So what we have here is an Atlus published turn-based RPG (seems like 75% of all RPGs have the Atlus name on them nowadays) made by a company called Success. Operation Darkness occurs during World War 2, when the Allied Forces are fighting the Axis. You play a soldier named Edward. The story moves fairly standard for the first couple missions, and then it goes batshit insane. Taking the story seriously is a big mistake. The dialogue is B-game, and the cutscenes are hilarious, only because no one can say anything without swinging their arms around in hilariously exaggerated hand gestures.
As stated, this game occurs in WWII, so you won't be taking turns with the enemy swinging swords, you'll be using guns. Oh wait, there are swords too. Yeah. Since everyone can wield a gun (and the majority of enemies do too) this makes it a bit different then your usual TBS game. Depending on your weapon and accuracy, it's fully possible to be able to shoot something half way across the map.
Because of this, this game rewards strategy a bit more then your typical TBS. You'll need to use cover often, especially in later missions with all the one hit kills that exist in every level (tanks and such). Blindly charging the enemy will almost always result in a sound defeat. The game attempts to ease the difficulty a bit by giving you a skill that makes your character auto-heal if their health goes below 20%, even if they lose all their health and should be dead.
You'll probably scoff at that and think it does not matter much, but you'll quickly find you are wrong. The difficulty is VERY punishing, with tons of one hit kills wandering around each stage. Tanks, landmines, rocket launchers are all capable of killing your characters in one hit, so caution is key. The problem is the missions tend to last longer then your typical TBS game, 30 minutes to an hour, and I can't explain how disheartening it is to play for that long and lose everything because an important character dies in one hit. I suggest using auto-restoration just for your sanity.
Of course, that adds a sense of achievement to finishing missions, so that is certainly a plus. Unfortunately, the difficulty spikes up and down constantly, and the game could have really benefit from a constant difficulty increase. You'll be breezing through missions and then run into one that takes many, many tries to finish. Then more easy missions, and another mission that challenges your sanity.
There are a decent amount of missions (27) along with about 35 extra ones, so there is plenty to play here, but there is no new game+, so replayability is minimal. The story follows along with the events of WWII, using what I assume to be real footage from back then along with explanations of the events of WWII as they happen in-game, and that certainly is interesting. It isn't long before the story of your characters takes the detour into ridiculousness. You are fighting as part of a special ops unit called the "Wolf Pack" doing secret stuff the majority of the Allied Forces know nothing about. All of your characters have different skills they can use in battle, sometimes requiring certain weapons. Your enemies are just as versatile as well, with magic users being some of the more annoying enemies you'll encounter.
It's worth mentioning there is MP goodness to be had here. You can jump into missions with another player, and the Wolf Pack's control will be split between the two of you. I didn't fool around with it much myself, but the connection seems to decent, so it can certainly be fun with a friend.
The main issue with this game is the difficulty. If you enjoy difficult games, this is one of the more difficult strategy games on the 360. The camera isn't very good, and there was some line of sight issues when firing guns and such as well. The story is, as said previously, very B-game.
The core of the gameplay works and plays well, however, and it is certainly an enjoyable game when it isn't throwing out of left field difficulty curves at you. If you like strategy games, and you have a 360, you can do far worse.
4.0