Now, I'm no analyst, nor am I even particularly bright, but I think it's safe to say that Atlus, champions of anime-style art direction and brilliant use of cel-shading, is doing pretty well for itself. Persona 3 is critically acclaimed -- paving the way for another game in the series -- and Atlus has been announcing and releasing a slew of new and interesting games. The latest of these is the Atlus USA-published Drone Tactics for the Nintendo DS, a (you guessed it) tactics RPG featuring (you guessed it again) a robotic insect army.

As the Black Swarm ... uhh ... swarms across the country raping, looting, reproducing, and whatever else large groups of cyborg-insects do, you take control of a squad of Insect Drones and confront them. The game touts its customization features, offering to juice your "mecha insecta" with hundreds of weapons, upgrades, and power-ups. Thus 'roided, you can go Bloody Butcher Banastre Tarleton* on the Black Swarm in over a dozen campaigns and 50 maps. Local multiplayer matches also allow you to collect the shattered abdomen and thoraxes of your friends on your "crushed list." Bugs and ruthlessness go hand in hand, apparently.

If Atlus' other games are anything to go on, Drone Tactics will provide several hours of deep, dense gameplay. If you just gotta have a tactics game to eat up your time, Drone Tactics sounds like it can fill that need and then some. If you interest is piqued, check out the official website for more details about the different classes of drones, and hit the gallery for some screen shots. As usual, a press release can be found after the jump. Drone Tactics is scheduled to be released on March 25,2008 for the Nintendo DS.

So, tactics-fiends, does this whet your whistle? Does Drone Tactics tickle your pickle? Can I think of any more really terrible, vaguely-sexual euphemisms? Let's hear it in the comments. 

*Banastre Tarleton was a Union Colonel (in)famous for his nasty habit of beheading his prisoners. History can be awesome.

ATLUS ANNOUNCES MECH-BASED STRATEGY RPG DRONE TACTICS FOR NINTENDO DS^TM

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — DECEMBER 20^th, 2007 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced Drone Tactics, a game of turn-based strategy RPG warfare, for the Nintendo DS^TM.  Command a brigade of colossal mecha insecta and coordinate your forces as you take on the ruthless army of the Black Swarm!  Drone Tactics is currently scheduled to release on March 25^th, 2008. 

For more on Drone Tactics, please visit the official website: http://www.atlus.com/dronetactics!

About Drone Tactics

Transported to an alien world, you find yourself in the middle of a great conflict.  An army of evil Drones is on the march, threatening to obliterate the land of Cimexus.  Its inhabitants now turn to you to lead them in battle against the Black Swarm.  Each level offers new challenges, and taking full advantage of each Drone's unique specialties will be the difference between success and defeat!

Key Features

Build and command your own Drone army – Wreak mechanical havoc with your squad of insect mechs, choosing from over 100 weapons, upgrades, and power-ups to optimize your forces.

Conquer dozens of campaign operations and over 50 additional maps – Take on the forces of the Black Swarm then confront the challenges that wait in the mysterious Badlands.

Battle for domination in head-to-head combat – Friends become enemies in local wireless play.

Drone Tactics has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

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About Atlus U.S.A., Inc.

Located in Irvine, California and founded in 1991, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. is a publisher of compelling video games for a variety of platforms, including the Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Wii™, Xbox 360^®, and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The Atlus library of critically acclaimed video games includes Odin Sphere, Trauma Center series, and the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei series. For more information, visit http://www.atlus.com.

©2008 SUCCESS.  Licensed to and published by ATLUS U.S.A., Inc.  Nintendo DS and the Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.