Front Mission Evolved
Front Mission Evolved is a third-person action video game and the latest instalment to the Front Mission series of games. It is developed by Double Helix Games and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 game console platform. The game claims to be set in the year 2171 which is 50 years after the events of Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. In Front Mission Evolved, the human race has started a massive push for space exploration through orbital elevators. However, tension rises when one of the orbital elevators that was being built in USN North America is destroyed by unknown forces, after which engineer Dylan Ramsey finds himself involved in a new war brewing between the OCU and the USN. Although Front Mission does not even compare with Final Fantasy in terms of popularity, it still has a dedicated fan base, particularly in Japan where the first Front Mission was released nearly 15 years ago. In contrast to the original game, Front Mission Evolved is a strategy game featuring giant mechs and a third-person shooter game that still draws from the same rich universe that was created by the first game and expanded on by several other entries in the Front Mission series. Front Mission Evolve is set during an era in which all of the factions (that is a big part of the Front Mission universe) are still involved, but there are new locations, characters, and enemies.
Reviews
Although the Front Mission strategy series has been around for a long time, it has always struggled to find an audience outside of Japan with its cult following. However, it is not one of Square Enix’s most recognizable franchises beyond its homeland. Front Mission Evolved was designed with hopes to break through to the rest of the world as a new entry in the mech series that prefers third-person shooting compared to strategy. In Front Mission Evolved, players go around in their mech or Wanzer, as they’re called in the game, blowing things up. Alternatively, there are also on-foot sections where players jump out of the machine and run around unshielded although these sections are comparatively messy. Front Mission Evolved gives players the freedom to customize and fine tune their mechs ala Armoured Core by purchasing new parts and building the perfect machine. The demo includes three pre-made Wanzers including a heavy assault unit that is equipped with a shotgun and two rocket launchers. Not only that players are also allowed to carry up to four weapons at once all of which are handily mapped to the four buttons on top of the controller. Unfortunately, the straight forward run-and-gun gameplay is rather generic. The demo included some environmental damage as players lit the place up with rocket launchers resulting in towers toppling over. In terms of gameplay, players will find that they tend to run out of ammo pretty fast, however, enemies will leave theirs behind and supply stashes can also be found hidden around. Square Enix claims that the storyline is complicated as Front Mission Evolved is set in the future when war is fought using these Wanzer mechs. In Front Mission Evolved, players control an ordinary Wanzer mechanic who gets in trouble with the law and ends up having to enlist in the military, finding himself piloting the units he used to fix. The campaign is single-player, but there will also be a four-on-four multiplayer mode. Critics have noted that they find Front Mission Evolved a little disappointing as they will not be getting a tactical Front Mission on current consoles.
“Front Mission Evolved brings the turn-based tactical strategy series into uncharted territory as an “action-packed third-person shooter” with online multiplayer action as well as a single-player campaign mode. Despite those significant changes to the formula, the series’ distinctive mechanized war machines (pictured) will return.” (GameSpot, 2009)
