Dawn of Heroes is a new single player RPG out for the Nintendo DS. This game makes good use of the stylus and touch pad system as it takes players through a series of 50 mini game style battles. Each of these games takes you on a series of branching paths, side quests and even hidden side quests. The game allows for a great amount of character development as you are allowed to choose from 25 characters and 6 factions. The enemies vary as well, being from 12 different factions. The game retails for about $30. It will be released on 4/13/2010.

This game also makes a great use of humor as you are introduced to the characters and throughout the game. This makes for a difference from the commonly seen super serious aspects of RPGs. The battles take place using both screens while the upper screen uses 3D imagery the touch screen displays a 2D grid. The grid controls the action while the upper screen shows what happens after you choose your actions. The game also utilizes the Wi-Fi for different multiplayer action.

Each battle is made more challenging by stipulations that allow for instance only specific numbers of characters to be used in each mission, eliminating any attempts by others. The wacky dialogue is what sets this game apart from other more straight forward RPG’s. If you take out the dialogue and the loosely threaded story there really isn’t all that much different in the game. There are a ton of items to collect and the touch screen controls lend a unique play style. Being that only sample copies have been out for reviewers to see, it is hard to know exactly how this game is going to go over with the general public.

It seems that this game will be best utilized for those who enjoy RPG’s have a good understanding of quirky humor and are well versed in the DS’s unique play style. This game would probably be designed for older kids to adults who will totally understand the humor in the game despite its E rating.

The game is produced by majesco. Pushing back the release date several times may have hurt the game’s release.