We build up our miniature kingdom in this portable real-time strategy game.

The minifigs are busy at E3 this year. Lego Rock Band is bringing the iconic figures to the music scene, but that isn’t their only new game. Lego Battles is a Nintendo DS-exclusive real-time strategy game, and though it’s geared toward younger players who may not have grown up on Dune II and Command and Conquer, it has the same insatiable charm that makes the Lego-themed games so consistently fun.

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We build up our miniature kingdom in this portable real-time strategy game.

The minifigs are busy at E3 this year. Lego Rock Band is bringing the iconic figures to the music scene, but that isn’t their only new game. Lego Battles is a Nintendo DS-exclusive real-time strategy game, and though it’s geared toward younger players who may not have grown up on Dune II and Command and Conquer, it has the same insatiable charm that makes the Lego-themed games so consistently fun.

Three of the most popular Lego themes are present in Lego Battles, and there are separate campaigns associated with each one. The three themes are castle, pirate, and space, and each has its own unique characters and buildings to make it distinct. For instance, the castle theme has a king, and you can build farms to feed your troops. There are also cutscenes that have the same silent-joke style from the Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones games. It’s a nice atmosphere and easily recognizable for anyone who grew up with the building blocks.

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We grabbed our Wii Remote for a look at the upcoming side-scrolling real-time strategy game Swords and Soldiers, from the brains behind de Blob.

While you may not have heard of developer Ronimo Games, chances are you do know about de Blob, the game the company’s founders created at university. While studying in Utrecht in the Netherlands, the original team created de Blob for an independent games festival. It caught the eye of THQ, who took it on and developed it into a full-blown Wii title. Now those same students are back, complete with their own company and a new game, the side-scrolling 2D real-time strategy game Swords and Soldiers.

The action can get pretty hectic, but it’s all worth it for a big chilli.

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This game puts the “idea” in Vespoidea. We check out this bug-based real-time strategy game from Konami.

Konami’s fixation with bug torture isn’t limited to the Wii. After checking out the upcoming WiiWare game Ant Nation, we got some time in with the DS version of the game, which is quite a bit different from its console cousin. The premise revolves around the children’s pastime of torturing ants, but it puts a purpose behind it. Whereas the WiiWare game is a mellow, sandbox-like experience, the DS game is more along the lines of a real-time strategy game.

Where bugs and real-time strategy combine: It’s Ant Nation for the DS.

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