Just a few years ago, Travelers Tales struck gaming gold with its excellent blend of co-op gameplay and Lego branding in the Star Wars universe. Ever since then the combination of Legos and popular franchises has lead to numerous games and spin offs. Some people may not know this, but Travelers Tales have had a long history of Lego video games, dating back much further and without big movie names. In a sense Lego Battles is a sort of return to that era, when it was splicing different game genres with Lego rather then movie and pop culture icons. Developed by Hellbent games for the Nintendo DS, Lego Battles is a perfect marriage of real time strategy and accessible gameplay on the perfect system for it.

While Lego games have never been graphical power houses, they have managed to look good in there own right. Lego Battles uses an overhead perspective much like the classic PC RTS games of yesteryear. The game hardly taxes the Nintendo DS, and uses traditional gameplay elements such as the fog of war. This is likely done to keep the game flowing when massive battles break out with dozens of characters moving on screen. There is some CG cutscenes that preface campaigns, although its mostly static images between levels. As with all lego games, there isn't any dialouge during the movies.

One of the more surprising elements to the game is the soundtrack. All of the recent Lego games have had the advantage of being able to rely on classic music from John Williams and Danny Elfman in the background. Lego Battles does not have that luxury but you might still be surprised at how good it turns out. The quality of the music is pretty high for a DS game, it doesn't sound like a GBA title.The compositions are actually very well done, going for a more epic quality I wouldn't associate with little yellow Lego men. While maybe not as catchy as you might expect, Lego Battles is no slouch in the sound department.

The real time strategy genre, or RTS for short, is one of the most pure gameplay driven genres in gaming. No where is this more evident then in the continued popularity of games such as "Starcraft" whicj is still practically a national past time in South Korea. As such even if Lego Battles contained the greatest presentation values in the world, it would all be meaningless without strong gameplay. Lego Battles does not disappoint. This is a very well done RTS, on a system that curiously should have a lot more. There is plenty of turn based strategy games already. While this somewhat works in the favor of Lego Battles by not having to much competition, it also stands well enough on its own. The game has a nice easy learning curve as it was clearly designed for people who are not accustomed to the genre. This was perfect for me, as my experience with such games as "Warcraft" and "Starcraft" was limited at best. It manages to provide enough explanation for its many elements without overwhelming the player. The controls are straight forward. The stylus is used exactly like a mouse to click on characters and buildings, or you can drag across the screen to highlight multiple ones. Each building and leader has their own sub menu which appears in the top left corner of the screen when activated. You can scroll across the world with the D-pad, but be warned the fog of war is in play in this game. Each World is also littered with Lego Studs which can be used to purchase extras inside the in-game shop on the main menu. This rewards the more exploration minded gamers who like to seek out every last nook and cranny.

If there is any real failing of the game, is that as well done as it is, veteran RTS players will likely scoff at the difficulty. This won't be a problem for young gamers or those new to the genre. However, those who dreamed of an experience that matched the difficulty of classic Blizzard or Westwood titles might be disappointed. Another bummer of the title is the lack of any online features. One of the reasons the genre thrived so well on the PC was because of online multiplayer. While it does feature system link play, the game cries out for the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Despite that, the game offers plenty of things to do, collect, and buy. There are six campaigns to conquer, each with its own unique Lego theme. As well as the option to play friends and expand your collectibles in the shop. It will certainly keep players entertained for hours, which is exactly what anyone wants from a video game. I reccomend giving Lego Battles a look. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it.