Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the latest chapter in Nintendo's strategy series, the first made specifically for the Nintendo Wii. Although it doesn't take advantage of the system's motion sensing abilities, the deep gameplay, memorable characters and terrific presentation will enthrall you for hours.

In the game, you control various members of the Dawn Brigade, a group out to overthrow a corrupt government ruling the countryside. While the game's story serves as a mere backbone to the strategic action, its individual characters move things along. Each one has their own story to follow, some of which intertwine with other characters with surprising results. You directly control their destinies, dividing them up into smaller battle parties and strategically placing them into battle so they don't just run in and get themselves foolishly killed.

Tactical strategy plays a deep part in Radiant Dawn, just as it has in previous Fire Emblem games. It splits into two particular sections – overhead maps and 3-D combat. You move your characters, order their plan of attack in the overhead sections and then shift to the 3-D segments, where they carry out your commands. It transitions in real time, without bothersome loading segments. As a result, the game moves along briskly, keeping you involved in the action. Over the course of the story, you'll run across more challenging enemies, requiring you to think ahead or lose crucial members of your battle parties. Characters specialize in either up-close or distant attacks, so use them wisely and pace yourself. Otherwise, they're history, as there's no revival spells– just that handy reset button. Do yourself a favor and save often.

A word of warning – Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn will eat you alive in Normal and Hard difficulty. If you're a newcomer to the series or don't really dabble that much in strategy games, you'll want to start out on Easy and check out the game's numerous tutorials. They really come in handy for later portions of the game and give you a better understanding of what the battle system is all about. If you're familiar with the series, though, you won't mind stepping up to the harder difficulty and really testing your mettle.

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