Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle - Sony PSP

Armored Core: Formula Front. I was honestly surprised when I started playing this. Despite being a handheld entry to the venerable series, the quality of the game is equal if not better to it's console brethren.Graphics:The graphics are about on par with the PS2's Armored Core 2. The resolution and texture for the landscape, buildings, etc., are very low-key and bland. However, the mecha themselves are very highly detailed, and the gunfire, lasers, missiles, and explosions are very enjoyable. The frame-rate is very high also.Controls:The controls about as good as the PSP's control scheme allows for, which has always been a bit deficient due to the lack of a second thumbstick. There are two modes of control: Manual and AI. Manual uses a very standard Armored Core control scheme that can be customized. AI mode is where the Computer controls the mech, and the PSP controls make for a very good cinematic camera scheme. More on AI mode later.Gameplay:This game shines in two areas.The first is the level of sheer parts customization. There are hundreds of parts, for every single part of the mecha's body. There are also many weapons, and performance enhancing add-ons. Many parts can also be "tuned", reducing weight, adding more armor, or draining less energy.It's also worth noting that there is no money system for purchasing parts. Every single part is unlocked at the beginning of the game, and ammo and repairs are free. This means you don't have to wait and save up to build that heavily-armed superweapon of a robot.The AI is what really sells this game. The artificial intelligence of each of Mecha can be programmed down to a very minute level. You can program it to stay at long range or short, how aggressive or defensive it should be, how much to jump around or dash, and how often to switch it's weapons. You can also allocate a set number of point to improve it's mobility, target acquisition, terrain navigation, weapons handling, energy consumption, etc.Lastly, you can install "performance chips", which tell it what do at specific points in the battle. For example: I may create a close-range mech with long-range missile launchers, as well as a short-range laser blade and shotgun. I can install a chip ordering my mech to focus on using missiles in the first 30 seconds, decimating the enemy before moving into closer for the other weapons.All in all, this is a great game, and I highly recommend it to Armored Core fans.

I loved mech/robot games. I really liked this one since you can modify your AC as you pleased but always taking into account weight, energy supply and heating. In this game you have a team of 5 mechs and you can use any of them to fight your battles. You can change the color of the pain as you please as well which I loved. There are also drones that you can use as weapons that fly around and chase your enemy (this was really cool). There is a variety of things here. You can make heavy armored AC'S who are slow but powerful or lightweight ones who tend to evade well but lack power. I tend to move more towards power since if you fight against one with no good defense specs you need only a couple of shots and he's gone. The different settings of the game are cool since there is a good number of them and they will affect how you assemble your AC. BTW the graphics on this game are REALLY GOOD. The only thing I wish it had was a story and that it was longer. There are only 2 leagues and after you finish them you only keep fighting the same opponents. They do modify their AC'S but there is no sense of achievement anymore. I know AC games tend to not have a story but i thought it would be great for this one since you get feedback from the other teams from the game from time to time and it felt like it had the potential to be used for a story. Even then, this is a great game! it was worth playing and the money that it cost.

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.

This game is fun, but it has some serious flaws. Firstly, the single stick of the PSP means you can't do any targeting yourself, so if you're used to, say, Last Raven it'll jack you up. There's also the lack of much story; you are essentially a programmer/engineer building a fighting robot for the sake of fighting other robots for money and amusement. Without the introspection, carnage, and labyrinthine network of betrayals and aliances, is it really an AC game at all? Next, the mission's are less missions and more just boss battles. This game is essentially the AC3 engine being made into a portable fighting game rather than a real AC entry.That said, this game is still fun. Due to not being limited by human reflexes and such things, you can use the AI mode to pull off some impressive stuff that would be impossible in other AC games, and being able to configure the AI on your mechs as you wish lets you make your own custom battles perfectly tailored to your weaknesses or strengths.Really, it's a portable version of AC. That's all there is to it.