Advance Wars is easy to get into for a strategy game. There's only a handful of units which are identical across all factions and fulfill a specific role so it's not hard to understand. Also, the AI is kind of garbage so it's easy to win sans missions where the odds are really stacked against the player.
Speaking of the missions, there's a decent variety on offer, only a couple of missions are like a regular skirmish. On top of that, depending on what commander you play as you might unlock extra missions and characters. However, I'm not a fan of how you must beat the game several times to unlock every playable CO for VS mode and battle maps.
In terms of presentation, the game is colorful, the music is cheerful and the graphics are detailed. It's almost too happy considering this is a game about war, perhaps the entire cast is comprised of sociopaths.
Anyways, I believe Advance Wars is really good. This is the strategy game for people who want to get into turn based strategy but are afraid of permanently losing a character in XCOM or Fire Emblem.