Pokémon Conquest

Sega's official Olympics tie-in London 2012: The Video Game has unseated Lego Batman 2 at the top of the UK all-format charts.

Pokémon, it turns out, works so well as a strategy RPG that it's sort of weird nobody thought of trying it before. The critters themselves make for an excellent range of units, their array of strengths and weaknesses provides the ideal basis for the old rock, paper, scissors routine, and the trainers - sorry, warriors - they're linked to allow the designers to fling in a little meta-strategy, as you match the right man with the right monster. Not even a rather dry storyline about feudal empires and rival warlords can bog things down too much.

Actually, the plot isn't too bad. This is hardly the most memorable of narratives, but your race to unite the 17 kingdoms of Ransei before a dangerous enemy beats you to it adds a welcome element of time pressure to proceedings. It also neatly explains why you can be so keen on invading all your neighbours while still feeling like a hero when the dust has settled. If you don't bring them over to your cause, see, someone who you're told is far worse is going to do it. It's basically Bush-era foreign policy re-enacted with Meowths and Tepigs. Who doesn't want to be ground down under the cruel boot of a Meowth?

Mechanically, Conquest is pretty straightforward stuff. A blend of Pokémon and Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition series, you move your troops around the beautiful hand-drawn world map, invading enemies when their kingdoms appear, grinding for gold, defending strategically, strengthening your Pokémon and hunting for new ones in all of the locations you've already won over during any downtime.

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Japanese role-playing crossover Pokémon Conquest will arrive for DS on 27th July, Nintendo has announced.

The game takes place in a new region, Ransei, inspired by Japan's era of feudal warlords.

The Tecmo Koei-developed RPG blends a menagerie of Pokémon stars with characters from obscure Japanese war strategy series Nobunaga's Ambition.

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RPG spin-off getting UK release on 18th June.

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Feudal Japanese Pokémon spin-off Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition has been granted a US release under a new name: Pokémon Conquest.

Developed for the DS by Tecmo Koei, Conquest sees players take on the role of a young warlord in a kingdom full of Pokémon.

It's a crossover with the little-known Nobunga's Ambition series, a historical strategy RPG franchise existing since 1983 but virtually unheard of outside of Japan.

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The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 3 debuted at number 20 on the weekly Japanese sales chart, shifting just over 8000 copies.

That might not seem like much, but it's well up on the 5885 that Mass Effect 2 managed in its debut week last year.

DS franchise spin-off Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition took the top spot with 172,027 copies sold, followed by Sega's PSP strategy RPG Shining Blade with 122,257.

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