Front Mission Evolved

 PC
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 60
  3. Negative: 24 out of 60
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  1. keeling2008
    Apr 29, 2013
    1
    Being a fan of Front Mission (turn base style) I wasn't really looking forward to the evolution of the series at all; mainly because giant mechs roaming big cities is hard to pull off immersion wise.

    With FME I was hoping to feel big and powerful. A weapon that answers the call when enemies attack. You do answer the call, but the big and powerful is never felt. Weapons feel under    Being a fan of Front Mission (turn base style) I wasn't really looking forward to the evolution of the series at all; mainly because giant mechs roaming big cities is hard to pull off immersion wise.

    With FME I was hoping to feel big and powerful. A weapon that answers the call when enemies attack. You do answer the call, but the big and powerful is never felt. Weapons feel under powered with a distinct lack of feed back and poorly animated models that don't show any real damage to enemy mechs. The melee combat is even worse! The game would have benefited from button mashing moments (yes it's a derived method) but it was needed here as there was no depth to melee at all. Rocket laucher take downs of helicopters was probably the nicest touch but that's all I can say on the combat side of things.

    Graphically it is underwhelming with no special effects added and on my PC with everything on MAX, it was hugely disappointing. The city wasn't varied enough graphically and it just felt like a corridor shooter. The city was designed to add a little bit of exploration but because every street looks the same with no landmarks for key areas you just follow the minimap throughout; meaning exploration for bonuses means you only really stumble across them if you take your eyes off the minimap for a second.

    The game could have redeemed itself a little with the story but it's a wash out. This uninspiring tripe belongs to the low budget scifi rubbish you see on the syfy channel. The dialog is familiar to the FM universe but still....

    The whole package is not only uninspiring but it has the hallmarks of a mod. From the tutorial at the start that lacked any kind of fluidity and was just segments of "this is how you do this" cut and paste into an intro was shouting "TACK ON" throughout it's it entirety! I purchased this game for £1.99 from the Square Enix sale and I still feel like it's money wasted. I actually had more fun on the Transformer games than this but I think it was source material rather than quality (as the Transformers games had none) to be fair.    … Expand
  2. Dashery
    Feb 21, 2011
    5
    Going into this game I didn't know much about the Front Mission series, only playing Front Mission 4 several years ago, and I haven't played a Square game since Final Fantasy IX, so I had a mixture of expectations. The expectations I had were quickly dashed. I was hoping for a giant robot war game that put me on the front lines of a battlefield with a complex story that early Square gamesGoing into this game I didn't know much about the Front Mission series, only playing Front Mission 4 several years ago, and I haven't played a Square game since Final Fantasy IX, so I had a mixture of expectations. The expectations I had were quickly dashed. I was hoping for a giant robot war game that put me on the front lines of a battlefield with a complex story that early Square games had (I say early because I don't know how they hold up today). The game doesn't deliver any of this. Level design is linear, with many moments of, "Follow the designated path," and, "Kill these several baddies," to move on. This would be moderately okay if your allies and enemies would stop telling you to do it. Before you even have a chance to realize the level started, someone will shout, "What are you doing!? Kill those [whatever] now!" and then proceed to repeat themselves every several seconds. And this happens every single mission.
    As for the story, it has a very strong anime vibe. And along with that, the voice acting isn't the greatest, and with not viable means to switch to the native Japanese, you'll sigh every time you hear the General talk. All-in-all, it's a forgettable story with forgettable characters.
    Gameplay, gameplay, gameplay... This was the biggest draws and drawbacks of the game. The controls are nice and tight, however, that's the extent. They make a big deal over targeting different body parts, yet it's ultimately ineffectual. As well, your own armor goes down obscenely fast, even during boss fights, they know this, laying respawning health packs around the battlefield. There just weren't any tactics to this. It's a simple hold down the button until the other guy dies. In multiplayer, there is some tactical value to be had, but I have found a lack of opponents dampening my want to play it. Though, a friend and I both bought the "Last Stand" DLC which in it's own right is good fun.
    Graphically, the robots look good, characters look good and environments look okay. But the game doesn't have the feel of "Giant robot!" In other giant robot games, destructible enviorments are there, no questions asked. This game everything is a solid block, you bullets don't even leave dents. When everything is said and done it comes down to this:
    Front Mission Evolved is a decent substitute to games like Armored Core, yet still has a long way to go before being a must have. I'd say only die hard AC fans should look into this game seriously until the price drops.    … Expand
  3. thethain
    Oct 12, 2010
    4
    The narrative and dialog is very familiar Front Mission. However the strategy and fun is gone. The customization leaves much to be desired for most of the game, almost every level after 4 or 5 have some sort of requirement, even if just "biped legs", the "secrets" such as emblems sensors or other goodies seem to encourage you to just walk around in levels after all danger (and fun?) isThe narrative and dialog is very familiar Front Mission. However the strategy and fun is gone. The customization leaves much to be desired for most of the game, almost every level after 4 or 5 have some sort of requirement, even if just "biped legs", the "secrets" such as emblems sensors or other goodies seem to encourage you to just walk around in levels after all danger (and fun?) is dealt with and just look for the bonus item that is behind you. Which can be time consuming with a mech that is very cumbersome once its "slide" is exhausted.

