One of the greatest games of all time!
Gameplay: Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance plays alot like the other Fire Emblem games. Basically, it's a strategy-RPG that has you moving characters around a grid and literally fighting entire armies of enemies. You usually get to control about 10-13 characters in each map, although by the end of the game you'll have close to 45 different characters, meaning there's lots of variety and incentive to replay the game. I can't really get into some of the big additions to the game, because it would involve me spoiling crucial plot points.
One of the things that I liked the most about Path Of Radiance is the sheer amount of dialogue. You are literally reading as much as you are playing, and there are plenty of side-stories and optional readings that you can read as well. What does this mean exactly? Well, for one thing, it means that PoR's story outclasses nearly every other story this gen. The amount of character development is phenominal, and you'll get to know and grow attached to each and every one of the 40+ different characters. This game's story alone makes the game easily recommendable to anyone who's looking for an epic story that deals with everything from war to racism.
Graphics: There has been lots of talk of PoR's graphics being the worst thing about the game. Well, I can confirm that all of these rumors are incorrect. PoR's graphics are amazing! The series' transition from 2D to 3D has worked out better than anyone could have imagined. All of the battle sequences look top knotch (especially when your characters land a critical hit!), and all of the environments look amazing and pretty much couldn't have been improved. Furthermore, the hand-drawn visuals that are shown when characters are talking are very well-done!
Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance also contains VERY excellent-looking cut-scenes. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that this game has the best-graphiced cut-scenes that I've seen this gen. They are even better-looking than Resident Evil 4's cut-scenes. You'll love watching each of the cut-scenes, not only because they are contributing alot to the story, but also because they look unlike anything you've ever seen before. The cut-scene graphics truly are unique.
Sound: There is only one word that can be used to describe PoR's music: WOW! PoR definatly has some of the best music that I've ever heard. The music matches each situation appropriately, and it's just a blast to listen to. Sometimes, I would literally put the controller down and listen to the music for a couple of minutes; that's how good it is! I know that in the future I will be spending a LONG time in the sound room, which contains all of the games music. The voice-acting during the cut-scenes is also very nicely done, although it would have been nice if they had more voice acting throughout the game as well. Still, all in all, PoR contains some of the best audio ever.
Value: PoR is a very good length! I played through on easy difficulty (although I plan on moving up to one of the other 2 difficulties when I replay it), and it took me about 44 hours to beat. Since there are 3 difficulty settings, you will be spending well over 100 hours with this game. This is not the type of game that you will play through once: you will definatly play through this game at least 2 or 3 times, if not more, simply because it is such a magnificently made game. My only disappointment was that it doesn't keep track of your support conversation percentage like it did in the other 2 North American Fire Emblem games. That would have added so many more hundreds of hours of gameplay to the game. Still, even without including your support conversation percentage, this game will still steal many hours of your time. Approach this game with caution, as it is highly addictive!
Tilt: Overall, games like this just aren't released too often. You will only play a game THIS good once every year or two. Do not miss out on this game! Buy it for the story, buy it for the music, buy it for the 100+ hours of your life that it'll eat, buy it for it's awesome gameplay. No matter what the reason, get your hands on a copy of this game! This is definatly 2005's Game Of The Year. If you own a Gamecube, then walk to your closest video game store immediately and pick up a copy of Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance. If you don't have a Gamecube, then it's worth getting one just to be able to play this game! Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance surpassed every single one of my extremely high expectations, and it is and always will be a classic.