Breed, train and battle online with Digimon World DS

In the Japanese kiddie triumvir of Pokémon, Tamagotchi and Digimon, the Digimon digital monsters come a poor third place. But that doesn't mean they aren't hugely successful, just less successful than two of the biggest toy franchises ever.

And it's certainly no reason for game maker Namco Bandai not to roll out the first Digimon game for DS.

As is often the way when handling such bestiaries, the game revolves around the basic moves of collecting species, training, breeding and evolving them into new forms, and then using them in turn-based battles. There are 230 different Digimon to play around with in your Digi-Farm, split across eight species, so you can be sure of getting just the type you like.

Namco Bandai is also keen to make full use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to enable you to make your way in the wider global community of Digimon tamers. Three-versus-three battles can be carried out, and you can trade up to 40 Digimon with your friends wirelessly.

Another neat touch is the ability to form super rare Digimon by matching certain species with online traders.

Incubating in its metallic egg, Digimon World DS is due for release in the UK sometime in 2007.