The original Vandal Hearts came out on the PlayStation more than 10 years ago and its sequel followed just a few years later. It's been a while since we've heard anything about the world of Vandal Hearts, but now Konami is revisiting the bloody series with a prequel, set to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. At the Konami event last week, we were able to get a quick look at the game, but unfortunately we weren't able to see much more beyond a battle demo.

The events of Vandal Hearts will take place before the original game, and newcomers will find that this is an excellent starting point if you're new to the series. For those who are familiar with the previous two games, there will be story elements that will provide more insight into the original storyline, given that this was made with the fans in mind. The fighting mechanics should feel familiar to anyone who's played a strategy RPG before; between the story-driven sequences, violent battles are fought and won. Movement is grid-based, so characters are limited to the highlighted squares for each turn. Each character can carry two weapons, so you can shoot a long-ranged bow or make a melee attack with an axe, depending on the situation. Your party (up to six in the game) takes individual turns as they move around the field like chess pieces, trying to find ways to swarm and conquer.

Characters will have affinities to certain job types, but it's up to you to determine which path you want them to specialize in. Some of the features have been streamlined so that you don't have to deal with a ton of menus regarding leveling and statistics. We were told that your characters will develop based on how you use them. For example, if you make a specific character move around the battlefield a lot, eventually his or her movement will increase. If you use a bow and arrow frequently, the character's long-range attacks become stronger. All of this is happening behind the scenes as you play, so you don't have to deal with the micromanaging.

While the screenshots for Vandal Hearts may not be inspiring, I assure you the game looks better in motion. But, more importantly, this isn't a game about style or looks. It's a tactical RPG on XBLA/PSN. That's an incredibly rare thing. And I am definitely looking forward to spending a bit more time with Vandal Hearts as my demo was far too short, my characters abilities far too limited to really get a sense of what the full game has to offer.