    Since you can only control yourself, customize, and rely on your self as the only unit on your side, fun combinations and strategy seem to be removed. Many missions have friendly mechs, but the likelihood of them doing anything other than sliding around and missing with pot shots is very low. And if they DO manage to defeat an enemy, you will just be disappointed that they got the kill credit so you didn't get money for it.

    The entire game is an obtusely obvious quick xbox port(even menus lack mouse support), which is forgivable until you get to multiplayer. In which you get to wait in long lines to be auto matched without any text communication with teammates, pre or mid game. The painful multiplayer also feeds the problem of lack of players in general.

    If you HAVE to play a new mech (wanzer) game, then pick this up, otherwise just pretend it doesn't exist.    … Expand
  4. Fiddy
    Sep 12, 2011
    4
    Oh Front Mission, why have you forsaken me? All the hours wasted playing FM3 and 4 with its tactics and unlockable skills and awesome weapons. Instead its Virtua On or Armored Core with a more in depth story. Graphics are impressive, but that doesnt save terrible stories or that every mission im required to use parts i dont want to use. The Wanzer creation screen is confusing andOh Front Mission, why have you forsaken me? All the hours wasted playing FM3 and 4 with its tactics and unlockable skills and awesome weapons. Instead its Virtua On or Armored Core with a more in depth story. Graphics are impressive, but that doesnt save terrible stories or that every mission im required to use parts i dont want to use. The Wanzer creation screen is confusing and somehow i wasted all my money by accidently clicking on something.

    Unfortunately Square Enix is getting the shotgun off the wall..."No ma, Front Mission is my dog."
    BLAM!    … Expand
  5. EmuChicken
    Feb 22, 2011
    2
    I really didn't want to give a bad score to a Front Mission game, but this one takes the biscuit...

    Bought from Steam (after a wonderful holiday of cheap deals!)- it states "multi language" on the shop page... fair enough, PAY done... woot ... Start the game, NO LANGUAGE OPTIONS... The language is automatically set to the country you live in .... in my case ; Japan, - thanks! . ...    I really didn't want to give a bad score to a Front Mission game, but this one takes the biscuit...

    Bought from Steam (after a wonderful holiday of cheap deals!)- it states "multi language" on the shop page... fair enough, PAY done... woot ... Start the game, NO LANGUAGE OPTIONS... The language is automatically set to the country you live in .... in my case ; Japan, - thanks! . ... bite the hand that feeds you why not!?

    From the intro, you could tell this was a "ruined by Hollywood" take on a Japanese game. All action, no tension. You know, Id prefer it to have the 2d faces speaking to than the crappy 3D acting. (the speech is in English, text in Japanese...)

    The game? Its "alright" to a sense it is VERY linear (go this way then that way then) - the game mechanics feel VERY old, especially in the time of open world sandbox simulation! - I mean, ... you're a huge mech for cyring out loud! Controls dont necessarily feel wrong - theyre mostly tried and tested from the normal shootemup genre. WASD and mouse... or a joypad. Its a shame that it doesnt take some cues from some mech simulation games.

