PS3 Slim is a game changer?

by Tiberius Jonez

The worst kept secret in gaming is now officially outed. Sony announced the PS3 Slim to day; a smaller, lighter, more efficient and cooler PS3 with all the same features as it's predecessor. Using a third less power is a good thing, let's hope they improved the blu ray drive's reliability.

Does a smaller box and a much needed price drop make this a game changer for Sony? I doubt it. It certainly will boost sales this year, especially during the all-important holiday shopping season.

Microsoft needs to get Project Natal named and released sooner rather than later. From what I've read and seen, Natal is legit and if used properly, it could render the Wii obsolete overnight; at least in the minds of those gamers falling into the "XBox or PS3 for sure, and a Wii if it was a gift" crowd.

Blu Ray is becoming less of a draw for Sony as standalone Blu Ray players continue to come down in price. There have been no announcements of release dates for any Natal titles but all indications point towards a late 2010 release - holidays 2010?

If that is the case, Sony needs this year to prove most fruitful for PS3 sales. They could fuel that success by releasing more games designed to draw on the 360's success like Mag and Infamous.

I've been pondering a new PS3. This makes it more likely I'll have it sooner rather than later. I am super excited about Project Natal and a slew of good games coming to stores over the next 12 months. Next up, Forza Motorsports 3 and Modern Warfare 2.

This next year is going to be a good one for gamers everywhere.

A salty Brit's take on E3

by Brendan Rose

With E3 wrapping up, I thought I'd talk about some of the new games I think looked cool, as well as the games I think seem crap or that I'm indifferent towards as well as the new motion controls for the PS3 and Xbox.

Okay first up, Mass Effect 2, now I think this looks really cool. You can bring your old character over to the new game, and if you die you don't get to bring them over into the third game. It's supposed to be darker than the first Mass Effect, which is cool because it was kind of lame. I just sat around waiting the entire game for the lesbian sex scene with the blue alien girl, but it was a lot of fun, and I really liked the psychic powers. They've revamped the graphics and the combat, and you can now wound and cripple the enemy. It looks cool

Alright next we've got Bioshock 2, it seems really neat from the footage I've seen. Everybody knows this time around you get to play as a big daddy, with the proper drill. Slower this time, more lumbering, more powerful, and they've got the big sisters there to set up some good dynamics. It looks ok.

Heavy Rain, seems really cool. It's got the branching plot lines. If you die as one character you just switch to one of the others and the plot adjusts, and it just looks like it's got a lot of potential. I'm not a fan of those stupid quick-time events where you have to press a certain button fast enough to keep the scene going. I hate that. But it seems interesting enough for that not to matter.

Dead Rising 2 is going to be awesome. God of War III seems pretty good from the footage I saw. Everyone's pretty hyped about that game. I never played the God of War games, but I'll definitely try it out. Then there's Final Fantasy XIII and now XIV which will be online. Not much to say about that. I like the look of the new game, and VS sounds awesome.

Flashpoint 2 seems to be rolling along well and looks cool, if they ever release it. Left 4 Dead 2, looks exactly like the first game, which isn't exactly bad, I'll buy it, and some new maps would be fun. Then there's Halo ODST, I'd like to play another Halo. Looks ok.

Assassin's creed 2 seems neat with some new features, better assassinations. It looks like it could be fun. Brutal Legend seems kind of funny. Jack Black... Probably a stupid game, but I'll buy it just to have a look. New AVP, could be fun, if they get it right. Batman Archam Asylum is something I will take a look at later along with Crackdown 2.

Now moving onto the intermediate games there's MAG which seems interesting with 250 or so players. Dark Void just keeps floating around. Some Knights of the old republic game, others liked the earlier one. And then Lost Planet 2 which has fancy graphics and lots of neat action and open areas and big scary monsters to fight but I just look at it and I feel nothing. I feel dead inside.

Then the games that just look like festering shit. First, Uncharted 2. My god, can someone please kill the hype surrounding this miserable looking tomb raider thing. It looks so boring and stupid it makes me want to barf on a child. Modern Warfare 2, I have no interest in...none. I understand people love the first Modern Warfare, but I've never understood it. So, go ahead and let the flaming begin.

