Front Mission 4

"The war is ON!"

This game is one of the best SRPG's on the market but with that said it is also a bit of a disappointment for fans of the last Front Mission game. This game had what it took to blow the last on out of the water but it did not do that. Instead it just settled for second best and I will tell you what went wrong.

GRAPHICS
When I think of these graphics I think of the word bitter/sweet and this is why. At the start of the game you are subjected to a FMV sequence that would rival even FFX but that is where the good stuff ends. The rest of the game and the actual game itself is an over the top 3D map with wanzers that look like toys at best. Event hough the camera does zoom in it does not help much and there is a lack of fine detail in the wanzers. The game as it is could easily be mistaken for an PS ONE game that came out in 2000 instead of the PS2 game that it is. When you customize your wanzer you would think there would be greater detail and there is some but not much.

SOUND
This part of the game is done pretty well event hough there is still a few parts you have to read through. The voice acting is pretty good and the wanzers make realistic sounds but where it really shines is combat. The sounds of missiles shooting and guns a blazing really suck you into the game, furthermore the explosion of blowing up an arm, leg, or entire wanzer is pretty good too.

CONTROL
This is something they did get 100% right with easy to use menu's and easy to control wanzers there is not anything I can really say about the controls other then they are good.

REPLAY
Well this game has the great new game + feature that allows you to keep your stuff so you will want to play this game through at least twice.

Overall this is a great game that is worth playing but its biggest down fall is it has less feature's than the last one. It lacks the ability to capture wanzers, eject pilots, and other features that were in Front Mission 3. What kind of sequel has less than the original? If you never played Front Mission 3 then you will think this game is a 10 but for you old school fans the most this game deserves is an 8. GOOD HUNTING.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/20/04