The real time strategy (RTS) genre has seen its fair share of changes since the early days of Dune II. We've battled wars in the present day, in the distant future and in ancient history. We've battled wars on far away planets and in alternative timelines. Now GriMgriMoire has emerged on the scene, and it truly brings something special to the genre.

GriMgriMoire (complete with UgLyPuNk spelling) is the story of Lillet Blan, a young magician attending her first day of magic school, the next Harry Potter in the making. Told through an almost story-book presentation, with beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, levels are divided through a bookshelf system that breaks down your daily tasks in a journal form as your sugar-plum sweet young witch-to-be begins her training.

As Lillet arrives at the prestigious magic school, the Tower of Silver Star, she meets all manner of quirky characters in the form of fellow students and professors. All are wonderfully rich in character and complexity, and contrast wonderfully with Lillet's pure innocence. Events suddenly take a turn for the worse and it is up to you to save the day by becoming a master of magic, as you become stuck in a loop, Groundhog Day style.

The grimoires in the title refer to the twelve magic textbooks through which you will learn to master the four forms of magic: Sorcery, Alchemy, Glamour and Necromancy. Just like Pokémon, each type has its own benefits and disadvantages and careful strategy is needed to ensure the right form of magic is used for the right situation.

In a new spin on the RTS genre, GriMgriMoire is presented from a purely 2D perspective. As Lillet, you are solely commanding your troops from side on as they traverse across flat plains in multi storey level design, connected by a range of staircases. Even with such a drastically new presentation, at its core, GriMgriMoire really doesn't differ too far from the traditional RTS. You summon helpers such as elves and ghosts to gather mana, your resource in the game, from crystals on the map and deliver it to the respective rune for each class of magic. Accumulating mana allows you to call upon more elves, fairies or whatever you may need, as your key 'currency' in the game. All manner of evil forces will try and stop you, so the key areas of attack, defence and resource management rein key to success.

It all sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

Hardened RTS veterans might laugh at the thought of commanding an army of fairies and elves, but there is something so refreshingly satisfying about the brilliant animation and unique premise. The story is told through fantastic voice acting on all fronts and is really a highlight of the game. The characters are deep and believable, and the art is wonderful. It mightn't be up to the standard of recent PC RTS titles in gameplay mechanics, but there's still something so satisfying about learning the higher levels of magic and unlocking the sheer might of dragons and chimeras.

One of the biggest let-downs in the game is that all battles occur on one map. Whilst the terrain may have no real effect on the actual gameplay itself, seeing the same map again and again just gets a bit boring and repetitive as you'd expect. There is also no multiplayer present, which may be a huge let down for some RTS fans, but it honestly doesn't feel like the sort of game that needs it. It truly feels suited as a single player experience, whilst Nippon Ichi have implemented a intuitive control scheme for the new perspective, I could imagine the 2D gameplay would work to the game's detriment here and make multiplayer far too complicated on screen in the heat of battle.

I'll admit that GriMgriMoire isn't anything mind blowing at its core, it is just simply a wonderful experience. It is an RTS for young and old alike and a refreshing take on the genre. If you have a soft spot for Nippon Ichi titles, you'll no doubt appreciate the well-constructed characters and story, as well as the fantastic animation. If you're looking for a way to coax your partner or daughter into the RTS genre, GG may be just the shoe horn you need.

They'll be ready to take to the Tiberium Wars in no time.