The Beatles Rockband will probably sell a lot of copies, but not to me. No way in Hell. And then there's some fucking Metal Gear thing going on... Some stupid shit... Looks like Metal Gear on Xbox. I really don't care

Then finally, these new motion controls, which I hope will strangle the last gulps of life out of the Wii like a boa constrictor on a stray duckling. First the PS3 has a motion controller set for 2010 release that looks at least as good as the Wii motion plus. And then the Xbox has this.... Magic thing....Project Natal. They just showed a weird trailer. If it lives up to the trailer it could be cool. No controller required. It scans your body with two cameras and tracks your movements in 3D, and it responds to voice commands. Could be cool if it works I guess. So the Wii has no power and no games at all, and whatever the Wii control once offered, is now available on a better system with real graphics, If they get it right.

So anyway that's what I thought of E3. Kind of cool. Like a nerd mecca.

TJ's Flashback : Xbox 360 vs PS3

by Tiberius Jonez

TJ's Flashback is a look back at unedited comments I've made online about gaming over the past decade. Sometimes they are amusing, sometimes I take pride in their accuracy, and once in a while they are a bit embarrassing.

What I thought at the time...

May, 2007 on 1UP.com

I liked it (my PS3) the first couple weeks I had it. The GT demo and Resistance kept me occupied for a little while. But then they got old, Motorstorm was utterly disappointing and anything else worth having (LAIR? blech!) won't be out until at LEAST 2008.

At that point it actually made me angry to look at the PS3 console everyday. This mammoth black box sitting on my desk taking up space without delivering anything to make it worthy of it's place next to my Xbox 360. I bought one Blu-Ray movie - Invinceable. Honestly it didn't look much better than regular DVD. Not enough so to make it a selling point, that's for sure. So, I listed on EBAY, sold it for $800 with the games and movie and put the money towards a new gaming PC.

Holidays 2008, when (if) the PS3 finally has some compelling software AND a significant price drop, I will consider buying one then.

But right now, you have to be a major Sony Fanboy or Sony Drone or just plain stupid to think the PS3 is a better gaming system than the Xbox 360 RIGHT NOW and for the remainder of 2007.

Beyond that we'll see. But right now Xbox 360 is the clear best of class. The Wii doesn't even count...it's not in the same class as either the PS3 or 360..

What I think now...

April 2009

If a friend asked me today which console to buy if he can only buy one, my answer is still Xbox360. When it comes right down to it, it's about the games, and in that respect Xbox has it hands down on the PS3. While Killzone 2 helps to give the PS3 some legitimacy, Sony has a long long way to run to catch Microsoft in terms of quality game library.

E3 2009 - PS3 fighting Xbox at home

by Tiberius Jonez

It's that time of the year again, when, fueled by energy drinks, gamers gorge themselves on reams of hype and participate in reckless speculation about everything and anything related to video games..it's E3 time.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is arguably the Superbowl of the gaming industry. If you're a developer introducing a new IP or a sequel to a beloved franchise, then E3 is where you want to make that presentation...and the stakes are high. Succeed, and you're guaranteed six months to a year or more of passionate free publicity from game magazines and bloggers from all over the internet. Blow it, and you're guaranteed at least that much negative press and badmouthing, a marketing blow too damaging for many to overcome.

Leading up to E3, I will be looking for interesting tidbits of news and information pertinent to E3 and all that it represents.

So, I was thinking to myself after reading some previews of Sony's upcoming games, that they were games I would expect to see on the 360. Then I stumbled upon an excellent article on how Sony is taking the development game to Microsoft on the PC giant's home turf.

If Sony would come to grips with their need to emulate Xbox Live, they could potentially swing market momentum in their favor. The timing is good for such a move as Microsoft is presently waging war in Europe, possibly leaving themselves vulnerable to a flanking maneuver by Sony.