    My rundown, this one is good if you've never played an FPS or mech game in your life... otherwise, look elsewhere!    … Expand
  6. Obviously
    Aug 30, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's not simulation enough to be an Armored Core or MechWarrior game and it's not third person shooter enough to be like one of the Cybertron series Transformers games. Sufficed to say, there are better places to get your mech action.

    It's not completely terrible, just very bland and unpolished. I can't deny that I had fun but I was never terribly excited. The boring story is partially lifted from the Super Famicom game, Front Mission Gunhazard, which is a far superior action mech game to this one.

    I had great hopes for this game, that it would be a fun mech sim/shooter in the Front Mission universe, however it's hard to ignore how rushed and mediocre everything is. Front Mission is known for its mech customization which is present here, but don't expect any Armored Core level of depth. For some people that may be a good thing since Armored Core can be very complicated but they take it too far in the other direction to the point where customization is practically needless.

    The sound is nothing special either with passable voice acting and practically no music which adds to the underwhelming feeling of most missions. Add to that the graphics which aren't necessarily terrible but almost look like something from the previous generation.

    To make matters worse they shoehorned in on-foot segments, perhaps also in homage to Gunhazard, and they're even more poorly designed than the mech segments which are at least occasionally fun for what they are. The story mode is incredibly short though, with only a few frustrating and poorly designed boss fights to slow you down. Expect to beat this in an evening.

    I would still recommend this game to fellow mecha nuts and fans of the Font Mission series with the caveat that they only pay a few dollars and that they go in with low expectations. There is still fun to be had for genre fans but everyone else should stay far away. It's a crime that the west was given this game and not the stellar Front Mission 5.    … Expand
  7. BorschtOfGlory
    Dec 10, 2011
    5
    If you're expecting this game to be a new MechWarrior so forget it. This game is to boring to be a mechwarrior, it's an anime style s**t with boring characters, boss fights and very boring and non user-friendly gameplay, enemies are spawning right behind the . I was playing on normal difficult first time and was wondering: "Why my wanzer is to hard to bit, and my enemies are destroyingIf you're expecting this game to be a new MechWarrior so forget it. This game is to boring to be a mechwarrior, it's an anime style s**t with boring characters, boss fights and very boring and non user-friendly gameplay, enemies are spawning right behind the . I was playing on normal difficult first time and was wondering: "Why my wanzer is to hard to bit, and my enemies are destroying with 3-4 rockets" then i've tried to play on hard difficulty - nothing changed.… Expand
  8. Gradius7
    Feb 16, 2011
    3
    Got the game on sale through steam and sadly it is not even worth it as a bargain title. The controls are clunky. The gameplay is bland. Customization is nearly irrelevant. The small amount of customzing you can do has little affect on the play. At every turn the GUI is a hindrance. The online community for this game is non-existent. The single player campaign will put you to sleep. All inGot the game on sale through steam and sadly it is not even worth it as a bargain title. The controls are clunky. The gameplay is bland. Customization is nearly irrelevant. The small amount of customzing you can do has little affect on the play. At every turn the GUI is a hindrance. The online community for this game is non-existent. The single player campaign will put you to sleep. All in all just a bad buy. I couldn't suggest this game if it was 5 bucks, much less 20 or more.… Expand
  9. Killiconn
    Feb 25, 2011
    0
    Thank god it was 75% off. Probably alright on console, as a PC game probably shouldn't have made it out of Beta...

    - Lags when it has to load enemies
    - Menus don't always work unless using keyboard.
    - Online for multiplayer, has like 5 people total in it...
  10. LuckyBugger
    Oct 1, 2010
    0
    I was really hoping that FME would be the next awesome game in the FM storyline but boy o boy was I disappointed. The Storyline did not live up to a square enix title. The game has graphics I would expect from 2-3 years ago. The gameplay is clunky...broken into each little engagement then a loading screen. Music is terrible, voice-overs medicore at best.

    List of annoyances: 1) No way to    I was really hoping that FME would be the next awesome game in the FM storyline but boy o boy was I disappointed. The Storyline did not live up to a square enix title. The game has graphics I would expect from 2-3 years ago. The gameplay is clunky...broken into each little engagement then a loading screen. Music is terrible, voice-overs medicore at best.

