Age of Empires: The Age of Kings

Based upon Ensemble Studios' Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings , this addition to the Age of Empires series shifts from its real-time strategy roots to a DS exclusive turn-based strategy title, though the same goals of eliminating all opponents still apply.

Using the DS touch screen, players must guide their chosen empire in a series of battle campaigns, utilizing a number of units, strategies, and hero units in battle, while also constructing a town to provide new units and upgrades. The largest difference from the main RTS titles in the series is the way combat works - when one unit attacks another, their respective statistics are displayed, after which troops composed of the engaging unit types on the main map are shown battling it out until one's hit points are reduced to zero based on the aforementioned statistics.

Five different civilizations are available: Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, and the Japanese. Each has a unique hero unit - Richard the Lionheart (Britons), Minamoto Yoshitsune (Japanese), Saladin (Saracen), Joan of Arc (Franks) or Genghis Khan (Mongols), who all provide a number of advancements during battle. Each civilization has a segment of the singleplayer campaign, and there is multiplayer support for up to 4 players.