dtuner

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

62 score? What?!? This just goes to show that people have become accustomed to bending-over, and accepting all the dumbed-down crap that game studios put out these days. **** doesn't hold your hand, and display a giant red Y BUTTON on-screen, then it's too hard for the nancy-boy critics. Either that, or maybe Square-Enix refuses to pay them their "positive review tax." But you didn't hear it from me. Easily in the top-5 best mech-combat simulation games out there. Honestly, In my personal opinion, it's gameplay is way too fast. This is coming from an Armored Core veteran, who's owned/played every AC game since PSOne. I prefer the heavy feel of the mechs from the early Armored Core games, and Chromehounds. Armored Core 5 is going to bring this series back to the spotlight by slowing down the mechs, making the environments and mission more detailed amd immersive, introducing super "Over" weapons, and a ton of other additions. Why do people waste their money on games like Galo, where they spend countless hours repeating the same thing to customize their character with a new helmet.... woohoo... when they can have a hard drive full of dozens of custom, unique giant robots to pit against each other in combat?? Hopefully, Square Enix will get the recipe right this time around, and bring Armored Core to the forefront of gaming.

First Off... Most of the people who have issues with this game are coming-in with a biased approach. simply because the game strays from it's turn-based origins. Don't get me wrong, the old Front Mission games were awesome, for what they were. Now, this new take on wanzer combat should be taken for what it is, and not judged on it's origins. Taking the game for what it is, it should easily receive a 7.5/10 score from the critics. It's seems to me that Gamespot, 1UP, and IGN simply don't "Get" mech simulations. Just look at their scores for the Armored Core series... Armored Core 4 gets a 5.9 IGN??? Really??? You can't just pickup Armored Core games and expect to be proficient at them instantly. They require practice and skilled piloting. That's part of what makes these games so incredible. They require that you actually have piloting skills. Unlike the dumbed-down garbage that most game studios put out these days. So, back to Front Mission Evolved. Basically, it's an Arcade-Style mech combat simulation game. The combat is exciting and action-packed., while being much easier to grasp than AC series. Even in Normal mode, I was challenged during some battles. This game avoids all the long cutscenes, and RPG-like elements of some other mech combat games. Personally, I can spend hours customizing my mech to perfection. But Front Mission Evolved simplifies the process., which is good for most people. You still get to completely customize your mech, but there are way less parts, specs and options than the AC series. Great Graphics - the wanzers and the environment are bright, and detailed. Explosions look awesome. Great Sound - You can hear your wanzer's servos spinning and torquing as you move around. Weapons and the environment surround you with HD quality ambience. Decent Missions - Nothing too immersive. The story is basic and cliche, but who cares?!? It's about building a cool robot and killing stuff. Boss Battles - Some people complain that the later boss battles become tedious. Hasn't bothered me yet. On-Foot Scenes - Provides a nice change of pace, but about half-way through the foot missions, i wish I was back in my mech. I would have preferred the ability to Jump out of your Wanzer by choice, go into a building/bunker to explore and complete an objective, and then pop back into your killing machine. That would have been an incredible addition. **** that it's a linear requirement of the story. In conclusion: Fun to Play, Excellent combat mechanics. Great Graphics, Lots of good Ambient Sounds and Music