Front Mission Alternative (PlayStation)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.8 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Greg Kasavin
• Reviewed on: 07/14/1998
• Updated on: 04/28/2000
• Released on: 12/18/1997
• Originally published on GameSpot: Front Mission Alternative (PlayStation) Review

If you know what Squaresoft's Front Mission series is all about, you'll have a good chance at guessing just what kind of game Front Mission Alternative turned out to be. Front Mission, which originated back in the Famicom days, is a tactical turn-based strategy series set in the near future where war is waged in giant bipedal robots. But this latest installment takes the theme and premise of the series and applies it to a simpler, more cinematic framework. The result is visually and sonically stunning but may leave the hard-core strategist feeling shortchanged.

Good thing Front Mission Alternative looks so good, since you'll be watching it more than playing it. The WAWs (or giant robots, short for Wandrung Wagen) under your command travel in platoons of three, and they look immense in stature as they lumber across the battlefield in close formation. The scenery in the game is equally attractive: The sun occasionally peeks through the dense canopy of trees as tropical birds flutter about in lush African jungles. You can almost feel the sweltering heat in the desert combat zones. And you'll certainly crack a smile when your WAWs trample parked cars in the big city. A sweeping, cinematic camera angle keeps things interesting and will pan around and focus on where the action is. There's even a tasteful lens focus effect, where background objects appear slightly blurred to emphasize what's happening in front. The camera will occasionally follow your WAW's missiles to their targets, jump to the enemy's point of view, and more. You can override the camera with the control pad, or lock it in position behind your platoon, or even switch to a keen first-person view - complete with garbled scrolling status reports for that hi-tech cockpit ambiance. All the while Front Mission Alternative's frame rate, even with close to a dozen 3D objects moving onscreen, remains consistently smooth. And with little or no polygonal clipping to be found, not only does Front Mission Alternative look good, but it looks authentic.

Its sound effects stand up to its top-notch graphics perfectly. Each massive WAW footstep is accented by a resounding and satisfying thud. The hollow pop-popping of open-air automatic gunfire, the distant screams of soldiers, loud explosions, and realistic ambient sound effects all make Front Mission Alternative sound alarmingly real. Those audio effects are somewhat hampered by Front Mission Alternative's so-called alternative soundtrack, which is basically a bunch of dizzying techno that doesn't suit the onscreen grandeur.

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