InFamous and MAG both show a lot of early promise, but it remains to be seen which they will end up being compared to more, Killzone 2 or Stormrise. Read the full story here.

PS3 losing UK race vs Xbox 360

Slow and steady wins the race, right? Sony hopes so, as the PS3 continues to struggle in the UK.

According to UK retailer Game, Nintendo's Wii remains number one in terms of console sales with 4.9 million units sold. The Xbox 360 is a strong second, having moved 3.2 million units, while Sony continues to pull up the rear with 1.9 million PS3's sold in the UK since it's release a little more than two years ago.

Those numbers absolutely pale in comparison with those of Nintendo's DS. The big "N" continues to print money with the touch screen sensation, having sold a staggering 8.8 million units.

The PS2 is still alive and kicking in the UK as well, having just passed the 10 million mark in the UK.

These numbers lend credence to Microsoft's declarations earlier this week that they intend to once again turn their strategic focus to Europe, following up on an earlier UK push back in 2007. Microsoft this week declared victory over the PS3 in the U.S. and said it was time to focus resources and regionally targeted marketing strategies in an effort to essentially end the battle for the UK market.

Springing Gaming Forward

By Tiberius Jonez

It's April. The birds are chirping, warm breezes are blowing and here in Minnesota, people are spending more time outdoors and less time on their couches playing video games. Of course I'm not most people. Sure, I'm enjoying the Spring weather with plenty of time on the basketball court or playing softball, but I'm still getting my daily recommended allowance of gaming. With its predictable lack of new releases, Spring is a good time to catch up on games you've missed previously, and like a good multivitamin, your daily gaming diet should include a variety of nourishing ingredients.

I've been playing a smorgasbord of different games lately. I recently started playing Call of Duty 4 again after my best buddy recently bought an Xbox 360. He is addicted, and I am happy to feed his addiction with a steady diet of Headquarters and Hardcore Search and Destroy matches via Xbox Live. After a six month hiatus from the game, the truth that there is no better first person shooter on the market has been reaffirmed in my mind.

The Last Remnant has seen considerable time in my PC-DVD Rom drive and I am thoroughly enjoying it's beautiful scenery and lively combat. TLR's story is quite enjoyable too, but I really keep playing just so I can see the beauty of the next unexplored area. Honestly, this is the most fun I've ever had with a Japanese style RPG.


Fable II rounds out my big three of the Spring so far. I know the game's been out for a while, but when you play as many games as I do, you don't always get to try EVERY new release right away. In truth, I'm glad I had to wait this long to play Fable II. While I've been looking forward to playing it for a while, I did have some reservations about it. I have a long and star-crossed relationship with Peter Molyneux games, beginning with the original Black and White and continuing with Black and White 2 and the first Fable. Prior to their respective releases, I had huge expectations for these games, partly due to Molyneux's own marketing promises, and partly due to the hype propogated by my fellow game journalists. While I enjoyed all of them to differing degrees, I was also disappointed by each of them in different ways. So, while I was sure I would enjoy Fable II, I expected to be disappointed by it
on some level.

After five days of playing it, I can honestly say I've thoroughly enjoyed Fable II with very few downer moments. My only real complaint with the game is the menu system. Some actions require too many repeat trips into the menus, which tend to open a bit slowly. Other than that, the action, story, graphics and music of Fable II are all top notch.

The graphics deserve an extra mention. Walking through the world of Albion is a treat for the eyes at every moment. Aside from the occasional drab cave, the environment is stunning. I love that the game features day/night cycles, I only wish they were longer. An Albion day passes in five real world minutes, which is too short when you are enjoying a particularly beautiful sunset over Bower Lake.

The combat is greatly improved over Fable I, as is the overall story. If you haven't checked out Fable II, you owe to it yourself to play it.

I have other games on the back burner biding their time to get some time in my 360 or PC and I recently got Metal Gear Solid mobile which I've only played long enough to get through the VR training. I will have an update, and full review posted in the next couple weeks for MGS mobile.

Enjoy the warm weather and keep on gaming!

