While each of these different circles provides some distinct unit variety, all of them are balanced in a way that no one unit is unstoppable - meaning there is always a unit that can counteract it. The fun is in finding the right combination of units to create an army that can both destroy the enemies' "summoning circle" while protecting your own and gathering the only resource needed in the game - mana. Mana is used to upgrade those circles, which in turn allows for more advanced spells.

GrimGrimoire is well balanced and many of the tactics that work in a PC real-time strategy game (like the tank rush) work without fail in this game. If there's anything I can really complain about it is the problem of selecting units in certain situations where the screen is busy. Also larger units tend to obscure larger portions of the screen making it difficult to select smaller units that might be close by. The way GrimGrimoire plays can also be difficult to figure out, but a little bit of patience and some attention to the tutorials within the game will go a long way towards understanding and enjoying the game.

Graphically, GrimGrimoire is a decent looking game, with plenty of superbly crafted, hand drawn characters on static backgrounds that are simple but aesthetically pleasing. The art style is admittedly simple but it looks good and serves the gameplay well. The overall presentation - from the cutscenes to the units themselves - is also surprisingly well done. The overall feel of the game is whimsical and fun.

At the end of the day GrimGrimoire brings real-time strategy, magic and anime together to create an interesting and cool game experience worth checking out. The game is obviously not for everyone, but those that can "get" what the game is trying to accomplish certainly will enjoy it. Give this game a rental first - if you dig it - then you won't be let down by what the full product will deliver.