    List of annoyances:
    1) No way to quit the game from the hanger menu
    2) Some enemies are just retarded to fight. (look forward to 20-30 minute fights of constant movement to dodge incoming fire. The dodging is fine, I get that but the fact that i have to sit and beat on an enemy for 20 minutes to kill them when I die in about 20 seconds if i stand still is just retarded). Sure 1v1 boss fight I expect to have some difficulty, however I do not expect to be 1-shotted by a boss after 10 minutes of fighting.
    3) Controls are clunky. It is very hard to get a grasp of what your mech will do with the controls on your keyboard. All in All: I can't really find a positive note about this game which is why I am going to give it a 0.
    The game feels unpolished, and as if it was developed without a clue about the previous FME games.
    This is even a worse failure than Star Trek Online (although the 3rd person action was somewhat better). I would not pay $50/$60 for this game. Please do yourself a favour and wait until this one enters the under $20 category. No amount of patches or DLC will be able to fix this game. Double Helix has had a knack for ruining decent games and well this is just another failure on their record.
    My worst regret is that I bought it off of steam and wont get a refund....zzzz    … Expand
  11. Bulldozer
    Mar 26, 2012
    9
    Even if I'm a fan of the classics FM (turn based) I'm gonna giving this game a 9/10 'cuz it's fun and enough well made. Graphics are good, sound is not bad, controls are smooth and gameplay is fun, the story and characters are not the best out there, at least not fun and charmful as in FM3 but neither too bad.
  12. adoru
    Oct 4, 2010
    8
    Well, this is to counter the knee-jerk 0/10 score below. Dislike the game as you may, a zero? Really? You'd rate this in the same category as Big Rigs?

    The short version: the game is great fun. No, it's not a strategy game, but there have been plenty of non-strategy titles in the Front Mission series before. The mech action is solid, fast, and fun, music is great, and graphics are not all    Well, this is to counter the knee-jerk 0/10 score below. Dislike the game as you may, a zero? Really? You'd rate this in the same category as Big Rigs?

    The short version: the game is great fun. No, it's not a strategy game, but there have been plenty of non-strategy titles in the Front Mission series before. The mech action is solid, fast, and fun, music is great, and graphics are not all that bad. Protip: not every game has to have cutting edge graphics to look good!

    Yes, the plot and voice acting are silly and poorly written, and a huge disgrace compared to Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. Where FM5 was a mature, well-told tale that can stand against the best war movies, FME has a childish low-budget anime story (which one could argue has it's own perks as well). But seeing as the cutscenes are skippable and the core game is a lot of fun, I fail to see how this can score lower than a 6/10. Fun title and well worth it to this long-time FM fan.

    8/10 for me.    … Expand
  13. Antary
    Oct 15, 2010
    10
    For me game turned out fairly great. I and my friends were waiting for it for quite a period of time, knowing from the very beginning, that it would be YPS, but not tactical strategy. Why? Because that was said right away at start of FME's development, so it's very strange that people are crying about their dream's crushing.
    Multiplayer is VERY nice, one thing is not very good that player    For me game turned out fairly great. I and my friends were waiting for it for quite a period of time, knowing from the very beginning, that it would be YPS, but not tactical strategy. Why? Because that was said right away at start of FME's development, so it's very strange that people are crying about their dream's crushing.
    Multiplayer is VERY nice, one thing is not very good that player matching system is a little slow. Music and sounds are also at high level.
    So it's 9.0/10 for me.    … Expand
  14. Broyax
    Apr 26, 2020
    0
    Tiens, je croyais que les Front bidules, c'était surtout du tour par tour... eh bien avec cet "Evolved", la licence lorgne du côté des Armored Core ou autres Mechwarriors, ce qui a priori n'est pas forcément plus mal... encore que...?

    Encore que c'est ici très bas du front et rapidement limité : pan-pan boum-boum avec mon robot qui déglingue les autres vilains (robots) ça ne pisse pas    Tiens, je croyais que les Front bidules, c'était surtout du tour par tour... eh bien avec cet "Evolved", la licence lorgne du côté des Armored Core ou autres Mechwarriors, ce qui a priori n'est pas forcément plus mal... encore que...?

