Hands-on: Front Mission Evolved
by Xav de Matos 
{ Oct 9th 2009 at 11:10AM } 
For players still clamoring to return to the world of MechAssault, Front Mission Evolved may help cater to their needs. While the game's current state looks pretty rough, the Robot vs. Other Giant Robot action is fun, fast and fulfilling. Front Mission Evolved features a limited array of weaponry, but its quick pace actually had me hooked while it lasted. If the action becomes a little too harsh -- and the game did pose a challenge during my brief demo with the Xbox 360 version -- tapping the 'Y' button slows down time and turns every weapon in your arsenal to an automatic victory cannon.
There isn't much to the action: Run through a linear level and defeat the enemies that get in your way. It isn't the Citizen Kane of gaming, but the demo was entertaining. At least half of it was.
Gallery: Front Mission Evolved
Eventually the game switches to on-foot action. Think Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike -- and yes, it's about as disappointing too. The controls are loose, the action is stale and the payoff is non-existent. In short, it felt as broken as it was boring.
Even though the on-foot action looked surprisingly gorgeous in comparison to the mech sections of the game, I kept hoping each room I progressed through would lead me back to a giant killing machine. Sadly, none did.
Front Mission Evolved has the potential to be a fun, albeit by-the-numbers action game. But if Square Enix and developer Double Helix Games are hellbent on including on-foot action, it had better see substantial upgrades by the time it hits stores for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Temidien @ Oct 9th 2009 11:19AM
Wait, is Staples sponsoring this game? The tie-in possibilites with the "Easy Button" are limitless!
Kanjou @ Oct 9th 2009 11:25AM
Too bad it wasn't the B button instead.
Exemplar @ Oct 9th 2009 11:27AM
Hehe. "Wanzers"
profeteer @ Oct 9th 2009 11:39AM
Don't mean to break your phallus imaginings, but its' actually pronounced like 'Vanzers' :P
Jack Tretton @ Oct 9th 2009 11:33AM
"Front Mission...has turned into a standard third-person action game."
/removes from GameFly queue
profeteer @ Oct 9th 2009 11:37AM
Boo-urns Square Enix. Front Mission is one of my favorite series, and I want a PS3 powered turn based greatness. I'll admit FM Alternative was cool, but then it wasn't a straight generic shooter like this.
ComicShaman @ Oct 9th 2009 11:38AM
I tried to draw aside the curtain on Front Mission's hospital bed. I wanted to look into her eyes again to tell her I still love her, to tell her I forgive her for not bringing Front Mission 5 to the U.S. market. But her hand grasps the edge of the curtain and holds it in place.
"I don't want you to see me this way," she whispers.
The institutional lamps in the ward show only her silhouette through the linen, but even that looks somehow wrong, even deformed. Her voice is a shallow thing, lacking the depth and customization that I used to adore.
"We had so many good times together," I say. "I played through both storylines in Front Mission 3 twice. That's gotta be almost 300 hours. How can I turn away from those memories?"
I hear her rasping breath from the other side of the curtain, and a quiet sob.
"I know you're heading in a new direction," I say. "I can accept that. I'm willing to try new things in our relationship, if that's what you need."
"It's all gone horribly wrong," she gasps. "Please... just leave me be. Someday, maybe we can be together again. But for now, I want you to cherish the memories of what we had... without seeing what I've let myself become."
And so I turn and walk out of the hospital ward, my footsteps as heavy as each sorrowful beat of my heart.
Access Granted [No one can stop Mr. Domino!] @ Oct 9th 2009 11:43AM
A+!!!! *claps* give this man a hand of applause! :)
PedoJokerBear [Planeteer | Power of Gall Bladder] @ Oct 9th 2009 11:44AM
your name fits you.
Jack Tretton @ Oct 9th 2009 12:40PM
+1 for the narrative.
"'I played through both storylines in Front Mission 3 twice. That's gotta be almost 300 hours.'"
I too played -- and quite happily -- both FM3 storylines, although I didn't come anywhere near 300 total hours. (Wow.)
FM3 was the first game I enjoyed delving into the minutiae of a tactical RPG. Also, it was one of the first game soundtracks I bought (2 CDs too -- not cheap!). Good times.
Access Granted [No one can stop Mr. Domino!] @ Oct 9th 2009 11:38AM
You read my mind. It's kinda like a transformers/gundam thing now... I liked tactical giant robots more. Oh well... devs are always exploring what genres their franchises can get into which is not neccessarily a bad thing on it's own but sometimes it can be.
captainprotonx @ Oct 9th 2009 11:45AM
Well, this is crap.
