It's really hard to make a fantasy RTS game and not compare it to Blizzard's hugely influential Warcraft series. Certainly the first screenshots released for the upcoming Battleforge have that kind of similar art style and look to their units.However Battleforge, from developer Phenomic, is aiming to be something a bit different. Instead of mining resources to build units and structures, players will buy, sell and trade virtual collectible trading cards that will help them build their armies. Support for online tournaments and clans are also planned. We hope to get more info on the game before its publisher Electronic Arts sends it to stores this fall....

A while back, Electronic Arts announced that it had acquired the German game developer Phenomic from JoWood. While at JoWood, the development team was best known for their work on the Spellforce series of fantasy RTS-RPG hybrid games. Now EA has finally revealed what Phenomic has been working on for their new owners; Battleforge.So what is Battleforge? Oddly enough it's yet another title that mixes two game genres. EA describes it as an online only fantasy RTS game with collectible trading card elements. The press release states that players will buy, trade and win the cards online and then use them to create their armies. The fictional story behind Battleforge (something about mortals coming between gods and giants) sounds pretty derivative at this stage but we are intregied about using cards with strategy and EA claims there will be support for things like clans, tournaments and other kinds of social community features. The game is set for release this fall....