Mobile Suit
Gundam is one of hundreds of anime series that tried to convey the message
that battles should not be able to be fought and won with the press of a
button. Gundam Wing made that one of the show’s primary themes, having
pacifists, characters who wished to fight one-on-one, and those who wanted to
fight by letting a computer command thousands of mobile suit-sized robots.
In video
games you want to be able to fight and win with the press of a button –
several of them, actually. For years the Armored Core series has delivered
cutting-edge action to PSone and PS2. It’s been the closest we’ve gotten to
playing out the tragedy of a Gundam saga, minus the emotional music and epic
story. Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle is the first title to bring
that level of gameplay to a handheld. But it’s not what you think, assuming
that what you’re thinking is an action game with hours of intense battles.
Extreme Battle – like Metal Gear Acid before it – is a strategy game.
Before you
start freaking out and click the back button on your browser, note that this
is not a strategy game in the typical sense of the word. Miles of grids are
nowhere to be found. The battles are (when you get to them) true battles that
take place in real-time. You get to exchange fire with your opponent, and you
don’t have to click on a menu screen to do it.
Now for the
interesting (though less exciting) news: Extreme Battle is a strategy game
based on customization. Preparation is the number-one way to win a battle.
Dumb luck is the least likely, but if a casual gamer can beat Final Fantasy
Tactics, anything is possible. Nearly every part of the mech is customizable:
head, arms, legs, booster, generator, FCS (Fire Control System), radiator,
back unit L/R, extension, interior, hanger unit L/R, and a few others that
will confuse and intimidate before they make sense.
The
difficult thing about these parts is that each one is necessary. The Fire
Control System affects the speed of target acquisition, effective lock-on
range, and the number of possible lock-ons. A good generator is a must; it
supplies power to all equipped parts and affects the energy gauge’s max
capacity and recovery speed. It can’t run without a solid radiator – it
regulates temperature levels, while the head controls the unit’s computer,
radar, sensors, and AI function. Keeping these straight is anything but easy,
and remembering which combination worked best for each opponent is next to
impossible.
Among these
parts are several different parts that can be changed to maximize your mech’s
potential. Unit legs come in all shapes and sizes, turning your mech into a
tank-like vehicle, a two-legged walker, or a good-old fashioned hovercraft.
There’s a quad-leg form and also a reverse-joint piece that further changes
your mech’s appearance, as well as its function, mobility, and superiority (or
inferiority) in battle.
The parts
that you’ve selected (and any other in your inventory) may be altered yet
again through fine-tuning. Tuning is based on a 100% scale, where one point
counts for at least 10%. Heavy mechs may drop a few pounds, cooling can be
increased, enhance your mech’s defensive shell and defensive energy, etc.
Once you get
to the gamepl — hold on a sec, I almost forgot about the AI tuning. Tweak your
mech’s range (should it favor short- or long-range attacks?), tactic (attack
or defend), action (varied or stable), and mobility (dash high/dash low, jump
high/jump low, run high/run low). Change the paint job too if you like. You
might as well considering how much time has already been spent on making your
mobile suit perfect. This feature comes complete with Photoshop-style RGB
(red, green, blue) settings that any graphic artist would approve of.
(Takes deep
breath) Once you finally get to the gameplay Extreme Battle turns into the
familiar experience you expected to get right from the start. The action is
great, it’s just too short. Battles are rarely long. That falls in line with
other mech shooters and fighting games, but this is more of a strategy title.
You’ll spend a lot of time getting ready for a battle that’s over before a
ride on the subway, though it’s doubtful you’d be able to customize your mech
in time to win a fight if you began at the start of the ride. The game looks
really cool, so it’s likely to entice gamers searching for a quick,
action-packed shooter they can enjoy wherever they go. That’s not what this
is.
Graphically
you will be blown away. I’ve seen beauty on PSP before in the form of Burnout
Legends, Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure. I’m sure you caught that those are all
racing games. Up until now there hasn’t been a game that took advantage of the
PSP’s explosive technology, I mean that in the literal sense. No, this game
isn’t going to blow up on you, but the screen will get drenched in smoke,
explosions, gunfire, realistic environments, and an unusual replay mode that
lets you examine the action from multiple perspectives.
Great
graphics won’t be enough to excite most gamers, but if you love strategy games
and you love to customize, Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle should
be right up your alley. The lengthy learning curve and length trial-and-error
periods will keep you busy for quite a while. Load times are long and all too
frequent, a problem with many PSP titles (and some recent PS2 titles. It’s
like we’re going backwards). Thus battery life is shorter with this game than
it is with titles that have fewer load times.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Menus, menus, and
more menus! It’s not an RPG, it’s not a grid-based strategy game, but when it
comes to the gameplay customization takes priority. Battles are back-to-back
but feel miles apart after spending so much time preparing for them. That’s
the course of this game, and there’s not much more to it than that.
Players will
be challenged and at times baffled by the overwhelming tweaks and changes that
can be made, changes that are directly connected to the outcome of each fight.
During battle the controls are pretty solid. The lock-on feature is weak but
strafing and shooting took little practice to perform successfully.
Graphics: 9.0
Armored Core
Formula Front: Extreme Battle gives you an eyeful of detailed mech models,
gorgeous landscapes, spectacular effects (weapons, explosions, etc.), and
other cool tricks that aren’t featured in other PSP titles.
Sound: 7.0
The sound effects
won’t blow you away, but they aren’t static-y or include annoying traits that
have been present in so many games.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Straight mech
shooters are hardly a challenge for Virtual On veterans, but Extreme Battle’s
strategic gameplay style calls for a much different skill set. Hours of
tweaking, trials and many errors cover most of the gameplay experience –
hardcore fighting is left for the actual battles, most of which you’ll win
once the proper adjustments have been made. (Hence the hours of tweaking.)
Concept: 8.0
A new experience
for PSP and Armored Core. The series has never been as much of an arcade
shooter as Virtual On, but over the years it’s gotten more and more complex.
Extreme Battle is the most complex yet with more customization features than
most simulation racing games. It nearly rivals Gran Turismo 2 in terms of
depth. There aren’t enough battles to make this game the winner it so easily
could’ve been, nor is there enough variety within the battles that exist. But
it’s a great concept that will (hopefully) get better with time.
Multiplayer: 6.0
Extreme Battle is
a very time-consuming single-player shooter/strategy game, but its multiplayer
content isn’t overly exciting. The graphic-intensive battles would keep young
and old gamers alike busy for short intervals if it weren’t for the onslaught
of customizable features. Very few gamers will want to sit around for 20
minutes in order to tweak their mechs, then engage in a battle that is likely
to be over in two minutes.
Overall: 7.0
A beautiful
spectacle, a colossal challenge, and a lack of action and excitement. The
visuals captivate; the gameplay frustrates. As far as customization goes
Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle is at the top of its game. No other
title even comes close to providing the wealth of options that this game
offers.
On the
battlefield it lacks due to its strategic elements, which make winning and
losing all about what you do before combat begins. Strategy fans shall
be most enthused, but the typical PSP owner wants a quick, action-packed
experience they can pick up and play whenever they please. Though PlayStation
Portable holds your game in place when turned off, this is not the kind of
game you can leave and come back to without losing track of what you’ve been
doing.
