[OriginalGman]

So, I just bought the latest DLC for one of my favorite PS3 games, Valkyria Chronicles, and was sad to find that they include zero voice acting and little in the way of character development. Challenges of the Edy Detachment is just 6 skirmish maps that focus on using each of the 5 classes, and the tank. And it made me realize that when you strip away all the light-hearted cutscenes and dialogue, the gameplay just doesn't stand up.

I absolutely loved this game, but I never really dove into the skirmishes when I leveled up fine from the main story. And now that I'm forced to try out these battles I paid extra for, I'm realizing that either the main story was way too easy , or the gameplay just isn't well balanced. I loved the idea of tactical RPG where you get to manually control and aim each soldier, but when you try to turn that novel idea into a test of skill you realize why shooters are shooters, and RTS games don't let you get attached to the mindless grunts you send to slaughter with a point and click.

It feels like Brutal Legend syndrome, another game that tried to combine RTS with other genres. It works in basic principle, but the multiplayer in that game when stacked up next to Starcraft is worlds apart. Still, the other aspects of those games did well to balance their actual gameplay, and I'm looking forward to Valkyria Chronicles 2 to see what they improved upon. But this experience also makes me wish I didn't pick up and play VC again. When we look too critically at something, it can never stand up to our memories of it.

[SquallSnake7]

I played the demo and thought it was pretty good.