Valkyria Chronicles; PLAY IT!

Valkyria Chronicles is one of the top 5 best strategy games I've ever played in my life. I can't do a proper review of it, since I couldn't complete the game when I rented it, but I can safely say, it's a must play.

But first, a disclaimer. This game is advertised as a "Strategy RPG." That is a half-truth. There are close-to-no RPG elements in VC. The Front Mission and Disgaea games have true RPG elements, not VC. This isn't a bad thing, mind you, just don't expect it to play exactly like Disgaea.

The game itself is innovative. When it's your turn, you move your units using command points. Whenever you move someone, the screen shifts from the map onto the battlefield, and you move your unit in real-time. Be careful, some enemy units can attack you during this period. You can attack once per command, so make it count. When you've used up your command points, (or if you end your turn early, thus saving your command points for the next turn) then it's the enemy's turn. You can't do anything here except wait. Once the enemy turn ends, it's your turn again. The game is more turn-based than real-time, but I like how Sega incorporated real-time movements. This separates VC from the rest of the pack.

The game's story is one of the best I've ever seen. It's basically an alternate-reality World War II. The Soviets Eastern Empire and the Allies Federation both want a piece of Belgium Gallia, and it's up to Welkin, a junior officer, to lead a squadron to protect his country. I can't go into too much detail, because of spoilers, and also because I haven't gotten that far yet, but what I have seen convinces me that VC is a work of high art. The characters are clearly defined, and you will feel Welkin's struggle to defend this homeland despite his inexperience. Unlike most Sega games, VC actually has decent voice-acting. Not fantastic, (I would've liked it if the dubbers put more "bite" in their delivery) but every voice is distinct, and you might recognize a few voices. (Look out for Bender, by the way.)

The soundtrack is really good. Okay, personally, Hitoshi Sakimoto isn't one of my favorite composers, but every one of his soundtracks always manage to have at least a few excellent tracks, and VC is no exception. Having a 5.1 setup helps, too.

When I'm done renting all the PS3-exclusives that I'm interested in, VC may be the first one I buy. Its combination of excellent gameplay, beautiful storyline, and neat soundtrack make it very appealing to me. Why no one else has been raving about this game is a puzzlement to me. Are gamers really only interested in shooters anymore? You can shoot people from a first-person perspective in this game, too.