Valkyria Chronicles Demo Impressions

I'm not really big into strategy RPG games, but the demo just released this week of Valkyria Chronicles really impressed me. Instead of having lengthy battles on a grid that last for ages, this tactical RPG throws those conventions out the window in favor of third-person movement and first-person attacks. You actually control the path your character takes from a third-person perspective on the battlefield. You can see what they would see and you can hide where they would hide, like you were actually...well...in the middle of the battlefield.

It impressed me the way things are handled in-game to provide a fresh take on the SRPG genre. This isn't even to mention the beautiful, cell-shaded visuals and, from the little I heard, decent voice acting and epic musical arrangements. I'll have to add this to the list of games to pick up this fall.