A delightfully original style of game set in a fanciful WWI like era.
Set in a 1914 Europe. Wait? Oh… Europa. Its uncanny the resemblance to WWI, which was intentional. The Characters were relatable and lovable. I was truly saddend when on of the main characters died. It combines a mix of WWI history with fantasy. While not an original story by an means (invading county, common militia rise up, etc), I enjoyed it as a break from Assassin's Creed and Arkham Asylum caliber of games.
-The whole magical stuff about the Valkyria just didn't seem to fit. Its this army war game then you have people with magic abilities? Although... I guess the game's title says it all.
Game Play: 7/10
-Turn based combat took too long.
-AI character are pretty much the dumb enemies ever and constantly make silly moves. Although, it they were much smarter, the game would probably really difficult when their sniper kills 3 of your toons in one turn.
+/- The RPG experience and currency element was cool, but I don't they had enough impact on the performance of your soldiers.
-Waiting for enemy soldiers to move took too long.
+I love the map view, then zooming in to control character ina first person. It almost felt like a mix of the Risk board game and an FPS. This is why I bought the game after playing the demo.
Controls: 8/10
-The turn base combat took unnecessarily long, some of which could have been alleviate by better controls, ie the switching in and out of fire mode and move mode, changing of weapons, etc.
- The turn base combat took unnecessarily long, some of which could have been alleviated by better map movement and character selection. It took too long to move the cursor over the character you want to move.
Sound: 9/10
+/-the music was mellow and pleasing array of tracks that had a calming effect, but it felt slightly out of place due to it being a war zone.
+most, but not all, speech was voiced.
Graphics: 8/10
+I ABSOLUTELY loved the comic book/painting/artistic feel to the look of the game.
-ALL cut scenes should have been fully animated, like a movie, instead of boxes of talking heads popping in and out. I would have give the graphics a better score if not for this, these boxes prevent you for enjoying the full view of the beautiful world.
Technical Problems: 10/10
No issues.
Fun: 7.5/10
I downloaded the demo and really really enjoyed it. But after purchasing the game the turn base combat got really really really slow. I liked how it would change levels up and make different objectives. The RPG experience and currency element was cool, but I don't they had enough impact on the performance of your soldiers. I enjoyed the game, but it just took too long to move and shoot.
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Overall 7.5/10
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