Summer ADD Game-Fest

I can't make up my mind what I want to play!  I have been swapping back and forth between my sale purchases and haven't really stuck with one.  The Talos Principle and it's mind straining combination of puzzles and deep, philosophical thinkinking is fun in short spurts but gives me a headache if I play it too long.  Pillars of Eternity has that classic CRPG feeling, but it's depth has slightly confounded me (I plan to go back to it because despite the complicatd systems it seems great).  One very surprising, last minute impulse buy from the sale has managed to capture my attention--Valkyria Chronicles.

Admitting to liking Valkyria Chronicles makes me feel weird.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of anime and don't really play many games that have an anime style (not to say there is anything wrong with liking anime!  It's just not my thing--but to each his/her own).  When the initial scenes first started rolling I thought, "great, I just bought some anime game.  It's going to have a super cheesy script and really odd premises.  Stupid impulse buy!  Stupid Steam Sale duping me into buying this game!"  I decided to give it a chance and see what so many of the reviewers were raving about and I'm finding that it's great fun.

Welkin and Alicia--the main characters of  Valkyria Chronicles

First of all, Valkyria Chronicles isn't some anime-style punch 'em up fighting game.  It's a turn-based shooter tied to a deep story about war.  The story is based on a fictional place and events that seem highly related to Europe and World War II or really any modern war.  There are powerful countries who are fighting over rare resources--in this case a fictional mineral called "ragnite" that can be used as a source of power or for many other purposes.  In orded to get this needed mineral the super-powers are willing to invade any country and don't really care who gets caught in the middle.  It's an age old story of war.

Caught in the middle are the characters who become the focal point of the story (and yes they do have a very anime style)--Welkin is a student of natural science with a passion for plants and bugs and Alicia is a bakers apprentice who has enlisted in the local militia in the border town of Bruhl.  After you meet these characters you are thrown into the turn based combat system which is actually pretty cool.  Combat begins by showing you a tactical map of the battlefield with known units marked--friendly and hostile.  Then you get to select the friendly unit you want to control.  The camera then zooms from the map to the live battlefield where you can control this unit and move them to a new location.  Each unit has a certain number of action points and can attack once each turn.  Each turn consists of a certain number of "command points" which determines how many units you can control.  After you've spent these points the enemy squad gets a turn and can move and attack using their command points.  Your units can counterattack moving enemy units and do damage even if it's not your turn.  The first few battles are fairly straightforward but later ones require you to consider exactly which units you should move and how to best use the soldiers you have.

Things get a lot more complicated as the story advances--you have to pick 20 soldiers to be in your squad.  There are different classes, each with their individual strengths and weaknesses, and individual soldiers all have their own backstory and set of traits.  These traits be positive or negative--some characters don't like to fight in the countryside and will suffer a small debuff while others might like fighting in a group and receive a buff when positioned close to other units.  Each individual operation requires you to pick an ideal combination of soldiers for the purpose of the mission.

After you've unlocked the headquarters you also can decide how to spend your experience points.  XP is assigned by class and will level up all individual members of that class.  This is a nice change from only levelling up specific characters and being able to choose from a wider group of squadmates.  You also decide how to spend research points--you can improve the weapons or armor for the different classes or improve your tank.

What I thought was going to turn out to be a poor gaming choice has turned out to be a really deep and complex game.  Valkyria Chronicles could appeal to fans of both anime style games and those who enjoy strategy in turn-based combat.