Front Mission 3

"I have a Wanzer in my backyard..."

Just to get things started I love this game. It's like Final Fantasy Tactics meets Mechwarrior. I'd say that Square certainly has put up the standards for strategy/RPG's with FM3. But enough of that lets get down to business.

STORY- 10/10

I'd say the story is what I look for in all games. A game could have horrible graphics but as long as it has a good story its worth my time. As for FM3's story one word defines it. Masterpiece. Basically the whole story revolves around the idea of exactly how far we would go to achieve our ideals for the good of the people. It bases itself around the idea of when is enough enough. But for a less deeper version of the story its about a bomb. Your characters want the bomb so that they can destroy it and to prevent it from mass production. A really good story. Could make a pretty nice Science Fiction movie. All in all the surprising twist and turns makes it hard to put down the controller.

GRAPHICS- 7/10

From the moment you start playing the game you bare witness to some pretty wicked graphics. The starting FMV's looked awesome. Next the battle graphics are pretty cool too. The thing I liked about it most was how the arms shattered to pieces when you destroyed them. I only have two negative things to say about the games graphics. One would have to be that the legs don't look too damaged when you supposedly 'destroy' them. I'd imagine that Square could have put some extra time to make the wanzers shins or knees look a little battle ravaged. Lastly there seems to be a bit of slow down whenever you're fighting in a stage with lots of detailed backgrounds. In the end the graphics aren't the best but are still pretty damn good.

Sound- 9/10

The music in this game is great. They mix in pretty good with what goes on in the story. They give the right tone of the game which is grim and heavy...and sometimes on the sad parts it pulls a little on the heart strings. And the final musical score at the end credits really mixes in well with what they want the players to feel. As for the sound effects I'd have to say they're pretty top notch. The wanzers sound exactly the way you'd think a giant moving robot would sound. The impact of bullets and the sound of the gunshots, especially the machine guns, sound pretty real. Probably the best sound is the sound of MIDAS going off. It sounds just like a giant ball of energy. One bad thing is the sound of the laughing children or singing children in Emma's or Alisa's flashbacks. At times they sound real creepy.

GAMEPLAY- 9/10

The controls are really easy to learn and the games tutorials help lots for beginners. My only beef is that you can't just skip the stupid tutorials which become redundant if you've played the game in the past. The battles are pretty well thought out too. The terrain effects the battle totally, like if you have an elevated position over your enemies you usually have the better shot. Hiding behind things also gives you a good edge which contributes to the realism of the game.And how you equip your wanzers before battle plays an even bigger role in how you fare in the game. Learning the battle skills are pretty cool too. And though they are hard to acquire at times they come in real handy in later levels (Rofup III and Firing squad have to be the best). They also give a a good twist to customizing your wanzers. To sum it all up good battle system and lots of well thought detail make gamers happy.

Replay Value- 10/10

The replay value in this game is excellent. First, of all there are two separate storylines so you'd have to play the game at least twice to play the whole thing. Second, certain characters and missions can only be accessed by making different choices. And then theres the whole Network thing. I spent hours hacking sites in the game and emailing other in game characters. And get this, you can use email in the game to put some characters in jail which is a pretty long mini game on its own. Then lastly there just how this game rocks!

In conclusion I recommend that people buy this game. And if you think of yourself as a hardcore Square or RPG fan shame on you if you don't already own it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/02, Updated 02/01/02