Two Years of GameJonez Blog and gaming in 2011

By Tiberius Jonez

A couple of weeks ago, GameJonez Blog passed its second birthday. During our first two years in existence, there’s been quite a bit of change in the world of interactive gaming. GameJonez Blog launched near the beginning of this current cycle of “Next Generation” console hardware, and since then we’ve witnessed the Wii-fueled resurrection of Nintendo, the evolution of Microsoft from underappreciated neophyte to legitimate industry powerhouse, and a seemingly endless series of missteps transforming Sony from overwhelming market leader to last place embarrassment and sometimes laughingstock.

We’ve seen premature declarations of the death of PC gaming, and the transition of computer and televisions displays from 4:3 full-screens to eye-popping 16:9 high definition. Technology advances quickly for those of us living on its “bleeding edge”, but nowhere is this more true than the world of PC gaming. In a mere two years, we’ve gone from the death of the Pentium 4 processor to the birth of dual core and now the latest Intel i7 quad core processors that are revolutionizing processor architecture. A $200 graphics card today is more powerful than an entire top of the line desktop PC built just five years ago.

Our consoles are now really just multimedia PCs running proprietary operating systems camouflaged in stylish cases. The Xbox 360 features three dual core processors and a very powerful ATI graphics processor that has proven to have plenty of headroom for growth, allowing for greater and greater levels of graphics splendor. The PS3 sports its much-hyped phalanx of cell processors, which has recently begun to show its promise in games like Killzone 2 and MLB ’09.

Microsoft legitimized online console gaming with the original Xbox, and since the release of the Xbox 360 they have taken the online experience to new levels. By offering Xbox Live Arcade games via download, movies and television shows via their partnership with Netflix, and games demos from the Live Marketplace, MS has shown that online console gaming can be both profitable and exciting when properly executed.

Sony continues taking painfully small baby steps with the Sony Online Network, constantly bumping into the furniture and stumbling around the room in the process. HOME remains MIA and I believe Sony will remain in catch-up mode in the online space until they swallow their collective pride and accept the need to charge for the service so they can invest the kind of capital needed to provide a truly unified online entertainment experience. It may be cliché at this point, but Sony needs to copy Microsoft’s online playbook, and then augment it with some new plays of their own making.

I’m purposely ignoring Nintendo in the online discussion, because that is pretty much what they’ve chosen to do themselves. Between clunky friend codes and a lack of online software, Nintendo has clearly eschewed the online space in favor of kid-centric single player experiences and offline multiplayer experiences like Wii Sports.

The ways we experience games and entertainment have changed so much in these two short years, it is difficult to predict what the interactive gaming landscape will look like two years from now. But the whole point of a blog is to speculate…so, here we go.

Here are some predictions I’ll make for 2011.

Aided by a second significant price drop, Sony’s PS3 will finally be hitting its stride, surpassing the Xbox 360 in annual hardware and software sales and finally realizing the potential of HOME as a valid alternative to Xbox Live.

Microsoft, un-phased by the PS3s new found success, will have already announced the next iteration of Xbox, simply called the X3. Microsoft’s next console, releasing on Friday, November 11, 2011, will attempt to capitalize on lessons learned with the Xbox 360 by hitting the ground running ahead of the competition with new technology, a 3 year replacement warranty and formidable launch lineups tailored to individual markets. North America’s X3 launch lineup will feature Call of Duty X-Patriot as an X3 exclusive, and Japan will be treated to an all-new entry in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XTC. Those titles would be enough for anyone, but the nuclear sized bombshell will be the X3’s crown jewel, an exclusive worldwide release of Hideo Kojima’s Magnus Opus, Metal Gear X.

Nintendo will release the Wii-2 three weeks after Microsoft’s new console, and it will feature high-def graphics, wireless DS/Wii-2 integration and will lose the motion sensing bar in favor of a sensor built into the console itself. Though the Wii-2 will remain inferior to the X3 in terms of raw horsepower, it will be bundled with a treasure chest of accessories, including an all-new balance board and light gun…the first from Nintendo since the original NES. Bundled games will be Time Crisis N, and Wii Fit 2. Thankfully, Nintendo will finally put their infamous friend codes out to pasture in favor of a unified online experience. It may not rival Xbox Live, but it will be a huge improvement over any online gaming experience Nintendo has offered previously.

