Stunning RPG 'Jeanne d'Arc' overcomes slow start

— -- Sony's first tactical role playing game for the PSP, Jeanne d'Arc, rewrites history with forbidden love, alliterating elves, possessed royalty and enchanted purple toads.

This slight against historic lore begins as the blue-eyed, golden-haired Jeanne, discovers a comatose soldier outside her village. As she rushes to aid the fallen knight, his golden armlet attaches to her wrist – transforming the French princess into an armored Athena. Strengthened by the trinket's unexplained powers, she vies against the possessed King Henry VI and his horde of demons for the freedom of France, and ultimately, all of Europe.

Calculate Your Attacks

Strategy is king. The turn-based game play is like a series of chess matches, only with lively characters that scream when struck and shout motivational phrases when in a rough spot. You maneuver your characters across stage-specialized grids that pucker into cliffs and stairwells, and spill over stone walls. While the nearly impassable terrain makes for interesting (albeit difficult) battles, it exposes a problem with the game's camera. During an attack, the camera automatically tries to zoom in on the attacker; only to catch an eyeful of stone pillar instead.

Victory comes in many forms. While you must defeat all enemies in one battle, you will flee attackers in another. To make matters more difficult, you will encounter enemy reinforcements, ability-limiting crystals and turncoats within your ranks.

But don't sweat the small stuff. Your characters possess a variety of techniques for conquering stage challenges. Holy armlets infuse your characters with heavenly strength (and new intimidating wardrobes). The "Godspeed" ability allows your armlet-wielding allies to move again after delivering an enemy's coup de grace. Where your characters stand in battle may also make or break victory. You can deliver devastating attacks by flanking or surprising an enemy from behind.

Each character possesses his own set of weaponry and skills that makes him indispensable in certain situations. You must equip the accented thief, Colet, to climb ramparts. Rose, the whip-wielding seductress, traverses dungeon bowels. The game provides optional, stat-enhancing sorties to keep your characters ripped and ready for battle. An additional coliseum stage promises big prizes after ten stages of arena combat.