Strategy games, much like underwear, didn't used to worry about how they looked. It was all about function over form. The early strategy titles were basically glorified chess games on PC... by the time the genre got to consoles, we had sprites and motion, but things were still fairly static. The revelation contained in Starcraft or Heroes of Might and Magic was that strategy games could be exciting, with engrossing stories, and eye-candy to boot.

As the Strategy genre evolved on consoles, we saw some great titles like the Front Mission and Final Fantasy Tactics series. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem were two other notable titles. The original Wild Arms was a traditional RPG with cinematic flair. Much as Final Fantasy spawned its own strategic offshoot, Wild Arms now leaps into the fray with exactly the kind of turn-based strategy game you'd expect. The older games had a great deal of design attention and a distinctive look. They also had a fantasy/cowboy feel about them. Both have carried nicely into Wild Arms XF. There isn't as much focus on actual anime or fixed cut-scenes; instead, we have a mix of voice talent and prompted dialogue. The English-language voice acting is terrible... luckily it is possible to switch to Japanese and read subtitles. The emotion and casting for the Japanese actors is much, much better than what's available in English. The visuals in the story segments include characters against still scenes. The storyboard-look is very much evident here and it's not a bad thing considering how much story and dialogue is included that would have inevitably been condensed and dumbed down if the requirement was for actual anime.

The true scene-stealer in Wild Arms XF is the music. Lots and lots of original music is contained in the game and don't be surprised if you find yourself tuning into the Player menu to listen to one of about 20 different tracks. This is a far cry from any processed, synthesizer crap that ends up grafted onto some titles. Wild Arms XF sets a mood visually and with music that really works. The story may not be all that intelligible, but you'll stick around for the combination of storytelling against a visually appealing backdrop, with attractive characters, and awesome music. A slick package, to be sure!

Wild Arms XF has the inevitable comparison coming from folks that played the last Final Fantasy Tactics title or Jeanne D'Arc, both excellent games well within recent memory. There's something to be said for the latter comparison; both Jeanne and Arms incorporated a cinematic element and a robust story. The Final Fantasy "War of the Lions" installment wasn't exactly a disappointment, but it felt more like 1.5 than 2.0 for those of us that were rightfully delighted by the first Tactics game. Wild Arms XF comes a bit out of the blue since we haven't seen much of the series recently. The strategic gameplay is an especially nice touch and executed exceptionally well.

The highlights of Wild Arms XF include a deep job/class system that allows you to edit your character class on-the-fly before each battle. Some characters have unique class assignments and the number of classes available to choose from grows as you play more of the game. The idea of editing classes before a battle can seem like too much work, but you'll find that careful selection pays off. Some engagements are more easily completed with a group of tough fighters while other levels require tact and an indirect approach. The only downside to the class quick-change is that each character is stripped of all items, armor, and weapons after switching class. This seems crazy at first, but the developers used a system similar to a "playlist," where you can store and retrieve combinations of weapons and items. If you use the system the way it was intended, you'll find class switching painless. A similar feature is the skill system, which is tied to class. Each class incorporates various skills and if you use a character enough in a particular class, you'll level-up that class to the point where your character can use the skill regardless of class. There are lots of classes and many skills per class, so each time you prepare for battle, you'll have many choices to make.

The story within Wild Arms XF is a good one. You'll get involved with the characters and have the chance to see them develop. Recruiting other characters along the way is an option, and an interesting system for synthesizing items provides incentive for exploration and battles. Free battles and story-driven battles are well balanced for folks that like power-leveling and don't mind stretching out the time it takes to see the credits roll. The nice thing about free battles is that they're well integrated with the main game and they can introduce you to new enemies and increasing levels of challenge that help develop your characters.

Wild Arms XF doesn't pull punches in terms of its level of challenge. The trick as mentioned above is to make sure your characters are consistently ahead of the curve in terms of the enemies they're facing off against in the story-driven battles. Mastering the class and skill system early on makes everything much easier. Collecting items happens automatically as you engage in battles, but as with any RPG, it helps to equip your characters with the best bling you can afford. The depth of Wild Arms XF will be a turn-off to anyone looking for a more action-oriented RPG or a casual experience. The developers could have spent more time ramping players up on the play system and introducing some casual battles before throwing out the big guns. A few of the early battles are quite challenging, and at least one requires that you use a strategic approach and avoid battle entirely! Wild Arms XF is a thinking-person's game which will appeal to those folks and turn off most everyone else. It doesn't allow you to have a dumbed-down experience. The payoff for those of us that don't need much sleep and like to feel we haven't completely squandered our well-earned money on a game is that you really feel a sense of accomplishment by the time the credits roll on this baby. The reciprocal is that less seasoned gamers will find they've bitten off more than they want to chew.

The success of strategic gameplay on consoles has probably been a surprise for PC gamers and game developers alike. People thought at one time that the control options available on most consoles were not up to the task of executing lots of commands quickly and navigating through sub-menu after sub-menu. The elegance with which developers have shrunk or simplified the interface to allow for a smooth conversion is impressive. No clutter is evident on the screen when playing Wild Arms XF. A contextual help system allows you to pull back from a battle and "mouse" around on enemy characters to see their vital stats, including their movement range. As you peruse the menus that contain lists of spells, classes, items, skills, and equipment, you'll see explanations of each items scrolling past at the top of the screen to save space. Each part of the interface is clearly explained but nothing sticks out as "in your face." The timer of activating commands during battle is a very subtle little line-up of icons representing each character according to his or her eyes. Most players won't even notice this until they're deep in their first battle. The playlist feature mentioned above is another way the developers are trying to make selection and navigation easier and less painful compared to what is available on PC.

Controls during battle are easy enough and I love that you can withdraw a move up to a point. The times when I've played games where it wasn't possible to "take back" a move, I've always become frustrated. Since everything you're doing in Wild Arms XF is solo activity, it makes sense that you might begin a move, take it back, and not hurt anyone's feelings. The analysis you can do up front is limited, but there is a so-called D.E.R. that is provided at the beginning of each battle that touches on some of the points to consider in the upcoming battle. It might sound like this is giving away the goods, but even with the D.E.R., you'll find that Wild Arms XF is all about execution. Mastering the controls is the least of your worries, because everything is fairly intuitive. The harder task is absorbing all the information passed to you through the game and in the manual. Some things are intuitive, like changing a class to obtain a new skill. Other things, like the strategy around different formations on the battlefield and how the correct formation can grant you higher damage points, is a bit obscure and isn't intuitive.

The entire package here is tops and will be a great pleasure to fans of previous strategy titles. Wild Arms XF not only perpetuates the Wild Arms brand as one of quality, but it takes an interesting turn that may prove consistent with subsequent games in this series. The time between installments has been too long so here's hoping the game's a success and sells like hotcakes so we can play another chapter this year or next. Definitely recommended...