Hamburg  - Card games have tended to translate badly into computer games in the past. Nonetheless, a new game called Battleforge, which is due out in March, will try to meld real-time strategy games with virtual playing cards.

Battleforge is just one of many new games hitting shelves this month. It stands out, though, in the way it tries to break away from classic gaming setups.

Traditionally, real-time games have required players to create societies that can build weapons to challenge opponents. The settings would change from ancient times to World War II, but the principle remained. It has led to reliable sales, but also to bored gamers.

So now, Electronic Arts hopes to enliven real-time strategy with Battleforge. Instead of constructing facilities for building systems, players will have to gather trading cards.

Upon purchase, gamers will get a pack of virtual cards, each of which can help build a society. Before each game, the player considers which cards will be most helpful in that round. More cards can be purchased for a fee.

It's important to have a good selection because Battleforge does not simply focus on beating a computerized opponent, but defeating online opponents as well. The concept was devised by the German game inventors behind The Settlers and Spellforce.

Whether the combination of cards and real-time is a success will be determined on March 26, when the game goes on sale for 50 euros (63 dollars).

Other new March releases are of a more traditional fare. They include new strategy games such as Codename Panzers Cold War and Empire: Total War. The fifth instalment of the popular, Simon the Sorcerer, series is also planned. Meanwhile, Ubisoft will use the Tom Clancy name to market its lastest, the flying action adventure H. A. W. X.

While Battleforge is an unknown quantity in this year's market, Codename Panzers is a well-established brand. The future of the series seemed to have ended in 2008 when its creator, 10tacle, went bankrupt. But the new Codename Panzers: Cold War is now scheduled for release by Atari.

Set in 1949 amid a fictional war arising from the Cold War, the game will go on sale in March for 50 euros.

The Total War series from Sega has also become legendary in PC strategy game circles. The game employs the traditional formula of rounds and real-time strategy: players create cities and armies around the world at their own pace ... and then pit them against those of another player in a real-time battle.

Empire: Total War takes the game back to the age of colonization, with the action set on the world's oceans. According to Sega, the game should sell for 50 euros.

Strategy will not serve players well in the new Simon the Sorcerer game. Simon first appeared in an eponymous game in 1993. Set for release on March 26, the fifth version of the game will focus on solving puzzles. Simon's games also involve a healthy dose of humour. This time, Simon has to deal with an invasion from outer space, which includes double agents and giant squids. The game will retail for 40 euros.

Tom Clancy's name is generally associated with secret agent thrillers in books. But Ubisoft has appropriated it for all of its tactical skulking and shooting games. Tom Clancy's H. A. W. X. is a cross between a flight simulator and an action game. Basically, it involves flying a jet and targeting opponents. (dpa)