So we've previously said we were going to cry if we didn't hear a US release announcement for Valkyrie of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles; fortunately for us, and for you all as well, we won't have to break out the tears because both SEGA America and SEGA Europe are making our wish come true by bringing the game over to the west. Announced and renamed for the west as Valkyria Chronicles, this PS3-exclusive should be coming our way by autumn 2008.

For the uninitiated, Valkyria Chronicles is a strategy RPG that incorporates the "BLiTZ" battle system. "BLiTZ" takes a unique twist on the traditional turn-based system by injecting bits of real-time movement and actions. As much of a paradox as that may sound, it really does makes sense once you see it in action. The game's gorgeous imagery is probably what gamers have noticed most about the game; the artistic style is brought out by SEGA's CANVAS engine which is said to take full advantage of the PS3's processing capabilities.

The game is set in a fictional world, and follows the story of a soldier named Welkin. The major conflict is a familiar backdrop with two huge forces waging war: "The Empire" and "The Federation." A smaller neutral country named Gallia, has the most unfortunate position of being right in between these two huge factions. What will happen as a result of this? We don't know, but we're certainly curious. Be assured, we'll be keeping a close watch on this one.

We'd be lying if we said we didn't have high hopes for Sega's latest genre-bending outing, Valkyrie of the Battlefield. The art style is a magnificent step in the right direction for anime-inspired cel-shading and the battle system is, quite honestly, still a bit confusing. That's what makes it so fun, though. Going into a game knowing all the buttons already can get tiring (if you've played one FPS, you know the buttons for 'em all, really). With this breath of fresh air still peeling itself from your lips, let's talk about the new screens, shall we?

After selecting your troops' position via the overhead map, you can take third-person control over them and shoot your enemies into oblivion. It sounds simple enough, but it seems there will be more tactical involvement needed than that: character's seem to have limited weapon selections (which will undoubtedly have greater effect against certain enemy units), vehicles to consider, and environments to take into consideration (you'd want a sniper in a place with tall buildings, not a fountain and trees). That's what we gathered from the scans/screenshots ... that and love. Love is awesome. We'll keep you posted on this game, just like every other game!

Yes, hot on the heels of our other VotB post, we've got some new screens to share with you, coming straight from Famitsu. While we all have our opinions over Sega's performance over the past few years, you've got to take a gander at these screenshots. It's like Radiata Stories and Rogue Galaxy on next-gen crack. This is some kind of gorgeous cel-shading.

If Warhawk were a cel-shaded third-person strategy RPG, it would probably look a lot like this. From the screens, you get an idea of the overhead map for selecting your strategic approach to the battle, then you see a few action shots taken from the battle itself. A girl sniping a tank from afar, while the male lead (we presume) rushes in to do the job right. This game, while pretty looking artistically, is still in the early stages of development so we should give Sega some positive encouragement to nurture the style of the game into a gorgeous addition to our PS3 libraries.

[via PS3Forums]

Our translation is sort of guesswork -- the game's title as of right now remains Senjou no Valkyrie -- but we've got some new gameplay details to get you excited about Sega's latest outing. Getting produced by Sega veteran Ryuutarou Nonaka, the game asks you to experience firsthand the drama of war. This smells like an SRPG, doesn't it? They generally entail sweeping storylines about war. We'd be mostly right.

The game's battle system employs third-person shooting with strategy RPG elements. This is done by switching between two modes: command mode and action mode. In the former, you've got an overhead map of the battlefield and you direct your units to destinations. No word if this is like Ogre Battle movement or Final Fantasy Tactics movement. In action mode, you'll have complete control over your character and dole out pain according to how many AP (action points, we presume) have been allotted to said character. It sounds like an interesting genre-mix, so we'll hold off on judgment until more info arrives.