According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence
Parents will obviously take issue with the graphic violence and adult themes of the game. Blood flows pretty freely during confrontations and during cut-scenes, its not unusual to see soldiers taking a few brutal hacks at innocent villagers (elderly and women alike). What could also raise a few parents eyebrows are the scenes where its hinted that the village women under attack are going to be raped or otherwise assaulted. Nothing is shown, but it is certainly implied and given the relative frequency of this, it is worth noting here. Dont even get me started on some of the homo-erotic and Satanic underpinnings of one particular character in the game.
Casual gamers wont be impressed by Vandal Hearts II's archaic look. The abundance of complex menus and customizations, as well as the lengthy gameplay per battle, can be major turn-offs as well.
Hardcore RPG fans will have trouble adapting to this game because the RPG elements, while very good, dont have the 'interactive' or multi-task approach that exists in games from the Final Fantasy series. The battles are the entire focus of the gameplay and if youre not a fan of Ogre Battle or Final Fantasy Tactics, then Vandal Hearts II probably wont hold your attention for long.
More envious Nintendo 64 owners will have no choice but wait for Atlus' Ogre Battle 64 to arrive in a few months before they could experience anything like this.
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