As you all know, Valkyria Chronicles 2 for the PSP is the sequel to the first game which was on the PS3. We all know about the new branching class system which gives players more options and combination when building up their squad. Now, another new feature has been introduced to the game, and that is ad-hoc multiplayer.

In Valkyria Chronicles 2, players are able to play with, or against their friends in the new co-op and versus mode. It’s nothing new in a game, but nonetheless a nice addition. I think this is pretty much self-explanatory right? In co-op mode you get to play alongside with your friends, helping each other out and clearing missions together. In versus mode, players will probably be able to select the map that they want to play in, and then battle it out against one another. It is still unclear what is the maximum number of players allowed in each mode, but my guess is 2 for versus mode, and maybe 4 for co-op?

The campaign mode in VC2 will be slightly different from the first game. In VC1, players have to complete their current mission before proceeding to the next one. However in the second game, players can choose which mission they want to do first. There are good and bad points brought about to this change. The obvious good point is that if the enemies are too difficult to beat, you can go back or choose a different mission to play and level up your characters in the squad. This may be a good thing, but I can immediately see 2 bad points coming out of this.

The first bad point is that the story will probably be a lot less immersive than the first game. If you are given the choice of selecting which mission to play, it means that the story behind each mission should be quite unrelated to the other missions since there is no telling what order players will play in. Therefore, it will be very objective-based. The second bad point is that level grinding seems pretty much inevitable. Imagine playing through a certain mission over and over again because it provides the most experience points. Personally, I can overlook a game that requires some level grinding. However, if the game requires level grinding like in a MMORPG, then count me out.

The tanks (Edelweiss??) in the game are customizable. You can equip different weapons on it to give you the advantage in the battlefield. A tank’s movement will be affected according to the weapons that you equip on it. I’m guessing that SEGA will be playing around with weight, so if you equip more or heavier weapons, your tank will move slower. The characters and weapons in the game are customizable as well, though no information has been released on that yet.

The final info that I have for you guys is more for fans of the first game. It has been confirmed in an interview on the PlayStation Blog, that Alicia and Welkin will be in this sequel!

“In terms of returning characters, you’ll definitely see Alicia and Welkin come back and you might see other members of Squad 7, too.”

- via PlayStation Blog

I don’t care if they will be fighting alongside us, or they are civilians in the game. Just knowing that they will be making some sort of appearance made me really happy =). Other members of Squad 7 will also be making their appearances, though who exactly are they has not been confirmed.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 is shaping up really well. I really hope their localization team will quickly get the English version done!! The game will be released in Japan on January 21, 2010; and in North America during Summer 2010.

---

Source(s): PlayStation Blog, GameSpy