Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Ages: Teen

The previous two Valkyrie games, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria centered around the two Valkyries and their battle with the male god Odin. Silmeria investigated the psychological drama between meekness and impetuousness while Lenneth addressed the limits of morality and loyalty. I admit to being partial to these demigoddesses of the Wagnerian persuasion.

One look at the cover of Covenant of the Plume foretells a different story - a young warrior attacking a Valkyrie. Wylfred seeks vengeance against Lenneth for taking his father's soul to become an Einherjhar - a warrior for Odin. To succeed, he makes a covenant with the Queen of Hell and turns to the path of darkness. How dark depends upon the player.

Fighting is not done by mashing down the X button, fighting is done through the Formation System - I advise getting into the manual which is just shy of 50 pages. The grid based combat starts in the Allocation menu. Select fighters, check profiles, outfit them, set techniques depending on the available CP, position fighters, determine order, and only then ENGAGE. Characters are assigned to one of the face buttons and they may be positioned front to back, side to side, or on all four sides of the enemies..

Wylfred's covenant stipulates certain actions. He is required to amass Sin Points which are gained when he attacks enemies once they are defeated, appropriately called Overkill. The Plume confers special powers to Wyl at the expense of the death of one of his friends. But beware - how you play will determine the ending. There is murder, revenge, betrayal, lies, deceit and many complicated sub tales in this Norse drama. You almost need a cast sheet for the players.

Fun Factor: A chance to join the dark forces.
Female Factor: The Queen of Hell has all the best lines.
Player Friendly: Good manual. There are three save slots and one quicksave to use during battle.

Reviewed by: Editor - 05/09