Front Mission Evolved

[Senku]

So, I've played through several Wanzer missions, and one "on-foot" mission; and I'd have to say that my impression so far is fairly positive. It feels pretty cool to finally pilot a Wanzer in real time, and (IMO) the devs did a good job making them "feel" right from past source material.

Just like previous games, you can customize parts, weapons, and paint detail. They even kept skills, which activate according to some percentage as you use your weapon.

I've read some negative opinions about the on foot parts, and sure it's not as polished as other games that are exclusively on foot (like Uncharted); but it doesn't drag the game down. The level design of the one mission I did could have been better, but it was still fun killing bad guys.

The story is in the same vein as previous Front Missions; major governments move towards war with several third-party groups greasing the wheels. The characters themselves are alright; maybe a bit above average in likability.

There is alot of brown and gray, since it's all cities and military bases and whatnot so far. But there have been spots of foliage that looked fine.

Overall, it's just been fun to play; though I don't know if major fans of the series are willing to have an open mind about the game. But if you want to pilot a robot and blow stuff up, there's really no other current game out there like this.

(Sorry broodwars, I never played Mechwarrior 4 so I can't compare/contrast to this game. :sweat:)

[Isuzu Inugami]

Overall, it's just been fun to play; though I don't know if major fans of the series are willing to have an open mind about the game.

What's that, Lassie? Front Mission has fallen down an FPS well and can't get out? Oh no!

Yeah, I was pretty hostile to the concept at first, but I wasn't all that thrilled with the execution of Front Mission 4 either, so at this point I'm waiting and seeing how people react to it. There's a lot to be said for piloting a robot and blowing things up, just on principle, after all.

[Zeether]

The game looks kind of cool to me...but I enjoy Mechwarrior 4 and I LOVE Front Mission Gun Hazard.

[broodwars]

I was considering picking up this game this past week, but the somewhat-lukewarm reviews the game has received (which are especially critical of the story and the game's AI) made me decide to wait for a significant price drop first. Still, the game looks fairly enjoyable, if a bit basic. I decided to put down a pre-order on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow instead. I hope I don't come to regret that.

And if you never played Mechwarrior 4, you should treat yourself and do so. It's a pretty fun game, if not as enjoyable and a lot more Arcade-y than my favorite game in the series, Mechwarrior 3. Sadly, Mechwarrior 3 isn't compatible with modern video cards, so MW4 is as good as I can play right now. Maybe I'll get lucky and GOG will somehow acquire the Mechwarrior games, because I never did manage to finish MW3.

[Senku]

Just finished a cool boss battle against... in Gundam parlance it would be a Mobile Armor. :)

(which are especially critical of the story...)

Sadly, I think I may side with the majority. I actually liked what the game was setting up; but once the game reveled the main villain, the quality of dialogue and story has dropped (mainly the scenes that involve said villain). Since the game wasn't trying to be "over the top", the villain's cheesy lines were cheesy-bad, not cheesy-awesome. One line in particular sounded very weird/retarded. The delivery was all wrong.

Oh well, blowing stuff up still isn't boring.

[Senku]

Final Boss was fun, but the boss before that was just annoying as all get out.

Anyway, with the main story beaten; I'd probably give this game a solid "B". ("B-" if you really deplore the story) The important parts of the game are good (gameplay), but there's room for tweaks and improvements in the future. The on foot mission were serviceable; but can use some more development time to feel more polished. The story... is what it is. Set up was alright, but became very familiar midway to the end.

Multiplayer is... not balanced. I only played a couple of matches, but the higher level people have access to better weapons; and have no qualms about exclusively using Shield+Best Missile pod all the time.

All in all, I'd have to tip my hat to Double Helix for making a believable and fun third person action game in the Front Mission franchise. But I'd probably wait for a price drop (maybe even half price) if I were to spend any more then a rental fee. (which is how I played this)

[Darkex]

So this game can also be played against other people. Interesting. :devil:
I have a free rental left so I will probably rent this game when it's available at the place I rent my games from unfortunately they didn't get the game yet.

[broodwars]

Gamestop has a sale on this game going on right now, so I picked this one up today for $20. I look forward to playing it when I get home, though I'm sure absolutely no one is playing this online at this point.

[broodwars]

I've played through the first couple of missions, to the point where the game's finally opening up a bit and letting me customize my Wanzer to fit my playing style (though I'm a little miffed that my Sniper-based Wanzer's only close range combat ability will be its shoulder-mounted missiles. I can't equip a small handgun or whatnot for those situations). So far, I like the game but it does feel like it was rushed out the door by a fairly mediocre team. The graphics are pretty bland, the missions lack a certain sense of urgency, and the story sticks pretty close to genre formula. I also find combat to feel pretty loose, lacking a certain precision that makes it hard to actually hit my targets. The achievement-baiting "sensors" and "emblems" are also pretty hard to see in-game.

