One can't help but notice right away how unique the visuals are. I would say they are stunning, to me they are, but it's the kind of look that may not appeal to everyone. It has an anime style that's not necessarily mainstream, but it's very artistic. Each scene looks like it was created using acrylic crayons on a canvas.

The visuals not only look like they belong in a storybook, they actually are in a storybook. Valkyria Chronicles' tale is told through the pages of a history book. A story about a small country in the middle of warring nations over a valuable source of energy, it's kind of a period piece set in what looks like an alternate World War II in Europe. Guns and tanks are definitely from that era. Each page of the book has a number of selectable windows that will take you to videos unfolding the story or to battle sequences. The nice thing about this, and something I wish was in every game, is the anytime access to past cutscenes.

Great design goes a long way, but that certainly doesn't mean that Valkyria lacks substance. In fact, this is one of the most enjoyable games I've played in perhaps a generation. The most important part, strategy, is there in abundance, something that can't be said about all strategy RPGs. Besides not being based around swords and sorcerers, another departure from most SRPGs is the absence of square tiles for movement. Characters have a set distance they can walk, which is depicted by a bar.

This leads to the action portion of the game. Once you decide which unit is to be moved, you take control in a real time, 3rd person view. Any steps you take, forward or backward, count towards depleting your movement bar. While in this view, no one else on the battlefield can move, but if you cross an enemy's line of sight, they can shoot you. Consider it a twist on a 3rd person action game. You still need to use objects for cover and peer around corners of buildings before rushing forward. Once you are ready to fire though, things return to form. A click of a trigger will pause the action while still in the same view, but you will have all the time you need to select a target, a weapon, and to manually aim your shot if you so choose.

This all takes place within a very well defined set of rules. Anti-tank soldiers have the power to destroy, well, tanks, but they cannot return fire or fire when it's not their turn. Scouts have very long range, but are relatively low on the damage charts. Assault soldiers are middle of the road in both distance and damage. Snipers can shoot long distances with great accuracy, but they also cannot return fire. With that all in mind, planning out your turn and targets becomes a thought provoking task.

A player's turn also means that anyone in control may be moved in any order, including moving more than once per turn. While replaying a couple of levels, I found that a single scout could sometimes infiltrate the enemy forces and take the flag without moving anyone else on my team. Sometimes this can be accomplished in a single turn. There are special units which add a movement order to a player's turn, for both sides. That means if you hunt out particular enemy units, you can not only take a personnel advantage but turn advantage as well.

There's so much to be decided each turn. Do you move units together slowly? Do you hang back, keep covered, and steal away enemy health while they charge you during their turn? Do you scout out a tower where you can place a sniper and thin their forces? Do you drive a tank right down their throats and hope it survives? These decisions are what make an RPG truly great. There are fantastic games out there that make you think quickly on your feet, but when I want to plan, prepare, and consider all options before making a decision, this is how it's done.

In between the fights, you have both experience points and money to spend. Experience points are applied to a class as a whole, like Scout or Medic. One the class levels, every person in your squad gets an increase in stats and has a chance to learn a new ability. This means that you don't have to worry about going back and keeping everyone leveled individually, an absolute blessing for an obsessive compulsive gamer without enough time. Experience can also be used to learn new commands, which are given by the lead character and cost one action point. The money can be spent on upgrading equipment, both hand-held weaponry and tank parts. It can also be spent on unlocking more in-depth character storylines.

My only complaint is that the characters played pretty much the same from start to finish. I would have liked to have seen a real progression in meaningful skills. The battles played out differently in every chapter, but that's because of the level layout, the troops allowed, and the opposing forces. I would have loved if there was another layer of strategy due to characters playing differently as they leveled because of the new skills they had acquired. As it is, a Scout at the beginning is pretty much what you can expect a Scout to be at the end.

We've been through years and years of Final Fantasy Tactics lookalikes and play-alikes, many of which I've enjoyed and will continue to enjoy. Valkyria Chronicles, though, is truly a much needed step forward for the genre. It proves that SRPGs can look great and can even further push the envelope of human tactics in a video game. Hands down, this is the best RPGs on the PS3, one of the best of the entire genre, and one of the best games this generation.