Van @ Oct 9th 2009 11:49AM
Looks like the early Armored Core games, but not as painfully clunky and a disappointing lack of laser blades.
joe @ Oct 9th 2009 11:51AM
yawn......
didn't armored core 4 already come out, how dare Square cheapen FM legacy of turn based games with this crap, FM hazard sucked why do it again?
give me this engine but turn based and im back on the bandwagon, what is so hard with giving people want they want. im sure there is enough of a demand for a turn based japanese designed rpg in the vain of FM3/4/5 just make it happen square ill buy it.
Jerk Face @ Oct 9th 2009 11:52AM
Alright, let's just take a minute here.
I loved Front Mission 4. It was awesome. Great. One of the best TBS games ever made. My favorite part was probably all the customization. It looks like some of that is still to be found here, and that's a good thing. We didn't get to see the on foot parts in the video here, but if they can tighten that up, deliver a decent FM style story (hopefully without boring ass, voiceless non-cut scenes like in the previous games) I think this might be alright.
The Wanzer battling action honestly doesn't look too bad. If you can swap out parts and set your Wanzer up to your liking and then go to town and blow shit up.. I won't write this one off completely yet.
Zorak000 @ Oct 9th 2009 11:54AM
moar liek: "Front Mission: Devolved" amirite?
MaliceMajorE15 @ Oct 9th 2009 11:59AM
looks more armoured core than mechassult
AlphaOmegaSin @ Oct 9th 2009 12:07PM
i didn't see anything wrong with the tactics battle system. front mission 4 wasn't all that bad. and we don't really need another game like this on the market, theres plenty as it, whereas theres no tactics based mech games i can think of :( hopefully they decide to make it have 2 gameplay styles but thats just wishful thinking
Ironhide @ Oct 9th 2009 12:18PM
It looks like it could be a rather enjoyable squad type game. I recall hearing about co-op on this with up to 4 players so this might make up for any shortcomings. I'm going to buy this regardless. I'm a mecha whore as it stands. Chromehounds was a great game, albeit a bit slow, but the lack of a true co-op mode in a story environment hurt it.
Phil @ Oct 9th 2009 12:39PM
I really enjoyed the Front Mission series all the ones that made it stateside that is.
I gotta say that this looks really interesting despite the fact that it is no longer a strategy game.
I just hope the series does not abandon the strategy game genre all together.
L @ Oct 9th 2009 12:57PM
Front Mission where did you go wrong, when you had it right from the beginning.
Breakerchase @ Oct 9th 2009 1:52PM
Looks like Front Mission has gone the same way Operation Flashpoint has gone.
Ex14 @ Oct 9th 2009 1:55PM
ISit me or do jap dev have this unique inability to do "on-foot" sections of these mecha games properly?
reson8er @ Oct 9th 2009 2:42PM
It's you.
This is being done by a western dev. named Double Helix Games, which you would know, if you read the article.
Ex14 @ Oct 9th 2009 2:46PM
woops my bad ._.''''''
haha gundam operation troy came to mine when i read the article.
Omega_King @ Oct 10th 2009 10:16AM
meh i like the original play style, Armored core way better much harder too. but mucch better, and way more variety, you can seave as may specs as you want and custom paint jobs on your mech its amazing.
cafecito @ Oct 9th 2009 4:11PM
I dunno... it kinda lost some personality on translation. Now it's just... Armored Core. I know it's an early version but... does it have a plot and characters at all? That was most of the fun of the previous versions.
Extinction @ Oct 9th 2009 4:55PM
Needs building damage!
BFBeast666 @ Oct 9th 2009 5:33PM
I'm willing to give FM:E the benefit of the doubt. Besides, how many mech games are out there for current consoles? There's AC4 and AC:FA, but Chromehounds is all but dead, so I really could do with some more giant robots.
It's different than prior FM games, but as long as it's not finished, it's too early to pan it.
Olicon @ Oct 9th 2009 5:45PM
Did everyone just forgot about Front Mission Online all of a sudden, just out of curiosity?
What I missed the most is Front Mission: Alternative. That was a truly great game.
Levi @ Oct 9th 2009 9:40PM
OK, I'm guilty of not being an old fan of the Front Mission series. I only played 4 on PS2, and I didn't play much of it. It seemed to me like it was too simple, not enough strategy, too easy, etc. I really WANTED to like it, as it seemed like "Final Fantasy Tactics But With Mechs." Considering I'm a much bigger fan of sci-fi/futuristic themes than traditional fantasy, it would be a no brainer. But I just never got into it enough. What did I miss? Did I just not play it long enough? I don't remember how far I got.
The Armored Core games didn't do it for me either; they were too heavily based on customization and not enough action. It seemed like the game was all about customization, and they could just take the control from the gamer during the action sequences. Just customize your mech and see if it wins.
The mechs in Lost Planet were a great addition to a simple action game, but there's basically no customization there.
