Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice is more deep, goofy strategy and relentless humor lathered in Fan Service Sauce -- with a learning-curve as stern as an infernal report-card. Tenderfoot newbies should probably just crack themselves in the head with an exploding demonic-penguin thingy right now.

Set in a stylish, demonic Netherworld -- no, not the one from Disgaea 2, a different stylish, demonic Netherworld -- Disgaea 3 tells the tale of Mao, a student attending "Evil Academy," the sprawling infernal campus is a sort of Gutenberg-esque Hogwarts.

Populated by all manner of funky monsters and demons-kids whose anime-inspired sense of fashion would give a Harajuku cosplayer a run for her money, the rules at Evil Academy are a little different. "Honor Students" like Mao, for example, are the ones who never show up for classes, and who do Evil deeds whenever they can. Screw-up "delinquents" like co-star Miss Raspberyl, meanwhile, are the ones who actually attend classes and do despicable Good Deeds.

This being an NIS game, Mao is, of course, a complete psychopath -- who gets the idea to off his demon-overlord father from too many comics and videogames.

It still looks like a PS2 game -- why it's PS3-only is anyone's guess (why it's priced like a PS3 game with PS2-quality graphics is likely just a fan-bilking cash grab).

Like the Disgaea titles that came before, this is a turn-based strategy/RPG with a humorous, goofy storyline that totally belies the insane depth lurking just below its surface.

By swaying/bribing/coercing an in-game "student council," for example, players can enlist new party members, unlock a slew of character-classes, modify their characters, weapons and items 'til Judgment Day, and even alter the game itself.

The previous Disgaea game's notion of battlefield-altering "geo panels" is here expanded to "geo blocks" which can be picked up and thrown about to really stir the strategic cauldron. Both the music and Japanese/English voicework are excellent, the otaku self-referential humor never stops.

Oh, and the demonic-penguin lackeys called "prinnies" are still here -- and still explode when you throw them in battle, dood.

Really, if you're looking for a deeper, more obsessive strategy game, there is seriously something wrong with you.