2008 hasn’t exactly been a great year for publishers taking chances on innovative new IPs. EA is failing financially despite having (arguably) their most creative and original line-up since games switched to discs, and now Valkyria Chronicles, Sega’s innovative, epically awesome strategy RPG/shooter title flopped tremendously in its first month of sales. It’s unfortunate that American gamers haven’t decided to take a chance on the anime- and war-inspired cover art, because what they’re missing is one of the best PS3 games to date.

Despite being heavily flooded by stellar RPGs in the previous generation, Sony hasn’t brought much to the table with the PS3. Now that Square Enix is putting most of their titles out on the 360 (or moving them to the Wii), and with Atlus and Nippon Ichi living firmly in the past generation of hardware, we’ve yet to see a must-own, genre-leading title on Blu-ray. Until now.

A strategy/tactics RPG at heart, Valkyria Chronicles nevertheless borrows heavily from other genres, including traditional role-playing and third-person shooters. The game takes place in a world similar to our own past, on the continent of Europa. One giant, aggressive nation (known creatively and totally originally as “the Empire”) is attacking the West in order to gain control of a precious commodity known as ragnite, which is basically oil on anabolic steroids. With the war waged on multiple fronts, the game’s narrator (a fictional historian recounting the fictional alternate history) zooms in on the action on the small nation of Gallia, a once-neutral country who just happened to have the most underground stores of ragnite in Europa. Obviously, small, neutral, and lots of resources means that the Empire just has to sink their teeth in.

You take control of Welkin, a young college student enamored with the natural world and drawing, who just happens to be the son of a legendary Gallian general. While returning home to his small town to help his adopted sister relocate to a safer area, Welkin ends up staving off an Empire attack, finding his father’s old tank, and beginning his journey into Gallian history as a legendary hero of The War.

The story starts off slow, but as the game progresses it builds more and more until it becomes almost as important as the gameplay itself (which I’ll get to in a minute). One thing that may put off some gamers is that in the latter portions of the game the cutscenes can drag on for a very long time. Think of Metal Gear Solid’s worst moments in terms of long speaking points, and you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for. Thankfully, the beautiful art style– which makes Valkyria look less like a Sega PS3 title and more like the latest Studio Ghibli film – and the involving characters keep you glued to the chair plot twist after plot twist, and even though they get a little lengthy, they never get frustratingly so. Unless you want to take a break to go do something else, that is.