The FIRST Armored Core game had a demo on the demo disk that came with my PS1. That demo seemed to be the most fun I ever had with a mech game. It was the perfect blend of customization and action, from what I remember at least. If this game strikes a good balance like that demo, I'll totally get it. Good solid action combined with decent customization, a good balance of both, and it could be a winner.
Having said that, I understand how true FM fans would be pissed at this
devilsei @ Oct 10th 2009 12:46PM
Well, depends on how far you got Levi. Do you have the character with the backpack that can allow your missiles to strike a small area around him, no matter how far the two are apart (though buildings and such can still block them)? If you aren't, the game really picks up the difficulty from there. I've gotten farther on my ps2, but im replaying on the ps3, and the point im at has you storming a base full of Special Ops members in a heavily fortified fortress, its the first hard mission in the game you'll encounter.
Levi @ Oct 10th 2009 2:10PM
Yeah, like I said, I really have no clue how far I got. It's been a while. I'll probably never get around to trying it again, especially since I'm less inclined to play PS2 games without BC. Are they available on PSN at all?
devilsei @ Oct 10th 2009 3:43PM
Sadly I don't believe it is, I was just lucky enough to find a copy of 4 at gamestop, so unless you have a BC model you're basically screwed (which is something I rather hate about the idea of removing the emulation software and necessary chip from newer models).
If they add any FM game to the store though, I hope its 3. Personally its one of the best and closest to "FFT" I would say. The story branches off near the beginning, giving you two paths to follow, which have their own part of the overall storyline, and their own pilots and mini-plots to do. They also had the internet in that one, you could visit various sites, hack them, see various wanzer and vehicle models (loved the diesel-powered Pickup Truck Wanzer heh), and other things. Instead of buying skills, you had to wear the part they were attached to and have it trigger, and you could upgrade parts as well.
Best thing was, you could stockpile individual parts and build a wanzer from the ground up instead of just switching them around on a pre-existing one. Oh, and if you're lucky enough to knock a pilot out of his mech, you could hop out of yours and into theirs.
Oh, and the secret Wanzer is sheer badass. Looks amazing, its skills are amazing (one will guarantee an instant kill if it triggers), and it has a high-powered beam weapon.
devilsei @ Oct 10th 2009 12:43PM
Gotta agree, I can't say how disappointed I am with SE for doing this (though to be fair, Square-Enix in general is borderline-fail, and has been ever since the Great Squaresoft merged with unknown Enix, and fyi, they only published, not created DQ).
Basically from what I read, its a toned-down, easy version of Armored Core, with an on-foot component reminiscent of some Mech Warrior games. You were never meant to be on foot in FR, never. The reason? Play FM3, eject punch a Wanzer, then watch the pilot die, and then steal their mech, or imagine it happening to you. And really? They are so desperate for mainstream love that they are adding in Bullet-time? God... Armored Core OR Mechwarrior, OR any other mech-based game (not even Transformers or the insane number of Gundam-based games) added that...
Lets count the mistakes now...
1. Gave the game to Double Helix
2. Put the game outside of the original Devs
3. Limited weaponry
4. Took out any necessary bit of Strategy
5. Bullet Time, nuff said (and read 4 again)
6. REMOVED the TBS from the series (turn-based strategy).
7. On-foot segments.
8. Bullet Time. (Did I say that again? Yep, tis that bad.)
And thats all based on what I've read, they haven't mentioned anything about the skills and such, and leveling up, or how much we'll have in customization and upgrades.
BreakingPoint0 @ Oct 10th 2009 6:37PM
Anyone else think the Wanzers sound like sort of like Bay's Transformers?
Looks like it could be interesting. I'll keep an eye on it but won't be getting my hopes up. Definitely could have used some more tactile mech action but this might tickle the itch a bit!
Levi @ Oct 11th 2009 12:20AM
3 is PS1 right? Cause all PS3's are BC with PS1 games. I could just eBay it. Hell, I play PS1 more often than 2 jist because I don't have to hook up another system to play them. In a small, crowded apartment, that sort of thing really is a big deal.
But yea, I kinda wish I gave 4 more of a shot a few years ago. I liked it, it just didn't suck me in early enough I guess. I blame PC gaming... I wasn't a big fan of PS2 cause my PC blew it away. I had the same PC when I got my PS3 though... So I turned console pretty quick this gen :)
devilsei @ Oct 11th 2009 12:01PM
Yeah, FM3 is a PS1 game. I just checked Ebay and the price is around20$ on there from what I see.
And I don't blame ya, its been the opposite for me, cruddy computer and sweet consoles, so I've become more of a console gamer (Dial-up certainly didn't help the computer much either heh)
Asher @ Oct 12th 2009 1:43PM
soo... it's not turned based? : ( That's a bummer...