Front Mission Evolved - review

by Magda Knight

You know what's great about Front Mission Evolved? It has a million explosions, and a million combat scenarios in a fully immersive world, and it's got VIOLENT GIANT ROBOTS. Yeah. ROBOTS. Don't insult our intelligence by claiming you have no wish to be a robot.

Life can't all be thoughtful Oblivion, Final Fantasy and Pokemon. Sometimes a frag doll needs something to get her teeth into - something adrenalin-pumped and full of oiled machinery constructed from a million polygons. Preferably something with robots. Battlecore fans were sent into a pre-order frenzy for Front Mission Evolved, and now that we've gnashed and torn our way through it we can confirm it delivers.

What Square Enix say: The year is 2171 A.D. Humanity has reached for the stars once more. Keen to seize a controlling stake in this as yet unconquered region, the global superpowers have raced to build orbital elevators, swiftly turning the emptiness of space into a tangle of surveillance satellite networks and military way stations. Back on the surface, while nations no longer engage in all-out war, border skirmishes have become the more frequent. On these ever-shifting front lines, armored humanoid battle vehicles - code named "wanzers" (from "wanderpanzer") - have proven to be the unrivaled kings. History has taught us that wherever humanity goes, war is sure to follow...and in this technological age, there is nowhere man cannot go. From the creative minds of Square Enix and Double Helix Games, FRONT MISSION EVOLVED brings the classic FRONT MISSION franchise into an action-packed third-person shooter that gives players full control of a massive humanoid war machine - the wanzer. Players battle through intense combat situations as they explore an immersive world in both the single player campaign and online multiplayer.

What Mookychick says: The game has deviated from its turn-based origins, but where's the harm in a little deviation? The new frenetic pace of battle suits the game very well. Because there's not much in the way of cut scenes, you develop an affinity with your mech through being able to customise it. Much of the programming love has been spent on the hi-res environments, and the scale of the immersion, from the industrial sounds of your wanzer to the lush explosions and teeny-tiny details.

This game has little to do with storyline - and everything to do with gameplay. If you want to build a big cool robot and kill things, either multiplayer as part of a clan or as a lone shogun robot, this is the perfect way to cleanse your palate after a hard day's RPG noodling.

Go on. Pick up a game with guns in. Claim your gamer status and mash the opposition into the ground.

As, and I cannot stress this strongly enough, a big cool robot. One which has the added advantage of never having to hang around Megan Fox or turn into a stupid meep-meep truck.

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