The Atari brand has just decided to do the smartest thing with their Dungeons and Dragons license since Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 were announced. Coming this spring, exclusively to Sony’s PSP handheld platform, is Dungeons and Dragons Tactics, which is promised to conform to all the latest edition 3.5 rules.

While Square-Enix, Namco, Atlus, NIS America and others have made RPGs a mainstream form of entertainment, for some reason mentioning Dungeons and Dragons is still equated with dice-toting nerds who knock down mailboxes with baseball bats, pretending they are dragons. It’s a logical disconnect that, frankly, baffles me.

But hopefully what Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 have done for restoring the dignity of the name brand on PC, Dungeons and Dragons Tactics will do for the brand on PSP. If it retains the core genre game play and appeal that has made titles like Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea and others big hits, but adds in the D&D flavor, this spring should be a rewarding one for PSP owners.