Now, think about what you’ve just read and take a deep breath, and let the commenting begin. Share your predictions, and we’ll revisit this topic when GameJonez Blog turns 4. As always, thanks for supporting GameJonez Blog. Game on!

The Last Remnant PC review

By Tiberius Jonez

Final Fantasy; unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years, you know it is widely considered the crown jewel of Japanese style role playing franchises. Personally, I never really enjoyed it until the release of Final Fantasy Crisis Core for the PSP. I always found the stories utterly clichéd, the combat tedious, and the graphics to be less than stellar, except for the cut scenes. And I’ve never personally understood the Japanese penchant for creating male heroes that look like 12 year old girls. Never mind the endless grinding and random encounters.

So, imagine my apprehension when I read that The Last Remnant, the latest attempt by Microsoft (the game first appeared on the Xbox 360) to tap the Japanese RPG market, was created by Final Fantasy developer Square Enix.

The Last Remnant makes a very good first impression; the opening cut scene is dramatic and full of excellent eye candy. In this scene, we witness the kidnapping of our hero, Rush Sykes’ sister, Irina. Of course, the kidnapping is just the tip of the iceberg of a much broader reaching political intrigue in which our hero will eventually find himself deeply embroiled.

The story is alright. Though it never quite reaches the level of fine literature, it does have some dramatic moments, some touching moments and the occasional plot twist that might actually surprise you.

My favorite part of the game is the combat. The Last Remnant's battle system is unique, though it will likely be several hours before you truly appreciate its intricacies. Rather than controlling individual party members during combat, you recruit leaders and soldiers, and group them together into unions. Although each unit has his or her own stats, equipment, and arts (the game's versions of spells and combat skills), you issue union-wide, turn-based commands on the field. Whereas in most RPGs you choose very specific actions, such as casting a particular spell or using a particular item, in The Last Remnant you choose broader commands. These may include healing unions that need it; performing mystic arts (though you can see which arts the units will use, you can't micromanage them on a unit-by-unit basis); or summoning Rush's awe-inspiring, beautifully designed Cyclops to assist in battle. It should be noted that the combat feels most comfortable with a gamepad, especially an Xbox 360 controller. While the combat is certainly functional with a mouse and keyboard setup, it is clear the system was designed for a gamepad.

Another thing I could never quite get used to, and one that is common to JRPGs is how, even though you are traveling with a large group of people, you only ever see your own character while exploring the world. Your allies are only apparent when engaged in battle. You've just completed this epic battle, and a split second after it ends, here you are all by yourself. I find this design choice to be slightly jarring.

The battle system is quite deep, and the graphical effects and animations are all very well done, and never become boring. The same can’t be said for the repetitious one-liners that Rush utters before each encounter. After a while, I desperately wished for a way to shut him up and just start the next encounter.




The world presented in the game is stunning to look at, and considerably larger than that found in the Xbox 360 version. While you will travel through many varied types of terrain, they all feel connected and reasonable within the game’s “reality”. There is the occasional texture pop-in, but overall the game's visuals are vastly improved over its Xbox 360 counterpart. Frame rate drops are very rare. One problem, and this is nitpicking, is the animations of some of the characters during in-game conversations. Some of the body language is just plain strange. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll know it when you see it. It’s not enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of the game, but it does occasionally end the suspension of disbelief that is the hallmark of any great game, film, or book. I do have to consider it a slight hit to the game’s otherwise excellent presentation.

The Last Remnant is a very long game, even if you don’t choose to explore every side quest and nook and cranny. Thankfully, the music is excellent throughout. Every area of the world has its own theme, and the music in battle is always rousing and never gets stale. The voice acting is generally very good, but there are occasional awkward moments.

