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 3iscritically acclaimed— paving the way foranother game in the series— and Atlus has been announcing and releasing aslewofnewandinterestinggames. The latest of these is the Atlus USA-publishedDrone Tacticsfor 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’re able to goBloody 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 Tacticswill provideseveralhours of deep, dense gameplay. If you just gotta have a tactics game to eat up your time,Drone Tacticssounds like it can fill that need and then some. If you interest is piqued, check out theofficial websitefor 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 Tacticsis scheduled to be released on March 25,2008 for the Nintendo DS.

So, tactics-fiends, does this whet your whistle? DoesDrone Tacticstickle 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.

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

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!

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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 includesOdin Sphere,Trauma Centerseries, and the award-winningShin Megami Tenseiseries. For more information, visithttp://www.atlus.com.

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