Of course, a game needs more than decent controls and customization, and Luminous Arc 2 has a lot to offer. The storyline isn't going to blow you away, and you're going to need at least a small taste for tactical RPGs to get into the fun here, but if you can manage both of those small hurdles, then there's a good time to be had here. The characters, graphics, and art design all shine, even if the costumes range from the impractical to the nearly impossible. The Witches must spend a lot of time and power just keeping everything in place and avoiding embarrassing slips.

Didn't play the first one, but find yourself intrigued? No problem. The title is more than friendly to gamers new to the burgeoning series. The tutorial is simple (and optional, of course) and the game will pull you right in. You're going to need to pay attention on the battlefield, however; here, it's very possible to take out your own guys in a friendly fire barrage.

The only real nitpick we can pull down in the game's early stages is about the occasional voice acting. Listen, the off-and-on voice approach is just fine when it's done, say, for a pivotal scene or something. But starting a voiced cutscene, only to have the voice acting stop just, y'know, whenever, is a little weird. Maybe they're trying to keep you guessing.

The bottom line is that if you're at all interested in marching a party across a battlefield laid out in a grid, this looks like a solid choice. We hope to have a full review for you after the title's official North American release.