That said, there are some cool things in play. For instance, I like being able to customize my Wanzer to match however I want to play the game (though the fact that I don't continue to own equipment I've purchased and unequipped is annoying). The story may be extremely reliant on genre cliches, but it's certainly serviceable and the characters are likeable enough. Boosting with your mech is a lot of fun, and very necessary. I kind of appreciate how if you just stand in one place and shoot at an enemy, you usually get torn to shreds. Boosting in circles around an enemy while firing missiles at him while simultaneously dodging missiles he's firing at you is quite fun. It's also a nice little touch that if you are boosting going into a jump, when you land your boost will automatically reactivate and you'll just keep going.

So far, this is a pretty average game, but there's fun to be had.

[distantmantra]

I also picked it up for $20 at Gamestop. My co-workers gave me a $25 giftcard for School Psychologist Appreciation Week, so I figured "why not?"

I'm not sure if anyone else ever played it, but FM:E reminds me a lot of the Yuke's-developed Armored Trooper Votoms game on the PS2.

[broodwars]

I've been trying to clear out my backlog a bit since completing Dead Space 2, so I'm back to playing through this game. I'm up to the final mission of Act IV, and things have been slow-going since I've been having to use a guide to find all the Emblems; Sensors; Scramblers; Data Keys; Baffomodads; etc. that are stupidly well-hidden (there are quite a few you'd only find if you knew they were there, and you'd only see them if you had a Sniper Rifle). So far, the plot is pretty generic and forgettable, with acronyms and names being tossed around with wild abandon. If you've seen any given Gundam series, you know exactly where this story is going at all times.

Still, for its utter generic-ness, it isn't a bad game. However, I'm really getting annoyed at how the game keeps forcing me to use equipment I don't want to use. For example, lately the game's been forcing me to use Quad Legs, which give the Wanzer additional power but really cut mobility down and makes it look like a walking spider. I'd rather keep my mobility, thank you. What's the point in even bringing me into the hanger before the mission if you're not going to let me customize more than 1-2 things?

Grr...Ok, this is getting incredibly irritating. I'm trying to defeat the boss of Defense of Constantine, and he keeps wiping the floor with me because I'm forced to use a mech that can't boost more than few feet. There's no real way to make this fight any easier, as I already have the best stuff equipped that I can use.

[broodwars]

I completed the singleplayer campaign on Normal last night, and eh...it was ok, I guess. There's decent gameplay, mediocre and derivative story, and incredibly frustrating boss encounters. At the end of the game, the game throws out two utterly cheap boss encounters (one has an instant kill he constantly uses and can barely be dodged or blocked, and the other has a ludicrous amount of health and the ability to break all your limbs pretty much anytime he wants) that pretty much guaranteed that I'm not going to even trying beating this game on Hard for that Gold trophy. I'm missing two sensors from the final stage, but even following a guide I have no idea where they are hiding in their respective areas. I don't know if I'm going to bother spending another couple of hours playing galactic "Where's Waldo" trying to find them for that Gold.

[Gasaraki]

At the end of the game, the game throws out two utterly cheap boss encounters (one has an instant kill he constantly uses and can barely be dodged or blocked, and the other has a ludicrous amount of health and the ability to break all your limbs pretty much anytime he wants) that pretty much guaranteed that I'm not going to even trying beating this game on Hard for that Gold trophy.
What you'll want to do is make sure you're using the Husky rev. 2 torso, since it's damn near indestructible, even on hard, and Zephyr EX legs for the mobility. I think I took out the first of those two bosses using the most powerful sniper rifle (which is a must on later levels on hard) and a gatling gun. For the last boss, use dual missile launchers and just keep constantly moving. He'll take your legs, but even without them you should be able to avoid him long enough for the Husky to regenerate. Just keep firing missiles, and eventually you'll wear him down.

[broodwars]

At the end of the game, the game throws out two utterly cheap boss encounters (one has an instant kill he constantly uses and can barely be dodged or blocked, and the other has a ludicrous amount of health and the ability to break all your limbs pretty much anytime he wants) that pretty much guaranteed that I'm not going to even trying beating this game on Hard for that Gold trophy.
What you'll want to do is make sure you're using the Husky rev. 2 torso, since it's damn near indestructible, even on hard, and Zephyr EX legs for the mobility. I think I took out the first of those two bosses using the most powerful sniper rifle (which is a must on later levels on hard) and a gatling gun. For the last boss, use dual missile launchers and just keep constantly moving. He'll take your legs, but even without them you should be able to avoid him long enough for the Husky to regenerate. Just keep firing missiles, and eventually you'll wear him down.

Yeah, I actually took out the final boss on Hard last night using a similar setup, though I used twin machine guns instead of the sniper rifle and relied mainly on missile barrages. I got pretty pissed when I didn't get my Gold Trophy during the credits, but after replaying the opening tutorial level on Hard I got it. I got the two missing sensors as well, though I had to spam rockets on a distant wall for a few minutes to get one of them (I never did see it. I just painted the distant wall with rockets until I got it). That'll do it for me with this game, too.