Last month’s premiere title, LittleBigPlanet, was a no brainer for Game of the Month. Despite going up against heavy hitters such as Fallout 3 and Dead Space, Media Molecule’s social platformer ultimately won us over with its irresistible charms and unbeatable longevity.
Fast forward one month to November, and Sony’s flagship console is graced by a gigantic sequel in Resistance 2 and a groundbreaking, pivotal RPG in Valkyria Chronicles. Depending on which side you asked, one game was better than the other. Shooter fans will undoubtedly vouch for Resistance 2 while starving RPG fanatics will make their case for Valkyria Chronicles.
Our review of Valkyria Chronicles brimmed with praise and fulfillment, yet on the other hand, our Resistance 2 review was majority positive, yet didn’t seem to hit the benchmark of hype we had expected from the title. Given that differential, PlayStation Universe can announce that Valkyria Chronicles is our Game of the Month for November 2008.
Valkyria Chronicles did something for PlayStation owners that hadn’t been done in a very long time. It provided a Role-Playing Game that changed the way you looked at the genre and forced you to sit back in order to just take in the title before you. As mentioned in our review, I felt that Valkyria was a genre defining title for this generation of consoles. Beautifully rendered watercolor-esque graphics, empowering voiceovers, an enthralling story and the ability to emotionally attach the player to the characters on screen are just some of the major highlights that VC has to offer.
Of course, don’t take my word for it. PS3Forums.com’s Official Valkyria Chronicles thread is full of positive information and testimonials to SEGA’s unique IP. We’ve included some of them below for you to check out.
Sieghardt: “In short, yes. It’s a very enjoyable story filled with a cast of extremely likeable characters. The only complaint I would have made about the story is that there wasnt enough about Selvaria, but that has been rectified by DLC”
Pirulee: “This game is fantastic. Love the the art, love the story, love the gameplay and love the strategy within it. It really deserves an outstanding 9/10. Great game, I’m happy I bought it!”
Medeia: “Wow, just wow! Holy effing anuspaste, Batman! The chapter 7 fight is NUTS! That was brutal beyond stupid; why the hell did they program that? I won, but it was ugly, ugly, ugly. It took fifteen turns, killed half of my troops (thankfully all were evacuated in time!), and I had to rip out about three fistfuls of hair, but I actually beat it with a C rating. Jeez, this game is sick! If that’s what it does to me just seven chapters in, then I’m damn near afraid to find out what happens in another five or six…”
Kentatus: “Just had to contribute to the thread and say that Valkyria Chronicles is epic. I just recently finished it, and i must say that this is definitely game of the year to me personally. Also, i am so glad that I played VC with the Japanese voice track on. Experiencing VC as it was meant to be experienced left me in awe. Plus, i revisited most of the scenes in English dubbing, and wow the english voice actors were terrible to be blatantly honest.
AHHH time to go into withdrawal mode for a few days as i rewatch all the scenes again and again, over and over lol. I’m praying that there will be more works of art like this in the upcoming future. Hope everyone else enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles.
P.S.: Selvaria Bles is outrageously cool.”
Looking ahead to December, we reckon it’s going to be very difficult for any title to oust Prince of Persia for Game of the Month. Considering Sonic Unleashed is the only real rival that Ubisoft’s hotly anticipated adventure faces, we’re pretty sure December has already been decided.
Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.