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Rusty, creaky, and simply not fun.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: December 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The Armored Core series has had a rusty life the last few years. Despite a cult following, the mech customization video game has lost its touch time and time again. With the PSP version, Armored Core: Formula Front, this trend continues. Formula Front isn't as bad as the recent Ps2 outing, Nine Breaker, but arguably so. I wouldn't consider this an action game as much as I'd consider it a big game of chess, where the pawns and bishops are replaced with guns and different body parts of each robot.

In Armored Core: Formula Front, you are the engineer and leader of a team in the mech league known as the FFA. You customize and alter five of your very own mechs, each of which you try to differentiate in order to formulate strategic gameplans and strategies. Through winning matches, you progress through the FFA ranks and eventually become the top AC team. Throughout the experience, you'll be informed of all the latest FFA and team rules, you'll be challenged by beaten opponents, and more. This stuff kept me into the experience more than I expected.

Customizing your mechs is the name of the game here, and you could spend hours on each of your hulking robots. Each of the dozens and dozens of parts have different parameters that alter the performance of your AC. You can equip your mech with the strongest weaponry around, but those big guns will bog you down and overheat your mech faster than you'd ever believe. Of course, smaller guns make way for better agility and terrain movement as well as decreased energy use and better cooling. Equipping parts isn't the only thing you'll do. In fact, you'll tune those parts, replace them, set the AC's personal artificial intelligence, and more. It's all about your personal preferences, and of course the competition ahead. If you're about to go up against a defensively weak but speedy AC, you will want to plan accordingly and try to counter the AC with a speedy but powerful mech. If you're about to face a beefy pile of steel, you'll want to slow down the pace and have enough power to outlast your opponent, perhaps from long range. If you're into this kind of customization, you're going to absolutely love Formula Front. It's like a slower, virtual game of chess that involves robots and guns. If you don't, to put it bluntly, you're going to hate this game.

In the Japanese version of this game, you couldn't actually PLAY as your mechs--you could make them, coordinate their AI, and watch them fight. In the American version, you can actually control your ACs on the battlefield but the controls are so broken and the computer AI is so good that playing the game is a worthless effort. I eventually gave up and decided to watch the mechs fight instead. Fortunately the graphics are very attractive, and the mech action is fast-paced and exciting to watch. After playing a few matches I decided to stick to watching my mechs after tuning the AI, and I had a much better time. I'm very upset, though, that it's not as fun to play Formula Front.

As I said, the visuals are top-notch. This is a very attractive PSP game. You'll scope out individual parts and intricate details on your mechs. Explosion effects and particles look fantastic. Overall Formula Front looks like a second- or third-year Playstation 2 game. The music isn't bad, either--and when paired with the explosive sound effects, realistic warning sounds, and gunfire, this title is a nicely-presented game. Of course, it doesn't have an excuse to be anything otherwise. If a game's actual gameplay is indended to be observed rather than played, the game in mind should look and sound fantastic. This is Forumla Front's saving grace, and if you're one of the people I said would love the game earlier, these factors will only improve the experience to you.

I regret to report the rest of the PSP crowd that Armored Core: Formula Front isn't the action game you're looking for. Armored Core fans might enjoy it for its customization and impressive superficial qualities, but almost anyone else will immediately regret a purchase because there isn't much gameplay involved. From Software, I know you're capable of making an Armored Core that is more fun to play than watch. Please do it next time.

(NOTE: This review also appeared on another website that I write for on a regular basis.)

Almost what I expected

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I picked up this game a few days ago on the hope that the AI customization would allow for direct programming of the AI routines. For example: jump/fly forward 15 feet, scan, if enemy found: shoot, etc. Similar to Origin's Omega circa 1987.
Actually, such AI programming is more suited to 2D enviroments than 3D, so I am not disappointed. What you get instead is a small set of routines you get to unlock, and a bunch of combat style variables. The selling point for others, I suppose, is the ability to use 300 or so components to construct your uber-AC and combat other such constructs either manually (with the US edition) or in simulation. I have learned that the game is seriously unballanced in this respect. There is the possibility to construct an AC which is so stupidly powerful, that anyone who has less than a modicum of an idea what they are doing (such as myself) will simply be obliterated within 15 seconds. The challenge then becomes, ignoring the point of numerous failures, what exactly is his weakness? Well, he's slow and heats up fast. You can't get him by direct attacking. Too tough. You can't get him by flying about, he'll just shoot you down. And if you try long distance sniping, the arena is too small, he just has to get into range. So all I can think of is to try to stay out of his vision, and wait until he breaks down from overheating after 2/3 of the match is over. This game requires some difficult planning. I think the game should have allowed for some form of direct AI programming in order to deal with this issue and to the circumvent the need to find the right tactical combination of routines through tedious trial and error. But I did buy the game expecting this.

For the AC vets

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 16
Date: December 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you're looking at this game, odds are you've played an Armored Core game before. If that is the case then you're in for more of the same, only now you can take it with you.

One thing to keep in mind is that the description of the game is inaccurate. They haven't updated it from the description of the original Japanese version. The original Jap version of the game does not let you control your mech, but in making the game for US audiences they realized that this wouldn't fly, so they changed the gameplay so it's just like the classic AC games, where you control your Core.

Overall, if you like big robots and want to create your own, this is your game.

Armored Core rules!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 26
Date: January 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Best game for PSP ever

have some patience and watch some robot gladiators duke it out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I can see why this game is clearly not going to please everyone, it requires a GREAT deal of thought, patience, and tinkering, balancing out several different components, such as weight, energy consumption, and AI as you prepare your AC for its next duel. The time it takes to customize, tweak, test, and retest your AC far outweighs the few thrilling minutes that you actually watch it fight in a tournament. However, once you beat an opponent from the league you can have a free fight with them anytime at all. Also, if you do lose in a tournament battle, you can immediately try for a rematch or do some more tweaking first. If you have a friend with a PSP and a copy of the game, you can fight a duel with him too.

The weapons and tools used to create the ultimate AC fighting machine are very interesting. All in all, if this game sounds like fun, it sure is, but only if you are willing to spend a great deal of time concentrating on tinkering and tuning the parts as well as watching the results. Graphics of the mechs and their weapons in action are stunning, battlefields are interesting, most mech opponents present a real challenge to defeat, and the best part is this game costs under 15 dollars if you look around.

I would estimate this game would not be suitable for a someone under the age of 13, as all of the concepts of putting together a mech may be a bit overwhelming for a young child, and again, this game is not for everyone, it takes a lot of concentration and patience, working on a mech, part by part.

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