At SEGA's Valkyria Chronicles event in San Francisco today, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with a demo of the game that will soon be available to the public via a subscription to the Qore digital magazine. For those unfamiliar with Valkyria Chronicles, the game follows a platoon of soldiers serving the principality of Gallia, an independent nation situated between two warring factions in an alternate 1930's Europe. The game combines elements of a traditional strategy RPG with real-time, third-person combat and makes use of a beautiful artistic style designed to emulate a watercolor painting.

The demo at the event was identical to the demo I played at this year's E3, so the content was very familiar to me. For full details regarding the demo you'll be able to play next month, feel free to refer to my previous coverage.

To summarize the experience, the trial version gives you two battles to play through: the very straight-forward tutorial level and a more complex (but still manageable) normal engagement. The tutorial simply pits three of your soldiers against three enemies in a small countryside setting, but the actual skirmish features a full roster of soldiers against a sizable enemy force. Although there's countless ways to approach this level, you'll generally just move your forces forward, especially under the cover of your tank, and capture an enemy strongpoint that lies across a bridge.



The incredible thing about Valkyria Chronicles is the seamless combination of the strategy elements with the invigorating bursts of action. You'll oversee the battle from a map perspective, placing your units at the beginning of the engagement and overseeing enemy movements with every turn. Actual unit commands, however, play out in real-time, with the camera dropping "into" the map to become a fully realized world where you control the character and set up attacks manually. Although I've only played Valkyria Chronicles briefly, I already know that SEGA's upcoming project will garner a tremendous fanbase among the North American audience.


If you're interested in this brief but tantalizing demo, be sure to sign up for Qore and keep your eyes on the PlayStation Store around October 9th. Also, make sure to check back soon for a more extensive preview of Valkyria Chronicles, as well as a video interview with SEGA Producer Ryutaro Nonaka. In the meantime, check out the brand new gameplay trailer below and keep your PS3s at the ready.

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