A fusion of the best elements around that are incorporated in a visually dramatic style that reeks of originality, this frenzied game employs varied methods and mediums to completely change your entire perception about role playing games. Encompassed between the worlds of real time tactical strategising, shooter elements and RPG, Knights in the Nightmare is bound to change your gaming experience altogether.

The story is encapsulated in a beautiful fantasy that is presented by means of an enchantingly haunting narrative. The backdrop of the game is the tale of destruction of an ancient castle Aventheim by the dwellers of the netherworld. These inhabitants emerged from the fiery mountains of hell one night and slaughtered the entire kingdom. Within the long forgotten church that lay deep in the woods survives a single soul that is devoid of any memory about the horrendous incident. This soul is drawn to the abandoned castle where deep within the shadows the monsters still lurk. It awakens the souls of the vanquished knights to and leads them on to combat the evil that lay ruin to the castle, ravaged the lands and slaughtered the people. You play as the wisp that is entirely controlled by the stylus. There are about a 100 different characters and the plot unfolds by means of putting the past and present together. On completing the game an entirely new version to the game appears with a different plot twist allowing you to play as the antagonist. Though technically an RPG, it is not at all your classically flavoured RPG like Lunar Knights. Instead, in the beginning of Knights in the Nightmare it can seem extremely overwhelming and with a plethora of controls to go about it could be difficult to understand. The battle sequences need mastering and getting used to. However the comprehensive tutorials it features allow you to master the controls. Do not be put off by the overpowering amount of action that keeps going on once you get a hold of the reins you might enjoy riding this beast.

Be on the look out for the Knights in the Nightmare, which captivates you with its stunning visuals and mesmerising music. Releasing on the 9th of June this dramatic Nintendo DS game is bound to alter all you know about RPG.

Every once in a while there comes an intriguing game that more than just revolves around its basic story and presents to you an allegory. Behind the facade of the spectacularly set backgrounds and beautiful shores of Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery lays an unsettling view about our imperialistic past. But that aside this incredibly brilliant game released by Ubisoft allows you to more than just experience history and actually make it.

Set in 1404 amidst the drought stricken lands of King George, you take on the role of one of his two sons, William. The basic mission is to set out in search of undiscovered lands and utilise the new found knowledge and resources to help your land recover. The game features a newly developed scalable 3D engine that delivers top notch visuals.  The game begins with you discovering new lands and then deploying lumber yards for wood. This in turn allows you to build more houses meaning a raise in population. The gameplay then evolves into something similar to Sim City DS where you manage your new lands and the people in them. Due to the fact that the population in Anno 1701 requires food for sustenance you have to grow food, hunt and fish. But merely feeding the population is not enough as the Sims get bored easily and need a pub to recuperate and a church to nourish their spiritual needs. To further expand this settlement resources in form of material and money is required which is collected through a tax levied on the population. The primary objective is to find out the requirements of your inhabitants and provide for them. The happier the Sims are more is the amount of taxes you generate. Pirates and other invaders pose a threat to your newfound land and because of this troops have to be created and stationed at various buildings. Launching warships to other areas and gaining control of their buildings will reap in rewards. The game is divided into three modes: 15 single player campaigns, the infinite sand-box mode and the multiplayer mode that allows a maximum of four players to play at once. The rich, vivid and detailed environments are a sheer joy to watch. Even though this massive game features on the tiny Nintendo DS the screen never looks cluttered. Various icons are placed on the screen that provide all the necessary information.

The developers have certainly put in a lot of work to make the Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery an easily accessible game that features tremendously detailed environments and is superbly navigable by the DS stylus. A perfect game to discover, strategise, build and conquer as you go about setting your micro-civilisations and remaking history.

Sid Meier’s Civilization series has always focussed on building an empire to face the challenges. The fun of these turn-based strategies is once again back in the form of Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution. Published by 2K games and developed by Firaxis Games, this simulation game is based on an engrossing theme.

Before you begin with the game, you have to choose your preference from the 16 civilizations in total. Whichever one you choose, you will get some bonuses. These gamming bonuses will rise as you progress towards your goal of building a civilization. You will get a starting bonus as well as the four era bonuses to help you in achieving the target. Now, a victory in Civilization Revolution basically has four different categories that consist of cultural, economic, domination and technological phases. Every type has a different condition for the victory and your civilization –based bonuses will assist you in fulfilling these requirements. Every civilization offers great fun and engrossing plot of growing your empire while defeating the foes.

Just select your civilization and enter a whole new world. As soon as you get into your first city, you will see the icons, representing all that you need to plan your empire. The squares that indicate production, food and trade are the basic resources for moving ahead. While food is essential for ensuring the growth of your population, production deals with construction work and trade is meant for earning money.

So gear up and get ready to explore new cities, build units and get in touch with some other leaders. All in all, you will do everything that a civilization’s leader is required to do.

One common complaint that gamers have against game developers is that they are dishing out more turn-based strategy games, rather than say something more fast-paced like real-time strategy. It is not that gamers are bored of turn-based strategy games, or are turning their back to it. It is far from that, as the gamers simply want some variety to the game format. It is worth mentioning that of late everyone from Majesco to THQ, Square Enix, Atlus, Nintendo and others are into turn-based strategy games.

