Edit: Whoops, forgot to link the review, and added Kyle Orland's first-hour impressions.

I don't think we've given you - given anyone enough reasons to buy or at least honor Valkyria Chronicles. The gaming press seems to be waking up to that, which gives me many happy opportunities to post pictures of it.



Crispy Gamer has finally given this excellent game the coverage it deserves, with the inimitable Gus Mastrapa giving it one of the most positive reviews I've ever seen on that site. Kyle Orland also made the game the subject of his hilarious Games for Lunch column.

Keep in mind, a positive review from a Crispy Gamer vet says a fucking lot. These people have standards so sky-high that they gladly fried Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2 and LittleBigPlanet (and that's just the PS3 titles). I may not agree with what they say all the time, but I sure as hell know they're not doing it do be liked, and that they aren't scared to be burned over their opinions. OK, maybe a little scared.

In any case, if there's one thing I've noticed that had been lacking in coverage of the game, it's the coverage of the surprisingly mature narrative, which Mastrapa gets into. I think we can agree that the "anime game" stigma probably didn't help its prospects of being taken seriously, but even folks wary about turn-based strategy should get into this for the story. C'mon! You claimed you liked Final Fantasy Tactics' story, even when the ridiculous localization rendered it barely coherent. You'll like this!

TALK TIME OVER PICTURE TIME NOW

Translation: "Friend and foe alike fall to my charm!"


It's just not the same if the art is as edgy as the story. It's kind of like Advance Wars, but with gas chambers...I didn't just say that.


Someone asked for the bigger version. Here it is.


I couldn't find a picture of the canvas painting that they were raffling off at the San Francisco promo event, but it looked a little like this, and I hate the person who won it.