Front Mission 4 - PlayStation 2

• A mech(wanzer) pilot named Elsa fights off an attack from unknown invaders in Germany, while a young soldier named Darill retrieves a mysterious cargo whose plane ced in South America. These two eful events will set the stage for intense futuristic.
• Squad-based fighting as you lead teams of wanzers in strategic combat.
• Outstanding new graphics - Spectacular visuals will leave you dumbfounded -- it's practically cinematic.
• New features like the Link System bring a new dimension of multiplayer strategy to your game.

Product Description ------------------- The giant robotic wanzers return in Front Mission 4. The game takes place 6 years after the previous one, in 2096, and the world is divided into 3 superpowers: a united Europe (E.C.), a pan-American union (U.C.S.), and an Asian alliance (O.C.U.). The battlefields of this future are dominated by wanzers, battle robots equipped with action points enabling them to move, fire and counter attack. Direct the wanzers through realistic battle elements and highly detailed graphics on air strikes, air drops, repair jobs, and more. An all-new link system allows players to set up amazing combinations of commands to perform spectacular maneuvers. The stage is set with a rich cinematic opening sequence that tells the stories of Elsa, a talented E.C. recruit, and Darril, a U.C.S. soldier happy to be in the rear guard. Review ------ Considering the pedigree of the series, the publisher, and how much I enjoyed Front Mission 3 on PSone, Front Mission 4 is a disappointment on just about every level. It's a shame too, as the opening movie features wanzers (this series' version of the classic mech) battling it out in a ballet of death that got my strategy RPG juices flowing. Unfortunately, the game isn't as exciting as its opening cinema. The story follows the tale of two wanzer pilots – Elsa and Darril. The game opens with Elsa as she investigates an attack on several German bases, then it shifts to Darril and his team in South America. Not a bad tale, but nothing you haven't heard before. The same can be said for the gameplay as well. Front Mission 4 is a fairly basic strategy game from beginning to end. There are some nice touches however, including the ability to vastly customize your mechs, and a brand new Link System lets the player sync wanzers together so that you can unleash multiple attacks in a single round of combat. Overall, the game moves fairly slow and the combat is not nearly as deep as it could have been. Combine the mediocre gameplay with the sub-par graphics and campy story, and you can begin to see why Front Mission 4 is a bit of a disappointment. If you love giant robots, there is a good twenty hours of gameplay here, so this game isn't without its merits. Concept: Watch floating heads tell a story while you wage strategic battle with giant robots Graphics: For a company like Square Enix, the graphics are surprisingly low-budget Sound: From the voice acting to the battle music, no word fits better than "adequate" Playability: Considering how deep strategy games have become, this is disappointedly shallow Entertainment: The story, battles, and overall production values fall far short of expectations Replay: Moderately Low Rated: 7.25 out of 10 Editor: Andy McNamara Issue: June 2004 2nd Opinion: Even for being a turn-based RPG, Front Mission 4 starts off awfully slow. Barring the intense opening cinema, the first three or so hours alternate between painful and lame. After that, FM 4 quickly becomes an engaging RPG, though the graphics will never wow you and most everything that happens outside of combat is tedious and boring. Except for character development, that is – the new Link system adds an extra layer of strategy and keeps gameplay fresh. The nice RPG elements and challenging battles make FM 4 worth any strategy gamer's time. Rated: 7.75 out of 10 Editor: Adam Biessener Subscribe to Game Informer ( http://www..com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AN45D/ ) -- Game Informer Review