Overall, the technical improvements Square Enix made to the PC version of The Last Remnant render it far superior to its Xbox 360 cousin, and make it one of the most enjoyable RPG games around, and one that any fan of the genre should make a point to experience.

Presentation (8)
Graphics (9)
Sound (10)
Gameplay (9)
Lasting Appeal (7)
Overall 8.6

Killzone 2 Reviewed

by Brendan Rose

Now, I know that a lot of people like Killzone 2, but a lot of people like crack, as well. Killzone 2 proudly sports many features which have become standard in the current generation. Like the iron sights, two weapon limit, and automatic regeneration. Iron sights just makes your normal aim pathetic, I prefer the dot in the center of the screen that actually hits the target. I don't really like any of these, but I may as well be complaining about cell phones.

I suppose there's nothing really WRONG with it. The graphics are fine the music is fine it's all fine...but it sucks... It's just androgynous fighting with no real satisfaction in killing anything. You go from fight, to fight, to fight, to fight, slowly advancing, solving whatever goal of the minute is bothering your comrades, and it's just boring. I don't see the appeal. There is very little blood, and there's nothing really tactical about it. It's terrible.

Some people might point out that the multiplayer is better, which I might believe, but will let sit for now. I don't want to play it. Now, everything I said there was actually about Call of Duty 5. The difference is, Killzone 2 is good, and Call of Duty 5 is tripe. What Call of Duty does wrong, Killzone 2 makes work anyway. It's very generic, and at the same time better than anything it seems to imitate.

There are two deaths in Call of Duty 5. You die normally, and you also die when you shoot your own people. It will say "Friendly Fire will not be tolerated" and then starts it again. I hate that, not only do I want to kill these people, half the time in the middle of a firefight they look the same. There is also the little death every time you have to play it. Thankfully, Killzone 2 doesn't have this problem.

Upon completion of Call of Duty 5, you are rewarded with an endless, ultimately unwinnable zombie shooter set inside of a house that just makes you wish you were playing Left 4 Dead. I'd rather eat broken glass than play Call of Duty 5 again. I'd rather pluck off my fingernails one by one than play Call of Duty 5 for one more minute. I'd rather live in a pile of dog doo. That dog's feces would be like manna from heaven pouring over me rather than playing that festering stinking pile. I'd rather eat raw mold. I don't want to play it. Call of Duty 5 is not even worthy of piracy. HELL is having to play Call of Duty World at War over and over for the rest of eternity.

The first thing I noticed about Killzone 2 is how much livelier and cooler the enemy are. The good guys are instantly repulsive. I think I will enjoy playing as the Helghast in multiplayer. Damn right, get the f*@% off my homeworld!

Okay so the story is that your high school football team, is fighting a space Adolph Hitler. You are invading his home world. No matter how many times you try you cannot kill your teammates, so eventually you start killing space Nazis with glowing red eyes instead that populate most of the game.

Killzone 2's graphics are really great, probably the best I've seen on consoles so far. The AI is smart and the Framerate is good. It's fun, and YES, we have physics. To me physics are as beautiful and important as the graphics themselves, which is why I crave fire and destructible buildings. The audio is excellent, including enemies chattering to each other. The gameplay is strong, cogent, and satisfying. It's really excellent, almost triumphant, and I haven't even gotten to the multiplayer portion.

I can't believe my name is Sev. They swear a lot. You move slowly, but there's a sprint. The weapons are kind of modern, assault rifles mostly, and there are also flame throwers and electricity weapons and RPG’s and shotguns. You can only carry one pistol and one main weapon. The pistol is functional.

What's cool about the multiplayer is how it changes objectives in the middle of a match, going from CTF missions to Assassination to Control points to Team Death-match to Search & Destroy, over and over. It's arguably the best multiplayer game on PS3 so far. The multiplayer graphics are spectacular, there's character progression as you play through the game, and it's just a lot of fun. It's great. There's up to 32 player multiplayer and you can have the extra space taken up by bots or play skirmish missions on your own. The red eyed Nazis are just great, real dark and fascist looking, very fun. The ISA are also good, and their chatter is less intrusive. No complaints on the multiplayer, except that a Nazi gives these weird propaganda speeches when you lose as the Helghast.

