Ubisoft allowed IGN to take a first look at Clash of Heroes for the Nintendo DS, as the company gets ready for the E3 show (thanks Eternor). We finally get to learn what gameplay will be like:

"The meat of Clash of Heroes resides in the battles, where players act as commander and give orders to their troops on the field. From a top-down view you can see your army on the bottom screen and the enemy on top. There are various colors of troops and players must arrange like colors into lines of at least three. A horizontal line will act as a defensive unit and a vertical line will attack the enemy. Your stylus is used to drag troops around the field, but you only have a limited number of moves per turn. At the start of each turn reinforcements will be added to your army in random locations. As the battle rages on your spell meter will fill up, and once it's full you can unleash a devastating attack."

And producer Erwan Le Breton explains the reasons behind the new art style:

"Being a DS game, we also wished to explore a different art style, something more 'Anime' that suited our gameplay and platform. The game's narrative focuses on heroes during their younger years, so we wanted to find a representation of the environment that properly speaks to their age. At the same time, we kept the bright, colorful, fairy flavors and tone associated with M&M."

Expect a lot more info when E3 starts.