"Front Mission 4 is a definite treat for fans"

When I first saw Front Mission 3, I bought it and played it to my likings. Later on, I saw previews of Front Mission 4 and a free demo offered by Square, If I read the review and not played the demo, I would have never bought this game.

Story The story to this game is wonderful, since it directly relates to the first Front Mission as a pre-quel. Unlike most games, Front Mission 4 tries to relate to the present rather than the future or past, giving it a more realistic feel to the game.

Graphics Wonderful! Beautiful! the graphics to this game is extraordinary with realistic rendered 3D FMVs and fluid in-game animation, if there is one thing that Square is good at, it's graphics. Each and every mech is detailed realistically, realistically as in the mech would have rust stains, and gives it the 'old feel' and 'used' feel to it. The character images used for the game brings back nostalgic memories of the former games for the Veteran FM4 players.

Music/Sound Meh, the music to this game wasn't spectacular, not saying that it wasn't good, it just doesn't match to the former 3 games in the past. The voice acting given with different accents to fit the character is wonderful, tho it would be better if they also included the lenguage of the characters rather than just the accents.

Controls The controls is easy to get use to, if you ever played Final Fantasy tactics. The control setup is almost the same except for the camera control which allows the player to have more freedom with it. Simple, easy to learn, and use all the buttons effectively.

Gameplay This is a borderline, you don't really have much customization with your Wanzers unlike the previous Front Mission games, but you do have more customization for your characters. Which sorta balances it out, the linking ability is a real plus to the game allowing your characters to perform multiple combos on a enemy, very nifty, and easy to learn. Tho like the other Front Mission 4 games, you really don't have much movement around the map, it just kinda takes you along the storyline with no option where to go.

Replayability I would say it would have a high replay value, since this is a military storyline and you will bound to learn stuff that you forgot. Also with newgame plus it would be fun to return through the game and slaughter your enemies easily.

Buy or Rent Well, this I have to say rent first, because this game IS for hardcore Front Mission 4 fans and those that are new to the series may find the game a little too bland or boring to suit their taste. But if you enjoy the first two Front Missions, then the 4th game should be a blast

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/04