[Editor’s note: Phist is our go to guy when it comes to event coverage in New York. Mostly because he’s the only one we trust to do a good job. Read on for Phist’s coverage of the Advance Wars premier party. Also, Phist is the first guy to get the new fancy promoted banner. It’s so pretty. — CTZ]
Nintendo World, Big N’s flagship store in Rockefeller Plaza, hosted a launch event for the upcoming release of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for the DS. Fans of the series who were willing to brave today’s arctic conditions came out in numbers to show admiration for the critically-acclaimed turn-based strategy.
For two hours, you could buy AW:DOR a couple days before the official street date, slated for Tuesday. Gamers, young and old, came out to claim 25 free copies of the game by first come, first serve action. Throughout the afternoon, a trivia competition was held for AW experts to win Nintendo swag. At the non-alcoholic DS Bar, participants created custom maps in exchange for AW tees. A limited edition DS was up for grabs for the grand prize winner of the walk-in tournament held at the DS Lounge. And to answer your question… No, Nintendo World has no DS Champagne Room. I asked around and I was told that I was a perv and should go away.
Bahamut Zero rolled out of bed and came in time to meet up with me. By the registers, we feasted our eyes on Donkey Kong Jungle Juice (aka makeshift Red Bull) and he decided to punish himself via the failed attempt of an energy drink. He puked on some kids by the Pokemon Station, so we had to gun it out the door. That really didn’t happen, he just took down some vomit in silence.
I also spotted Wombat, of Cheap Ass Gamer and UGO fame, and had a word or two with Cheapy D’s sidekick. He mentioned how Destructoid was the stupidest website ever and then I proceeded to punch him in the face. I’m kidding, I drop kicked him a couple times.
(Ma Brain, Rawmeat Cowboy, me and Bahamut)
Rawmeat Cowboy, the man behind GoNintendo, and Ma Brain, his faithful sidekick, were also there to support the event. He shared impressions of Endless Ocean and appreciated the mutual linkage between our two sites. I suggested that I should make a cameo appearance on his podcast and interject with “Starcraft!” randomly every five minutes. He didn’t like the idea and proceeded to call security and had me escorted out of the store by a giant Pikachu. Not cool, dude. Not. Cool.
On the way home on the subway, I played through a couple campaign stages in AW:DOS and love it so far. The art and design is made of delicious cake and I want to go back for more with every bite. Most of the elements from Dual Strike were kept, with an addition of a couple units and other progressive changes. Haven’t battled on Wi-Fi yet, but would’ve jumped for joy if more than two players could battle long distance. The post-apocalyptic story definitely breaks away from the campiness of the previous titles, making me less likely to skip them with the Start button. $30, an excellent price point for what I think should be a $40 game. Finally, a sequel that doesn’t fail and one less reason to pull back punches aimed at Nintendo. Go get this and I’ll need your friend codes. (I had to go there, I just had to.)
