Nothing major is really happening console-side this week. The console versions of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel are finally seeing a release after a few delays and the subsequent bankruptcy of game developer Ascaron. Wii owners, meanwhile, get Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus and Help Wanted. On the handheld side of things, the Sony PSP gets no love at all. The DS gets some, at least, but it's aimed mostly towards the 12 and under set. Strategy gamers on a budget should check out the PC releases, though. There are a couple of good games in there.

Cubed³ managed to get a few moments of Mario Kroll's time. The CDV Director of Marketing and Public Relations for North America talked with CDV about their upcoming Panzer Tactics DS.

Here are some points taken from the interview:

According to Kroll, the main reason CDV went with the NDS was accessibility and programmability. The touch screen and the dual screens also make it ideal for turn-based strategy games.

Panzer Tactics DS has been in development for about one year and a lot of the labor went into ensuring the historical correctness (in theme, at the least) of the game.

They originally had 350 units on their drawing board but through development they reduced the number to 150, due to the constraints of the DS screen (which makes unit differentiation difficult) and to ensure that each unit is actually unique from each other. Kroll says that if they allowed the player to have both a Panzer IIIG and IIIH as unit choices, it would be very difficult to justify the differences each unit makes in gameplay. Instead of historical accuracy, they chose historical and historical-inspired battles that are more interesting instead of forgone conclusions.

More stuff from Kroll after the jump!

If you're a sucker for turn-based strategy games like Advance Wars, then you might want to check out CDV Software Entertainment's Panzer Tactics DS. To refresh your Panzer Tactics memory, this World War II-inspired strategy game is developed by Sproing and relies heavily on the strength of the DS console. Would-be commanders will lead their forces to victory or defeat in three single-player campaigns, or compete in multiplayer games via Nintendo-WiFi Connection or via wireless multiplayer.

The game's controls are rather simple. You can use the D-pad or you can simply drag a path for the units with your stylus. The double-screen set-up thankfully saves you from having to manage pulldowns or second screens in order to see all of the details regarding your unit and terrain. Simply click anywhere on the hex field, and the top screen opens an entire page packed with the data that you need. Multiplayer games will also offer a competitive ladder system in order to rank the best online commanders.

So without further much ado, here are more of the screenshots as we have promised:

CDV Software's Panzer Tactics DS is the first authentic WWII tactics game on the Nintendo DS and is playable via stylus, buttons or a combination of both. The game features Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and multiplayer wireless mode with up to four players per game, along with hot-seat mode play for two-players on the same DS.

An online ladder system keeps track of high scores. Panzer also features three unique campaigns (German, Russian and Western Allies) in 30 missions. The game should be out by the end of the year so go ahead and check out some of the new screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails below.

   

Proving that it can provide a worthy competition to their North American contemporaries, the German company, CDV Software Entertainment is still basking in their recent E3 glory.

Posted in their website, they believe that E3 was an outstanding opportunity for them to highlight its growing high-quality line-up, as two of its titles, Panzer Tactics DS and Pacific Storm, earned accolades and award nominations from key North American game industry media.

Panzer Tactics DS was nominated and earned the runner-up award for the Best of E3 2006–DS Strategy title from IGN, and was nominated by MTV’s GameTrailers as Best Strategy Title; Pacific Storm garnered a nomination for Best of E3 2006 in IGN's PC Strategy category. With that CDV hopes to come up with more award worthy games that will surely be enjoyed by the gaming community. Let's hope for that to happen soon.