members of a squad won't retreat from every fight until it can rebuild its numbers. Weakened units have a fair chance of standing their ground against attackers, especially if they have terrain bonuses. Players can potentially combine units and build up a whole squad of veterans. By default, all squad members upgrade to the highest rank when they combine. Unfortunately, the veteran units don't carry over from mission to mission.

New units include a motorcycle with a sidecar that has the longest movement range of any unit. Additionally, it will be the only vehicle capable of capturing cities. Another new vehicle has the ability to fire a flare into an area, revealing everything within a radius. The effect doesn't wear off, making it invaluable for scouting areas before moving forces in. A new aircraft called the Duster will also debut, and it can attack both land and ground units.

For the first time, Advance Wars will have full Nintendo Wi-Fi support and voice communications. Just like previous games, players can create custom maps, but there are possible plans of creating an online hub to archive user made maps.

With a new look, darker mood and broader multiplayer features, fans can look forward to some big advancements for Advance Wars. Look for it to release in January, 2008.