Front Mission 4

THE GOOD:
interesting story line and sympathetic characters, superb localization, natural dialogue & exceptional voice acting, unique in many ways

THE BAD:
lacks broad appeal, outlasts its welcome, little variety

SUMMARY:
Front Mission 4 is of standard RPG length, but if you manage to make it through, you'll feel as though you've aged two years in that time. There's more stress to be found than fun on each battlefield among the countless factors that need to be weighed before acting. Enemy and ally evasion rates, accuracies, weights, leg types, AP costs, proximities, remaining ammunition, monetary funds, armor types, turn order-determining speeds, supply drop points, movement ranges, weapon ranges, sensor ranges, repair ranges: after a while, the advertised effects of environmental conditions like weather, time of day, and terrain can only make the player groan. The necessity of successful linking (which allows other pilots from both sides to join a one-on-one battle and act defensively or offensively) involves juggling this daunting set of factors for up to eight individual pilots at once.

The game offers no mercy outside of combat, keeping the player in a near constant state of panic. Refitting your wanzers is a persistent pressure as enemy forces manage to get their hands on new gear almost every battle. This requires you to fight through Simulator battles to gain the needed cash for updated parts and then mentally balancing new sets of factors in choosing what will work best for each pilot from the continually widening selection of arms, legs, bodies, and nine weapon types.

Pilots can be customized in a variety of ways outside of their wanzers. Skills and some stats are learned or upgraded via EP rewarded in battle. Unique specialized sets are available for each pilot and additional sets can be purchased through the Computer Shop to steer units into different roles. However, due to the high cost and scarcity of funds, this isn't an option until late in the game unless you're willing to put in long hours in the Simulator.

Needless to say, this takes a long time to get right. Beginners will frequently find themselves wondering what they're doing wrong, as the game is terribly minimalist with its explanations. Tutorials are provided for select aspects, such explaining the various ways to employ air support, but the fundamentals are left for you to figure out on your own, and much of it remains a mystery through to the conclusion.

The story is often left to carry the game entirely. Luckily, it's liberal with development and supplies both a compelling plot and a cast of unusually believable and likable characters. FM4 takes place within a realistic future of multinational federations and accurately captures the atmosphere of tension between superpowers struggling to protect their interests on the global playing field. The plot's subtle mysteries and exquisitely delivered dialogue provides motivation to crawl through another hour-long map.

However, the two disparate story lines can be disruptive to interest. The game takes the moment the audience starts to care about one as its cue to switch to the other, and the two very rarely compliment each other. Additionally, repeatedly switching between two entirely different parties is confusing in battle. Before moving out, it's mandatory to review each pilot, weapon, and wanzer's properties or become defeated by your own forgotten customizations.

Between the two stories, there's not much variety to speak of in combat. Objectives vary little, occasionally tacking on the defense of a noncombatant or temporary control of an additional squadron. Most battles feel identical with the exception of some Simulations that look as though they're only meant to baffle you with their layout.

The actual maps fluctuate from featureless icy wastelands to Parisian suburbs, each presenting their own challenges and advantages requiring adaptation of play style. More often than not, the terrain works against you, as enemies have previous knowledge of which weapon types are going to be largely useless and more quickly assume positions of benefit since they understand factors that will never be explained.

These grids and the mechs warring across its surface are surprisingly detailed, and the camera dives in closer when engaging the enemy to offer a better view of the rare spurts of action. While this drama-crazed camera will often swing wildly and end up trapped inside of a wanzer, building, or tree as it tries to swoop between several cinematic viewpoints, when it works, it works well. Unfortunately, the in-game graphics are also plagued by slowdown, unbearable pauses between actions that can only mean the PS2's hardware is struggling with the aforementioned factors the human player is expected to handle with ease, and the occasional disappearance of the audio that offers the only chance to experience a silenced bazooka.

I'm sure there are people out there that will find fun in Front Mission 4, but these are a very select group of people. If you're enthralled by week-long chess matches, European history, and the future of mechanized warfare, this is the game for you. For anyone else, FM4 is a headache.