LEGO Battles

$25, Nintendo DS

Teaches: logic,strategy, in English, French, Spanish

CTR Rating: 88%

CTR Review

Rich with problem-solving opportunities and potential social play, this turn-based strategy game for Nintendo DS was clearly inspired by games like Age of Empires or Civilization, with the chess-like moves that involve squads of tribesman. In this case, the characters are Lego inspired. Testers found it hard to stop playing. After you sign into one of the two game-save slots, you choose a mode of play; either single or multiplayer, story or free play. The basic premise of the game is to move your tribe around a map-like screen by highlighting them, and then touching where you want them to go. As you defeat bad guys, you earn various types of bricks, which let you upgrade your players and buildings. The tutorial is well designed, which is good because this is a fairly complex game, with a good deal of reading.The story mode has six chapters that must be unlocked in sequence by completing various missions. Content includes 55 playable characters, each with different abilities, and 30 vehicles. Note that this game was designed by TT games, the creators of Lego Star Wars, which is in no way like this game. The co-creator is Hellbent Games, which created the game for Warner Brothers. Buy it or borrow it.