Move here, I'm in command. Advance Wars is a game about thinking three moves ahead if you want to win. In other words, turn-based tactics in its purest form, delivered by Intelligent Systems on Game Boy Advance and becoming a phenomenon among fans of the handheld console we carried in our pockets on our travels.

It's a military conflict from a bird's-eye view — your army, the enemy army, and a terrain-filled map. Infantry, tanks, helicopters, ships, and shoals move across it like chess pieces. Each day (turn) you choose which piece to move and what to attack with. A mathematician would cringe. The only limit: money, earned by holding terrain and used to finance new units. You get out as much time and maneuver as you put in.

Controls are simple as can be — cursor, select, confirm. But waiting for the computer's turn drags on painfully slowly. You play through individual story missions, then multiplayer against AI or another player via Game Link. The quality of individual scenarios is uneven — some are brilliant puzzles, others just tedious steamrolling of weaker opponents. But when it clicks, when the forces are balanced and you're fighting for that last maneuver to snatch victory — that's the real fun.

Advance Wars established an entire genre on handheld platforms and remained unmatched on the GBA. The graphics are clean, information is readable on the small screen, the music keeps pace without breaking a sweat. The game hasn't aged poorly — it's become a classic that only the right people want to play — those who'll savor the time to realize that war is a chess match in color.

Today you can find it in an emulator without hassle. If you have patience and like to think before you attack, it's a no-brainer. For speed-players wanting action here and now, Advance Wars will feel painfully slow. For everyone else — I honestly don't know a better tactics game with such ease and depth.