Armored Core: Formula Front
In mech combat on the PSP, the score is America: 1, Japan: 0
Tags: Armored Core: Formula Front Categories: PSP Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jan 30th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Armored Core: Formula Front (title page) | 1 - 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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If nothing else, Armored Core: Formula Front needs recognition for being one of the biggest night-and-day changes any localized game has received, compared to its original Japanese release. When the game was released in Japan, it was, quite literally, unplayable. As in, you couldn’t actually play it. It would seem that, in the land of the Rising Sun, the version of the game they received was purely a strategy game, giving players the ability to create and fine-tune their mechs, and nothing else. When the battle started, you merely watched from the sidelines and hoped your preparations were sufficient.
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In bringing the game to the US, Agetec has taken on what must have been a daunting task of adding in a control system to a game that didn’t have one before. To their credit, if anyone didn’t know it was missing in the first place, they’d have never realized it was put in after the fact. It’s very well-integrated with the rest of the game, and those more interested in the simulation aspects of the game will be pleased that the ability to customize your own AI to do the fighting for you is still there, as well, giving you the best of both worlds.
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Unfortunately, neither of those worlds is perfect. Controlling your mech manually is kinda’ awkward, using the stick to aim and move and the shoulder buttons to strafe rather than combining the stick with face buttons like other action games on the system. Actually, it’s clumsy to the point where you may decide that the AI may be more effective, interestingly enough.
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On the sim side of things, the amount of options here is simply enormous, and players are given an incredible amount of information to study regarding their mech’s stats, and even multiple screens of information to gague their performance after every battle. However, there’s very little in-game help to tell you what all of this information means, and there’s so much of it and so many options, that those that are unfamiliar with the Armored Core series will likely feel overwhelmed.
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However, this is also one of the title’s strong points. Those who know the series well or those genuinely interested in the ultimate mech-building game will find that Armored Core: Formula Front is a veritable playground for those looking to build the ultimate death machine. In addition to hundreds of interchangeable parts and the ability to keep a stable of five different robots, the game also gives you the ability to edit the mech’s color scheme, create your own logo, and even challenge friends via local wireless matches.
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The game’s graphics are also fit to match the full-featured gameplay, in that they look very good. While not quite as spectacular as some of the PSP’s best-looking titles, Formula Front still looks pretty close in quality to the PS2 games, and while the areas you fight in may not be extremely impressive, the game scores bonus points for the fact that changing any of the dozen or so parts of your mech will change its appearance as well, making for potentially thousands of mechs that all look unique and different, and still pretty detailed.
Also impressive is the game’s sound. While the soundtrack won’t win any awards, the game’s sound effects are very impressive, with gunfire that actually sounds authentic, and with the various weapons each making its own noise.
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Ultimately, while the game manages to impress on just about every front (no pun intended), it’s not so hot where the presentation is concerned, with almost no story to speak of (just a boring “tournament” theme that means almost nothing), and the aforementioned issues with throwing you in the water to see if you can swim.
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Fans of mech titles, and specifically the building simulation aspect of mech titles, should rejoice, as this is an amazing and full-featured game on that front. On the other hand, those looking for a good action game, and have more interest in blowing things up… well, this just isn’t the game for you.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ That whole "control" thing is well-integrated into the game like it was actually there in the first place. + Very good graphics and sound + Tons and tons of options for building your mech |
7.9 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- So many options, in fact, that the game is pretty intimidating and often mystifying, and what little in-game help is offered isn't nearly enough - There's no story or plot here. - The controls are awkward to the point where you may just be better off letting the game's AI take the reigns |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you want a game to shoot at stuff and blow things up, keep moving. This isn't what you want. However, if you want an extremely deep (and maybe a little confusing) strategy game about building the perfect war machine, this is the perfect game for you. | |
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Tags: Armored Core: Formula Front
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jan 30th, 2006 and is filed under PSP Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
