Simplicity can be so much fun...
One thing that I have to clarify from the beginning is that this game is not historically accurate. The characters and settings are real, but this is more of a "happy version" of the Joan of Arc story. This can be a turnoff for some people, but truth to be told an action game where your main character dies at the end just wouldn't be right. Also, as good as a warrior Joan might have been in real life, I highly doubt she could single-handedly take on 200 English warriors and live to fight another day. With that little disclaimer out of the way, let's move on.
As previously mentioned, the gameplay is very simple hacking and slashing. This is for the most part an action game, though it incorporates a couple of strategy elements along the way (and a few RPG elements). Hacking and slashing is the bread and butter of the combat and thankfully it is truly excellent. Joan starts as a simple warrior who can execute a few moves, but as her experience grows you can adjust her attributes to turn her into a mighty warrior (RPG style). Along the way, you'll also learn plenty of combo moves that are simply a joy to execute. This combo moves will come in handy when you're placed against overwhelming forces of English warriors, and boy will you be thrown against hordes of enemies. The battles in this game are truly awe inspiring; you will be outnumbered in practically every battle (at times it can be Joan by herself against 30-50 enemies) and while this can be intimidating at first, once you develop you warrior skills, mowing down the enemies isn't hard at all (plus you will always have access to healing items, which you can use during the middle of the battles). It all comes down to properly using the combos (especially the heavy attack combos) so that you can knock down the enemies, while delivering killer blows as they lie on the floor. Knocking down large groups of enemies is perhaps the best example of the "simple yet fun" aspect of this game.
But you won't always fight alone, along the journey you'll fight alongside several French commanders (some of which you can also directly control and develop their skills) and plenty of supporting units. This is where the RTS portion of Joan of Arc comes into play, seeing how it's relatively easier to control a large army in RTS mode, and I say relatively because the RTS mode is a little clunky in execution. For starters one of the games biggest flaws (if not the biggest) is the poor pathfinding of your units; they tend to get stuck in trees, siege weapons, castles, other units, or any other obstacle so you always have to keep an eye on them. Another thing that hampers the RTS mode is the camera, which tends to rotate itself in weird angles every time you enter RTS mode and this can be somehow confusing, especially in the heat of battle. It's not so much that the game isn't enjoyable in RTS mode, it's just that it isn't very well implemented. Fortunately, you can spend most of the game in action mode and only enter RTS mode when you need to lasso up a large group units and move them across the map.
The game is divided in eight missions, which at first may make you think this is another 8-10 hour game, but the missions in this game (specifically missions four and above) are plain and simply, huge. Starting with mission four, I spent an average 5 hours on each mission, which is in part due to the fact that I did every single main and side quest available. The sheer number of objectives that show up at the beginning of every mission is once again overwhelming, but it adds a lot to the epic feel of every mission. Most quests involve taking over castles, towns, liberating prisoners or acquiring a certain treasure or pack of goods. Completing the main quests will allow you to move on to the next mission, while completing each side quest will usually yield a special reward, like gemstones or amulets that enhance your skills, as well as hard to find weapons (one of the side quests in mission four in particular is extremely important if you wish to turn Joan into a truly fearsome warrior).
The great thing about the missions in this game is that they make you feel like you're a small part of an epic battle; watching arrows fly from the towers (or arbalests), siege weapons bring down gates, allied generals exchanging blows with enemy generals, all while you're infiltrating the enemy lines and trying to bring down your opponent from the inside, makes up an epic medieval warfare environment. One thing that should be said is that all the action taking place can be too overwhelming for some people and thus can lead to some frustration. The first three missions aren't that difficult since you don't have to take down any castles, but the missions that require you to take over castles, will force you to first break down the enemies outer defences and then deal with all their internal defences (hundreds of archers on walls and towers), all while being attacked by their ground forces. If you're the kind of gamer that doesn't like being overwhelmed or is easily frustrated, you may have a hard time dealing with this. Still, on the normal difficulty, the game is relatively easy, so as long as you're moderately good at games, you shouldn't have too much of a hard time. For the record, my favourite strategy was to let all my generals deal with the ground forces, while Joan infiltrated the castles and took down most of the archers.
Another flaw in the game that must be mentioned, is the poor AI displayed by both the enemy and your allies. This is mostly noticeable during the fights with enemy generals; your units will walk into their heavy attacks and will constantly get beaten down (all while consuming your healing items), and once these guys are down, the enemy generals will charge after you following a very predictable pattern, which makes them relatively easy to defeat (although defeating them will be a time consuming affair).
The graphics in this game are nothing spectacular, though they're not bad either. The environments look lively and the weather effects, as well as the transition between night and day, are a nice touch. However almost every unit looks rather bland and generic (except from your generals of course), and their movements are rather awkward (for instance villagers don't walk, they just sort of float around). The game does maintain a smooth framerate even during the larger battles, which considering the amount of units on screen, is a great accomplishment.
The sound on the other hand is absolutely fantastic for the most part. As you walk around exploring, classy and mellow tunes play in the background, but as soon as you enter a battle the game switches to some spectacular and pompous tunes that do a lot to enhance the epic feel of the battles. The sound of weapons is also excellent, from the swords clashing with armour to the siege weapons laying waste on a castle, and every combo move executed by a general is accompanied with a really cool "whoosh" sound. Combine the epic music with the great sound of weapons, and the battles are elevated to an entirely different level. The only thing that holds down the audio department a bit is the poor voice acting. Joan herself rarely says anything (aside from her usual taunt, "come on, there's a country to be saved"), and the rest of the French generals have some awkward voices (except for Alencon). There are also some cutscenes where there is no voiceover. Still, the good far outweighs the bad in this department, since the epic music does a lot to enhance the experience, while the voice acting doesn't hurt it so much.
This game is certainly not for everyone; gamers with discriminating tastes will find it too simplistic (and the clunky RTS mode will annoy them) and others can find it occasionally frustrating, but for me it was an awesome gaming experience. From beginning to end, it never lost that epic feel that is so critical in an action game of this nature. It may be historically inaccurate, but the Joan of Arc story is great no matter what spin you put on it. For those who admire the life and accomplishments of the Saint, it's a very worthy purchase. Those who demand perfection from their games may want to give it a pass, but for anyone who's willing to forgive a few technical shortcomings, this is one nice blend of action, strategy and RPG elements that I can certainly recommend.