Majesco forming Diamond Trust of London

Beautiful as diamonds can be, there could be unsavory pasts behind the valuable baubles that people don't really consider once they hit a jeweler's display case. That oft-ignored background is the setting for Diamond Trust of London, a DS game announced today by Majesco Entertainment.

Diamond Trust of London is the first DS game from independent developer Jason Rohrer. The New Mexico resident has spent years creating and freely distributing games developed on his own, including 2007's acclaimed Passage, as well as next month's two-player storytelling experiment Sleep Is Death. Rohrer's games have examined topics from isolation to consciousness and spanned genres from 2D shooter to tile-based puzzler.

A turn-based strategy title for two players (or one player pitted against an AI opponent), Diamond Trust of London has players rushing to acquire rough diamonds from Angola to sell in London and Antwerp before United Nations regulations intended to crack down on diamond-trade-related human-rights abuses can be instituted. Players will have eight turns to bribe (and counterbribe) each other's agents, make backroom deals, and otherwise engage in illicit activities in order to get the upper hand. Though it doesn't require it, the game will also make use of the DSi camera for some gameplay features.

Diamond Trust of London is set for a summer release.