based on the footage I have seen off of players from youtube and 1up this games seems pretty good. They kept the top down map for choosing characters very traditional, while introducing real time combat which is pretty cool. You can even climb ladders and so forth while in action. Depending on where you shoot your enemy is a factor on how much damage you will cause. Some characters move at different speeds which leads to the strategic placement of people. The graphics are quite good. It looks like a storybook and the colors are well done. Since you read about history in books the storytelling approach is a perfect match for this game. The intersting thing about the way you take turns is that instead of one turn per charcter during a phase, you have set number of turns total. You can spend them howevery you wish. So if a certain character is the best choice for taking out a particular enemy, but is a bit too far away, you can use 2 turns for that character instead of waiting for the next phase to come. Enemies shoot when they see you, so you must use cover wisely. There are landmines on the battlefield so watch your step or your unit could end up dead.