Overall though Killzone 2 is a really excellent multiplayer game. It was extremely rewarding to earn my first promotion, the "killing specialist" and "good conduct" ribbons. The first promotion is Corporal which allows you to create a squad. Sergeant lets you create a clan, eventually unlocking new weapons and classes. The multiplayer maps are great, and the overall level design is really good. There are eight online maps and lots of trophies to unlock. The boss characters are pretty cool.

So, how do I sum up Killzone 2? I suppose that I could weakly complain about the story, but that would be verging on pointless. This game is better than the sex act. It rocks. It's first-rate - too polished to bitch about the slightest missteps. Soon the gathering darkness will sweep over us and hover for many months, but this title, right now, just makes me glad I have a Playstation 3.

Presentation (10)

Graphics (10)

Sound (9)

Gameplay (10x2)

Lasting appeal (9)

Overall: 9.6

Valkyria Chronicles

By Brendan Rose

Remember SEGA? Back in the nineties the Sega master system was still a serious competitor to the Super Nintendo. They made Sonic, and they were cool, but by the time the Dreamcast was released they were already financial toast, and now they make games for other systems, games like Valkyria Chronicles for the PS3.

Valkyria Chronicles is a bit reminiscent of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea, except with no grid, bigger levels, and an emphasis on guns and tanks with elements of a third person shooter thrown in for good measure. It starts with an overview map in the Player Phase where you have a limited amount of CP to select units to move. You can select the same unit more than once per turn, but they're able to move less each time. The movement phase is a bit like a third person shooter. You run around until the movement bar is finished, and you can attack once per turn. Enemies automatically attack as you appear within range. When you are out of CP, or finished the round, you end the phase. Then the Enemy Phase starts, they move their units and attack, your characters fire at targets within range, and then the process repeats until somebody wins.

The goals are stuff like:

"Victory"
The enemy base camp is captured.

"Failure"
Welkin dies

Valkyria Chronicles is one of those games that tries to make you gay. For instance clearly the enemy is your heterosexuality, and Welkin is their own salivating sense of arousal. The cell shading however makes up for this with lots of lively pastel colors.

The game is awesome; it's actually one of the best games I've played this year. It's very tactical and you have to work strategically as a team to win. One of the important factors is hiding behind cover, you take a lot less damage from behind cover, and in turn sandbags and cover can be destroyed by tanks and explosives. You're also able to issue orders (like attack boost). You can fight skirmish battles to gain experience and you level up by class. So if you spend all your experience to bring up Shock Troopers to level 6, all your Shock Troopers will level up. There are also Scouts, Lancers, Engineers and Snipers.

The “plot” is simple. The Empire was at war with a united group of democratic states, and the minor state of Galia had remained neutral in the conflict, but was later invaded by the Empire. You take control of a local militia, and kill an endless slew of nameless, faceless soldiers. Your militia soldiers all look different and have their own personalities. They have individual if somewhat repetitive animations, voices, special abilities and afflictions, and if they die in combat and don't get to a medic, that's it. There are about 50 of them to choose from.

Welkin meets Alicia when he is drawing fish by a stream. Alicia points a gun at his back and tries to arrest him, and eventually they join together to fight the Empire. The story is good, and there's a lot of it, but it is a little bit happy flying pigs and kitty butterflies. Every time it loads there's a picture of two pretty flowers. Still, that is tempered by some rather good action, and the graphics are great. The plot is told by selecting frames on the pages of a book, and is partly in fmv and partly in animated frames. It gets a little tired playing the same skirmish missions over and over for experience, but it is a rich and rewarding game, and a lot of fun. There are at least 20 hours of gameplay, and 9 skirmish missions to unlock. If you try Valkyria Chronicles out you'll find one of the better RPG’s on PlayStation 3, and nobody wants to see SEGA begging for change at the side of the street in ten years. So, if you need a good game, try Valkyria Chronicles.