    Encore que c'est ici très bas du front et rapidement limité : pan-pan boum-boum avec mon robot qui déglingue les autres vilains (robots) ça ne pisse pas bien loin. On peut en tout cas jouer à la manette et les comandes sont correctement agencées, ce qui n'est pas le cas lors de la personnalisation de l'équipement et des armes :quel menu mal fichu ! Le jeu reste graphiquement moyen et artistiquement peu inspiré.

    On suit ici une campagne vaguement scénarisée... "vaguement", car ça pue la série Z et les cinématiques toutes nazes (en anglais non synchrone !) à deux balles. On dézingue donc et on s'ennuie certainement... puis on rencontre un premier "boss" et là, je sais pas comment il faut faire pour le buter, vu que lui tirer dessus, lui balancer les missiles et des mandales, ça lui fait rien du tout !

    Alors, faut faire quoi ? chanter un karaoké ? se déguiser en pikachu ? bon, peu importe, de toute façon... c'est de la merde !    … Expand
  15. QuatokyTonberry
    Jan 23, 2019
    5
    Gameplay: - Mediocre
    Story: - Bad
    Visual: - Normal
    Music and sound: - Mediocre
    Average time: - 7H
    Score: - 5 (Mediocre)
  16. 9r33n
    Mar 29, 2023
    3
    This game could be great with a better single player campaign, maybe some coop on it, npcs customizations ... but nothing. The story is boring, the bosses worse and there's no replay value. The multiplayer could also be great, but it is leveled, not newbie friendly, you end up playing with people you don't know and with a terrible ping, few maps, bad UI ...
  17. PancakePuppy
    Feb 28, 2016
    5
    I'm a big fan of the Front Mission turn-based strategy games starting at the SNES original (and its wonderful Nintendo DS re-release.)

    What Front Mission Evolved carries over from its strategy predecessors is Wanzer (robot) customization wherein you choose your legs, arms, torso, and weapons, as well as body part destruction, and some minor place names from the old titles are mentioned.    I'm a big fan of the Front Mission turn-based strategy games starting at the SNES original (and its wonderful Nintendo DS re-release.)

    What Front Mission Evolved carries over from its strategy predecessors is Wanzer (robot) customization wherein you choose your legs, arms, torso, and weapons, as well as body part destruction, and some minor place names from the old titles are mentioned.

    The story is depressingly simplistic and full of predictable tropes. The characters are 2-dimensional and uninspired, but there's lots of diversity in character race/color/creed (for whatever that's worth.)

    There are on-foot cover-based third person shooter levels which I am not a fan of at all, they feel cheap and tacked-in, like the developers played Kill Switch and wanted some of that for their game. The robot-on-robot combat feels acceptable. Playing on PC with a keyboard can seem less than desirable when you want to use both shoulder-mounted weapons (bound to Q and E by default) as well as strafe (typical WASD directional controls) simultaneously. Cut-scenes look ripped straight out of Freelancer with their half-realistic half-cartoonish character models.

    If you're a robot combat fan and can pick the game up for less than $5, I'd say go for it. Not really worth more than that.    … Expand
  18. MazrimTaim14
    Oct 7, 2019
    3
    Why? Just why?

    In a time where SRPGs are scarce they went in a direction that they somewhat go half ass in. Mechanics are not good compared to other mech games such as the AC series.

    Story is not good, gameplay also.

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
74
#74 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 13
  3. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. GamingExcellence
    Jan 13, 2011
    45
    In the end, Front Mission Evolved took the concept of third-person mech combat and took all the fun out of it. It is hard to not compare it to other games like it because the other ones got the core of it right. If Square Enix decides to take the series back to being a tactical RPG, I wouldn't blame them.
    Read full review
  2. Hardcore Gamer
    Jan 13, 2011
    65
    While Evolved may not be a game of the year contender and definitely has some faults, it is also probably the most fun I have had in a mech game since the original MechAssault on Xbox.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 13, 2011
    80
    Totally conventional, corridor straight mech-shooter surprises with many twists and monumental boss fights. Mech modularity adds a strategic touch to otherwise plain playability. [Issue#197]
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