Not your normal hack-and-slash type, but rather a strategy one..
You play as a mercenary who accepts contracts from either the English or the French in the Dark Age era in an epic battle known as the Hundred Years' War. Obviously, like the intro of this game suggests, you would choose to side with the highest bidder. As you gain more fame, (and more bigger battles coming) the stake becomes higher. The outcomes occur independently from the battle, so it doesn't matter which side you choose.
You get to equip yourself with full fledge armors and weapons that corresponds with the squad you use. The type of squad that you gets to choose depends on the 'tome' you have. Alternate unit types like spear or spear + shield requires just one 'spear tome', but you need the 'spear + shield tome' to upgrade it's abilities (buy from merchant). Items in this game are called 'pennons', which affects your whole squad. My most favorite feature in the game is the 'recruits'. You get to control free squads provided in the battlefield. However, if none of them suits you or you couldn't find one while you're in an enemy's territory, you can 'summon' your own squad. Bought before the battle, you can choose to 'equip' up to three types of recruits. So if you have to face an enemy that you couldn't fight with, you can change your unit with a blink of an eye... ;-)
Like I mentioned, on the battlefield you get to choose a squad that's standing around your base for free. The type you choose will affect the outcome when you face a certain type of enemy. More than a 'paper-scissor-stone' system, the level of the squad leader and the timing of your abilities can give you a cutting edge when face with an enemy that's strong against yours. Experience comes from how often you use a unit type and when you leveled up, you get 'skill points' to distribute among your unit's 'strength' (attack, defense, number of shots you get, etc...) or your unit's 'ability'. Like Kessen, the timing you use to trigger your abilities can determine the outcome of a battle.
Finally, the battle ends either when the day is over (6 mins in our time), you fulfilled your contract, or you're defeated. How much money you get will be determine, as well as the fame you get from the battle (more squad you eliminate + more base you control = more fame). Your fame is also categorized by level, the higher the fame level, the more stuffs you're given access to. You're allowed to reach a certain level, until you progress further with the story line.
Overall, this is an enjoyable game and the redundancy can be sort of overcome with the new equipments/unit types as you get more fame level. I think the graphic is great, but beauty is determine with the eye of the beholder, so enough said about that. You can check it out yourself with the images/videos provided in Gamespot. If you like Kessen, you'll really enjoy this game. Happy gaming!!