Basically, Vandal Hearts is a strategy/RPG with a fairly standard fantasy 
setting - following the exploits of our hero Ash and his companions as they 
fight the evil Hel Spites and his nefarious schemes yadda yadda yadda - and 
pretty linear gameplay: fight a battle, see a cutscene, fight another battle, 
see another scene, etc.  Gameplay focuses almost exclusively on turn-based 
battles, which take place on a 3D map you can rotate.  You move your little 
people around, whacking enemies and casting spells.  Between battles, you can 
buy stuff, upgrade your characters, and poke around for clues to the subquests 
(which are really just tangents from the main plotline).
The visuals are nice enough, but hardly stellar IMHO: a mixture of relatively 
simple, texture-mapped 3D for the backgrounds/playing field and sprite-based 
graphics for characters. If not for the 3D effects (and rotating map), I 
imagine this game could've been done on the Sega CD without too much trouble.  
Things tend to get rather pixelated when you zoom in close.  Some of the spell 
effects are nifty, though, and overall the graphics get the point across well 
enough.
As I mentioned, combat is turn-based and played on a 3D square-based board - 
think X-COM but with the ability to rotate the map.  Height elevation 
differences are rather sharply defined, since there is no "smoothing" or 
angling of terrain between the square terrain blocks.  Makes me think of a 
world made from Lego blocks, spruced with colorful graphics, actually.  There 
are extras and nifty features scattered on the playing field - chests to be 
opened, buttons to be pressed, crates to be moved, boulders to be rolled onto 
enemies, etc. - but in the end it generally boils down to straight-forward 
combat.
One nifty touch to character improvements is that everyone (except for our 
hero) can choose from two different sub-classes, which changes their abilities 
and sometimes what weapons they use.  For instance, fighters can become 
swordsmen or guardsmen (more powerful, but slower and more susceptible to 
magic); archers can become bowmen or hawknights (trade their bows in for 
spears and a set of wings, so they can fly); mages can become sorcerers (for 
more powerful combat spells) or monks (a kind of fighter/mage hybrid); and 
healers can become monks or bishops (more powerful healing spells).
My two complaints against this character system are: (1) since only archers 
can become flying units, and you only ever get three archers, that means the 
number of ranged and flying units you can have is pretty small; and (2) I 
thought having the monk subclass as an option for both mages and healers was 
kind of a cop-out - I would've liked to see a whole separate class.
Another thing I like is that the game has an easy-to-use interface, but 
there's a fair bit of depth to the combat system.  First off, there's a simple 
yet effective paper-scissors-rock (or "jyan-ken-pon" for the Japanese 8-) 
symmetry to the units: archers are most effective against flying units, flying 
units work best against ground troops, and ground troops work best against 
archers.  Add to this the fact that magic is more effective against armor 
ground troops (such as golems and guardsmen) and less effective against other 
magic-users, and you set up some good checks and balances in the combat 
system.
The combat system takes into account a lot of factors.  For instance, facing 
counts; you do more damage when striking from the sides or behind than from 
the front.  So does terrain and elevation; the higher you are, the more damage 
you do.  They also account for "support," which simply means that the more of 
your people who are next to the enemy, the more damage you do when you attack.
Little factors like this can influence your tactics accordingly.  It's a 
little "unrealistic" that all attacks hit and either do damage or are blocked; 
there is no dodging or parrying or simply missing, apparently.  Also, each 
character only gets one attack per turn, but appears to have an unlimited 
number of counter-attacks; i.e., after you've been hit, you hit back at your 
opponent (assuming you're not beaten).  Still, I like the system overall.
Experience points are handed out during combat for successful attacks and 
spell-casting - thus avoiding the common problem of magic-users (esp. healers) 
not getting any experience and thus getting left behind the heavy-hitters, 
which I thought was a nice touch.  At the end of the battle, you gain gold for 
monsters killed and lose gold for losing other characters or innocents.
None of your people actually dies in combat - they simply get knocked 
unconscious for the rest of the melee - except for Ash; if he dies, you 
immediately lose the fight and have to start over.  Some people may find the 
"nobody else dies" rule unrealistic, but personally I'd rather not have to 
replay a fight over and over again until I win without losing anybody (which 
can be damn hard at times).
The game is divided into six chapters, with 5 or 6 battles per chapter.  
Cutscenes between battles which advance the story are simple enough: watch the 
little characters move around on the gameboard and have the familiar "talking 
heads w/textboxes" dialogue.  The cutscenes between chapters are of the 
familiar pre-rendered CG variety and are nicely done, though not as lavish as 
some.  Still, they do a good job of advancing the plot and drawing you into 
the game.  As the story progresses (I've gone through about two and a half 
chapters at this point), it draws a decent (if somewhat predictable) web of 
deceit, betrayal, hidden agendas, backstabbing, political maneuveuring, and 
(dare I say it?) character development.  All in all, it does a nice job of 
drawing you in, fleshing out the game-world, and giving your thumb a rest 
until the next battle.
When I bought VH, I wasn't looking for a "serious" RPG, I wanted a "mindless" 
one, and that's what I got: an excuse to go from one battle to the next, 
without getting bogged down in character interaction or aimless wandering.  I 
suppose I would've appreciated more "eye candy," but as it is, I'm enjoying 
it.  I also doubt it has much replayability, apart from either experimenting 
with different subclasses or searching for all the secrets in the games.
Generally, though, I happen to find the game quite entertaining.  While 
there's probably nothing revolutionary here, it is well-executed and a good 
deal of fun for those of us who want to get medieval on someone's ass without 
having to deal with the tedium associated with "real" RPGs.
Basic Tactics:
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 - A unit will basically be operating at full capacity until beaten, so focus 
on taking out units, rather than wounding several different ones.
 - Oftentimes, it's a good idea to weaken a ground unit with spells and/or 
archers before sending in a ground troop to finish them off, since a ground 
unit only gets to counterattack hand-to-hand attacks if it survives (ranged 
units can counter ranged attacks); the less often you get hit, the better.
 - If you click on enemy units, you can see their effective movement range. 
It's usually a good idea to stay just outside their maximum range, so you can 
get the first blows in.  Frequently (although not always) the enemy will 
charge you headlong.
 - Remember that archer units can only fire in one of the four cardinal 
directions, so learn to use available cover whenever possible to block their 
line of fire.  Trees and two-story walls are good for this sort of thing.
 - Forcing enemy ground units to come at you through a narrow bottleneck is 
handy if you're outnumbered, but you've got some heavy hitters (i.e., 
guardsmen) in front to bear the brunt of the attack and healers to keep their 
strength up.
 - Generally speaking, it's a good idea for archers to take really high ground 
(hills or building tops); I think it increases your range and damage potential 
significantly, while offering you protection from other archers on the ground 
below (if you're not standing at the edge of the building)
 - Don't underestimate the usefulness of Spell Bind; when it works, it's a 
good way of stopping some annoying enemy (or someone you're not supposed to 
kill - hint hint) that you might not be able to finish off in a single turn.
 - When upgrading to guardsmen, hawknights, or monks, characters are given new 
iron weapons (axes, spears, and claws, respectively) replacing their old ones, 
so I wouldn't bother buying or giving new weapons to characters you intend to 
upgrade these classes; just get by on what you start with until you upgrade.  
This is also a handy way of giving characters iron weapons, if you can't 
afford to buy them, since when upgrading to the other classes (swordsmen, 
bowmen, bishops, and enchanters), you don't get new weapons (kinda sucks, 
actually...).
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William Barnes	wbarnes@mhcec.com	minstrel@earthlink.net
Development Editor, McGraw-Hill Continuing Education Center