Front Mission 4 Review

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(More customer reviews)As a major fan of Front Mission 3 for the PlayStation I was excited upon hearing the news that Square-Enix was making a sequel to my favorite single-player tactical-strategy game.The only thing missing from Front Mission 3's excellence was great graphics.With the arrival of Front Mission 4 on the PlayStation2 I thought the rough-graphics problem would be solved and I'd have the perfect game.
Unfortunately life has a way of playing dirty tricks.Oh sure, the graphics are much improved over FM3 with greater detail and far smoother animation.But the colors are downright bland!Also, many areas in the game appear overly dark, making it a challenge to view the screen easily unless the lights are off.I suspect the developers were going for realism here.
The length of the game disappointed me as well.For the amount of time spent working on your characters' skills and statistics the number of actual plot-developing missions is minuscule.There are only 29 stages in all!By comparison, FM3 contained a staggering 128 stages played out through two scenarios!Admittedly, FM4's stages are bigger and take longer to complete, and there are simulator battles to play.But FM3 had simulator battles, too!
Now that the bad is out of the way let me let you what was good about FM4:
Graphics - already touched on this.MUCH better than FM3 except for the colors & lack of lighting.
Sound - the most refined part of FM4.Heavy, realistic, perfect.Great use of bass!
Music - very appropriate for the events onscreen.High quality.
Speech - the main characters now speak in select cut scenes and the voice-overs are extremely well done.The accents and voice tones are very accurate to their respective nationalities.No bad acting here!
Battle System - more involved than in the last game.The Link system adds a fun new level of strategy to the gameplay.New specialized backpacks increase combat options.
Customization - a slight increase in variety of weapons and parts.Better colorization options but the blandness + darkness at times makes it almost moot.
Control - takes some getting used to, but adequate.In a tactical, non-twitch game like this it's not a detriment.
Battle Maps - daytime shifting and weather effects add new depth to missions.Battlefields are significantly larger than in FM3.
Character Skills - no more randomness in acquiring new battle skills to help towards victory!Instead characters buy skills they want as they become available!The challenge is getting the funds needed to afford them.
And finally, FM4's greatest improvement over FM3...the chaotic E-mail/virtual net system is gone!
I'd have to say FM4 doesn't match the gaming experience FM3 gave.Don't get me wrong...it's a fantastic game for as long as it lasts.The plot is solid.Just don't expect as huge a jump in quality as I did or you'll be disappointed.

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Product Description:
Front Mission 4 offers the spectacular visuals and advanced tactical warfare you crave. It's 2096, and two young soldiers will decide the future of the world. Fight for the future in gigantic walking tanks!

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