Like chess on steroids...and tanks
The art...is beautiful. The cell shaded graphics are unlike anything I've seen on any game, even PC. The characters and environment feel truly alive.
The soundtrack is great, the trumpets and violin are very uplifting during battle scenes or rallying the troops. There are also somber notes frequently due to the setting being war times.
The story is truly immersive, you play a militia group that end up making the difference is a setting somewhat like WWII. Now this is no medal of honor game, this takes place in an alternate reality where you Welkin lead the militia with your dad's old tank. The story of Welkin and Alicia is totally expected but one of the better love stories I've seen in a game. All of the characters in the game are unique and add more flare to the game. You feel attached to every soldier you enlist. They all have their own personal quirks, sayings, strengths and weaknesses. Your troops can die on the filed if left without a medic making you truly feel like you've lost someone, not just another nameless soldier. The last game I played where I was this attached to the characters was Persona 3.
The gameplay is similar to other tactical games but also uses real time in a unique way. The player or enemy each have a turn where they can move their units to position, attack or interact with the environment. All this sounds cut and dry but while you or the enemy is moving their units the passive players units have automatic actions such as firing at anyone in their range, ducking incoming shots, counterattacking and so on. There are several units to use making picking and using your team a fun and interesting task. Scouts are highly mobile, shock troopers are resilient fast and have more firepower, lancers are mainly for taking out tanks but can hold their own, engineers are great for restocking troops or disarming mines, and snipers can give great tactical advantages. Then there are the tanks, who doesn't love rolling over enemies, blasting flamethrowers, tank shells or machine guns. Just don't get over zealous, if your main tank dies its game over.
The combat mechanics are totally engrossing at first but unfortunately the AI can be poor at times. When clear available options aren't there, enemy troops can often spend an entire turn aimlessly running around.
Overall the only thing I can fault this game for is not being hard enough (due to AI) and perhaps not long enough.
Bottom-Line: a truly unique engrossing experience you will remember for years