Age of Empires, if you can remember, happens to be one of the most underestimated heroes in the world of DS strategy games. Over the period of time the series has switched developers, switched publishers, but one thing that has remained static is its turn-based design and incredible economy system. The new edition of the series, Age of Empires: Mythologies developed by Griptonite Games, takes a cue from its predecessors and is further beefed up with exciting stuff to get the gamers excited.

The game allows you to be in control of three different cultures, including Greek, Egyptian, and Norse, with each having multiple heroes, and gods that can be prayed to for destructive-attacks on the battlefield. Despite bearing a semblance of similarity to the gameplay of its earlier versions, what really separates the gameplay is that it provides you with a vast platform to explore hat seems to extend perpetually. The interesting thing is that each culture is unique in itself, having different unit for each like camelry, and unique new myth units such as Sphynx, scorpion men, or scarabs.

Another very peculiar and lovable aspect of the game is its attention to economy, and the concept of aging, albeit from time to time. Moreover, at the beginning the technology may not appear to be astute and exciting enough, but as the game progresses you stand to gain more and more technology that profoundly increases the gaming experience.

We have been reading and hearing of the World Wars since our childhood and here is chance to experience one you haven’t read about yet: World War III. Of course, WWIII hasn’t started yet; instead I am talking about the new DS game: Tom Clancy’s EndWar. Ubisoft has already confirmed the announcement of the turn-based strategy game that allows you to control an influential military force. Funatics Software has developed the game with great creative skills.

The whole game is built around World War III, where you get to control the entire military force on the waters as well as in the air. You can expect a real-time strategy experience with concurrent attack phases and sudden moves. The three campaigns are perfectly designed to fit each faction while multiplying the challenges. The battle gets more and more demanding with new situations and objectives in the battle field. Moreover, the easy-to-pick-up mission editor will let you create your own battlefield as per your preferences. You can also share these battlefields to prove your calibre in the war. What adds more to the fun of playing the Tom Clancys EndWar is the full stylus control on DS that is actually great for enjoying the multiplayer battles.

So load the game on your handheld and have a more practical approach in understanding the tactics of a historical war.

Lock’s Quest on the DS is a stylus driven game, which is fast and easy to play. The interesting and engaging gameplay is good enough to grab your attention for hours. The game features a multiplayer mode and light role-playing elements.

Lock’s Quest focuses on a mysterious resource that is a great source of building defenses for the archineers. Unfortunately, the same source is also used by a wicked character, Lord Agony, for stimulating his minions. Our action hero forms a team with a wounded soldier to fight these minions, when they threaten his villagers. The young boy’s effort becomes more difficult when his sister, Emi is lost. Now, Lock begins his quest to find Emi and for this purpose, he makes use of his archineer abilities.

Although you may find the story to be less speedy in the beginning, it will never bore you with its sudden twists and interesting gameplay. Building and battling are the two main components of each section of the game, which enable you to design and defend structures. You have to build and protect your defenses in Lock’s Quest (Nintendo DS), which is easily done by dragging and organizing sections of the map. The build and battle phases are also quite action oriented. This part of the game offers you a lot of mission objectives to fulfill in a short time span. This is probably the most addictive feature of the game because you have to think, plan and act all at the same time.

Knock! Knock! Wake up Nintendo sweeties and welcome Disgaea on your DS later this year. Yes, you can now experience the adventure on your handheld. The role playing game not only has a host of terrific characters, but also has a plethora of gameplay elements which are unique and amusing. In the game you play the role of Laharl, a king’s son who wakes up from a 2 year old snooze only to discover that his father has died, and his throne and palace have been conquered by the demons.

Laharl along with Etna, another character, venture off to get back what rightfully belongs to him. The game has a bunch of deadly penguins that perform ballerina pirouettes and explode them when tossed. The game world has also been adapted from Disgaea 2, which is a PlayStation 2 game made by the same developers. The story consists mainly of fighting with a handful of dialogue in between. You can create your own customized person who can accompany you in the battlefield and that’s where the dark assembly comes into play.

Disgaea DS is akin to other strategic role-playing games where you plot, fix your characters and give them commands. However, it introduces geo panels on the battlefield where you can cover the terrain with special effects. This cute and funny game offers a great story, as well as immersive gameplay.

Ready to start strategizing on your Nintendo DS? Vogster Entertainment has developed a thrilling game, called Robocalypse and penned by jay lender, that will certainly keep you on your toes. It is a new real-time strategy game, which features robotic armies, well equipped with bizarre weapons. With an added twist of humor, the title aims to deliver deep strategic warfare to its Nintendo enthusiasts.

The core of the game is frenzied destruction caused by battling robots with their unique weaponry. It not only features over 50 A.I. driven units with highly developed distributed path finding skills, but also 3D particle effects. The Robots will startle you with their distinct attitudes and personalities, together with their specialized skills and weapons. The controls are more simplified, with no use of buttons, to minimize the cumbersome commanding units. Point and tap is all you will be doing.

Robocalypse includes 17 unique missions, a myriad of hidden objectives and a robust reward system as well. To give you the real gaming experience, it offers high quality dynamic music along with spectacular visual effects. Up to 4 players can face off in neck-to-neck competition via Wi-Fi. So if you enjoy your war games with a taste of irony and humor, then Robocalypse might be worth checking out. Think of it as a game like Steel Horizon (Nintendo DS), but with funny murderous robots.