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.

Betting on the Latter Half

Jeanne d'Arc doesn't hit stride until about halfway through the game. The first half falls flat, with a needlessly long introductory period spent familiarizing you with the characters and the gears of battle. You will spend hours on dreary fields and rusty ramparts, facing the same bosses.

But you'll be pleasantly surprised with the second portion's storyline surprises, fresh villains and imaginative landscapes.

Stay for the Sights, Not the Sound

The game's scenery is stunning. You will find yourself fighting atop a cement block chained above a sea of blood and within a grove of talking trees, among a variety of other eerie landscapes. Animated cut scenes highlight the game's critical moments. Your in-game characters exist as sprites with large heads and exaggerated features, yet surprisingly life-like movements.

The same can't be said for the sound. While the character's French accents are believable and the little details (like clinking armor and weaponry) are covered, the game's music scores are overused. A few hours into the game and even the new songs sound like the previous, over-played titles.

If you can toil through the boring first half, Jeanne will make you happy you spent the weekend saving France.