In recent years, the traditional one man role playing game has been pushed somewhat to the margins to make room for the MMORPG.. As that has happened, so the traditional RTS will need to make room for collectible cardbased strategy games. Thats what Electronic Arts and its German Phenomic Studio have decided, anyway. So it is that we get Battleforge. Times are getting tough for us mortal folk in the epic fantasy world served up by Battleforge. A battle between insane gods and ancient giants is raging, and the only hope of the piddling mortals stuck in the middle is to draw on the powers of Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow by using a mysterious Forge that will spawn the forces needed to beat the odds. Eschewing the usual resource grabbing, base building and tech upgrades used in the traditional RTS, Battleforge makes use of devastating special cards the player unleashes during the match. Some can generate units with unique abilities, some create defensive buildings, others set loose spells that have immediate effects on friends or enemies. If youre not sure what to make of the cards, theres a handy sandbox mode to test them out in. There are 40 different maps to play on, and a cooperative mode that allows up to 12 players to duke it out should give players plenty to go at.