Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

“Turn-based tactics meets gritty shooter action in this story-tense war torn parallel universe. Choose your units and move out to save Europa! With an innovation to both genre attributing more than enough from any sort this makes brain teaser....”

“Turn-based tactics meets gritty shooter action in this story-tense war torn parallel universe. Choose your units and move out to save Europa! With an innovation to both genre attributing more than enough from any sort this makes brain teaser. However with an intense look on it this game probably isn't as amazing as i make it out to be, but in my humble openion i absolutely adore it
Perfect score for combining old, new, perfected, and edgy game elements.”

“This game is amazing they mix war and anime together and its a good mix I had lots of fun playing this game.”

“This game is amazing they mix war and anime together and its a good mix I had lots of fun playing this game.”

“A brilliant game for the Ps3. A cross between Real time Strategy and Third Person Shooter. Lovable characters and great story. Well worth a try if you enjoy a good story driven strategy game. One downside of the game would be the lack of an...”

“A brilliant game for the Ps3. A cross between Real time Strategy and Third Person Shooter. Lovable characters and great story. Well worth a try if you enjoy a good story driven strategy game.
One downside of the game would be the lack of an autosave feature, but otherwise brilliant game.”

“Very story driven SRPG. ”

“Very story driven SRPG. ”

“Hate it my daughter plays but i just cant get into this as an rpg.”

“Hate it my daughter plays but i just cant get into this as an rpg.”

“One of the best games of all times, combining SRPG elements with FPS and awesome GRAPHICS = AWESOME.”

“One of the best games of all times, combining SRPG elements with FPS and awesome GRAPHICS = AWESOME.”

“Though Valkyria Chronicle's setting obviously draws many references from the actual history of World War II, to call Valkyria Chronicles just another war game would be a great injustice. Players assume the role of Welkin Gunther, a naturalist...”

“Though Valkyria Chronicle's setting obviously draws many references from the actual history of World War II, to call Valkyria Chronicles just another war game would be a great injustice.

Players assume the role of Welkin Gunther, a naturalist come war hero, as the commander of Squad 7 in defense of Gallia, a small neutral nation caught amidst a raging war between two fictional superpowers, the East Europan Imperial Alliance and the Atlantic Federation.

Squad 7 is composed of roughly fifty lovable characters that run the entire gamut of anime archetypes from romantic interest, quintessential loli and twin-tail tsundere to lesbian and broken masochist in addition to cameos by both Vyse Inglebard and Aika Thompson of Skies of Arcadia fame ( unfortunately, Fina is relegated to the role of Squad 7's non-player controllable field medic ).

Unfortunately, only important storyline characters are entitled to fully detailed biographies. Other members of Squad 7 are only allowed unlockable blurbs and up to four personality traits, leaving the rest up to the player's imagination. Interestingly, letting players fill in squadmate personalities for themselves might allow some players to build stronger bonds with their squadmates as they "create" their squadmates while discovering more about them. Whatever the case, for many players, the permanent death of a squadmate can be a heart wrenching experience.

Commanding Squad 7, players will complete a series of missions using an innovative mix of sRPG and FPS gameplay mechanics to repel the invading Imperial Alliance.

While Valkyria Chronicle's watercolour and anime inspired retelling of history is generally as charming as it is visually striking, Valkyria Chronicles is also at times a somber reflection of the cruelties of reality where betrayal, prejudice and death abound, the Imperial Alliance's attempted genocide of the Darcsen minority, a reference to the Holocaust, especially prominent.

For those who just can't get enough of Valkyria Chronicles innovative, cell-shaded sRPG action, multiple DLC packs and difficult, alternate campaign challenges give players an opportunity to return to the battlefield.

Interestingly enough, Valkyria Chronicles was originally intended as a XBox 360 exclusive, but at some point in development changed into a PS3 exclusive. Quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Verdict: Despite a campy story, the watercolour / anime inspired aesthetic and unique sRPG / FPS hybrid gameplay make Valkyria Chronicles a standout hit in a generation of games defined more by replication rather than innovation. Alternate campaign challenges and multiple DLCs will keep players in the action long after the story is complete ( if they aren't too busy looking up fanfictions of their favourite squadmates ). Valkyria Chronicles is more than the product of its sums, and is as close to perfect as games get.

Purchased: USD30 @ GameStop ( GameDays sale ). Additional USD20 in DLC.

Value: USD70 with four DLCs, otherwise USD55.”

“This combines the tactics of Advance Wars with a somewhat novel semi-real-time strategy mechanic that is hard for me to describe without using an obscure combination of games. To me the first person mechanic feels like a cross between Front...”

“This combines the tactics of Advance Wars with a somewhat novel semi-real-time strategy mechanic that is hard for me to describe without using an obscure combination of games. To me the first person mechanic feels like a cross between Front Mission 3 and Fallout 3. Every action and/or step requires action points which are spent in real time, but targeting and aiming happen in "frozen" time until the damage is dealt. Really brilliant implementation. The unit upgrades and combinations add a lot of depth to the game, and I can't wait to run through alternate strategies for the maps I've cleared.

While the gameplay is expertly implemented, I feel like the overall game is very cutscene heavy... like "put down the controller" heavy, which is OK at times but tries my patience when the narrative starts to lose momentum.”