Armored Core Formula Front Hands-On Update
Agetec serves up some mech action on the PSP.
Though Armored Core Formula Front was released last December at the PSP's Japanese launch, it's been one of the few Japanese-released games to not be released in the US. While this is fine for the likes of the small clutch of mahjong games released at the same time during the hardware launch, Armored Core Formula Front is conspicuously absent here, creating a mech-action deficit on American PSPs. Fortunately, it appears that Agetec hasn't forgotten about the game and has actually been hard at work on it, making it better suited for the US.
For those who missed it, Armored Core Formula Front is a mech simulation game where you tune a mech with an extensive selection of customization parts and options. Then you watch it fight against other mechs using computer-controlled artificial intelligence that you can also customize. You'll essentially be playing as an owner of a team of five mechs, making them fight one-on-one matches against other mechs. Your objective is to win battles to become the highest-ranking contender in the grand prix featured in the game. You start off by playing in the lowest-ranking league, and it's up to you and your customization skills to climb up the charts. You'll be prompted to enter a name for your team when you play the game for the first time, and you can also create your own logo for your team through the emblem option, which gives you a set of basic graphical tools for you to draw on a 128x128 pixel area that you can save to your Memory Stick Duo.
Your five mechs have different colors and settings when you start the game, but you can customize them however you want. Each of the mech components you use will have its pros and cons, so you'll need to customize your mech with components that match or can counter the opponent you're about to go against. You'll find that you can deal with different opponents quickly by giving your squad different settings, such as making one that's agile and good against close-quarter combat, while making another that's totally the opposite by being heavy and packing all sorts of arms. That way you can just pick the mech best suited for the enemy type you'll face before a fight, making minor adjustments if you need to.
The basic gameflow of Formula Front is that you'll first customize your own mech, tune its AI, and then watch it fight against the opponent's mech. You customize your mech through the garage menu, which lets you select the various components you want to use on your mech, starting off with the minimal requirement of parts you need, which are its head, core, arms, legs, booster, fire control system (FCS), generator, and radiator. The game won't let you enter the battle if you're missing any of those fundamental parts, like if you try to make a mech that only consists of a leg, for instance. You have a full selection for each of your body parts from the moment you fire up the game, which is convenient, considering you don't need to unlock them as in other games. You can also change around the color of your mech through a paint menu by either picking a preset or by making your own set of palettes by toying around with the mech's RGB settings.
In general, parts that only have basic functions tend to be lighter in weight and require less energy to use, while parts that are more useful are usually heavier and require more energy. So if you try to make a mech that's loaded with the most useful parts and strongest firearms, you won't be able to move around at all, and you'll become a sitting duck. The game features a load of different weapons, such as grenade launchers, pulse rifles, laser cannons, spread guns, bazookas, machine guns, flame launchers, and, as in all mech games, a selection of blades. You can hold two weapons, one in your mech's right hand and one in its left. You've also got hanging units and weapons you can attach on the back of your mech, such as homing missiles, stealth missiles, and rail cannons. In addition, there's a selection of supplementary weapons you can equip, such as land mines and ECM (Electronic Counter Measure) devices that can interfere with your opponent's radar and lock-on capabilities.
Armored Core: Formula Front Quick Links
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- GameSpot Score7.5good
Check Prices: $11.25 – 20.99
| Amazon.com | $11.25 | SHOP › |
| eBay | $20.99 | SHOP › |
Content you might like…
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Armored Core: Formula Front Review
Simulation fans will enjoy Formula Front's extremely in-depth mech-customization system, but the steep learning curve and lack of any real action will probably turn off everyone else.
- Dec 16, 2005
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- Agetec Inc.
- From Software
- Mech Sim
- Release: Dec 15, 2005 »
- ESRB: Teen
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