20 Years Ago, Advance Wars: Dual Strike Saw The Future

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Advance Wars: Dual Strike is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, August 22, 2025. Below, we revisit the user-generated-content features of the game that were ahead of their time.The rain drenched my infantryman's helmet as he marched forward. He could barely make out the jagged silhouettes of the grey buildings 100 feet ahead, but it would only be a moment until he reached them. Or so he thought--until the ambush fell. Tanks, recon trucks, and bazooka-wielding foot soldiers poured out of the fog and into my trenches, cutting through my defenses before I could even get my bearings.For me, Advance Wars: Dual Strike was a grid-based chess match where every piece could explode, but the single-player campaign felt like squaring off against a row of toddlers still figuring out how pawns worked. The missions were charming, but I wanted something sharper. Dual Strike's other modes, especially Versus, were where the real battlefields waited, ready for me to customize my way into intense engagements--including horrific defeats like the one I just described. This mode was both a canvas for my tactical creativity and an early sign of where the game industry would go in the future.Continue Reading at GameSpot