As the release date for Front Mission Evolved looms ever closer, the marketing campaign is going into overdrive. From appearances of the game at GamesCom to a somewhat spurious “interactive trailer” (linked below). We’re still a bit sceptical about the game, as the wanzers appear a tad twitchy. In any case, we’ll know for sure when it’s released at the end of September.

Watch Interactive Trailer »

4Gamer have again got a nice new selection of screenshots for the upcoming Front Mission Evolved. It’s clear that the PR campaign is in its last desperate throes, as the game is released in September. From more angry characters, minus gratuitous bewbs, and surprisingly large mecha (though somewhat meagre when compared to Armored Core For Answer’s Arms Forts) there’s definitely lots of interesting and shiny content to peruse though.

4Gamer has a nice new batch of HD screenshots for the upcoming Front Mission Evolved. Overall, the game is still looking nice and the September 28th release date seems to be still on track. The update also covers the game system setup a bit as well, though with nothing really new to report since we last talked about it. As the awful acronym for the game’s bullet time (as in “E.D.G.E.” or the more idiotic “Emergency Defense Galvanosynaptic Enhancer”) is still receiving large amounts of PR spooge. Though it seems that Square Enix will be doing something right in terms of releasing toys for the game, for that we happily tip our cyborg top hats in their direction.

SiliconEra has an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, producer of Front Mission Evolved, teasing some sort of cross-promotion with Hideo Kojima and his PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

This cross-promotion seems to be in addition to an already announced cross-promotion between the two games, where items unlocked in Peace Walker will be available in Front Mission Evolved, and/or vice versa. Considering the very different nature of the two games’ mecha, I’m wondering how this will actually work; if it’s robot-to-robot part swapping it could look awkward, albeit possibly interesting. The mecha in Peace Walker are heavy tank-like walkers and reworked versions of Metal Gear Solid 3′s Shagohod, while Front Mission Evolved’s mecha conform more to the Real Robot standard of quick-moving humanoid weapons, equipped with thrusters and ground rollers.

I wouldn’t mind the big secret being a face-off against the venerable Metal Gear REX from the original Metal Gear Solid. I’ve been waiting years to go mano-a-mano (well, mecha-to-mecha) against that monster without support from an insane cyborg ninja. Getting help from an insane cyborg ninja always felt like cheating.

Game Watch has a nice breakdown on the upcoming Front Mission Evolved that shows, amongst many things, the backpacks that the wanzers can equip. From anti-missile hardware to, the more interesting, hover/flight backpack. Interesting in the sense that wanzers have historically been ground specific mecha, much like the AT’s in VOTOMS in fact as they too have “rollers” in their feet. Admittedly, some of the Front Mission games have allowed the wanzers to jump and hover but this was relatively rare in the series as a whole. There’s no reason why it can’t work though and the backpack element means it’s by no means a permanent fixture either. The update also shows some of the antagonist characters, with emphasis on bewbs no less. The Dylan mercenaries sport wanzers with skulls for heads, just so that gamers get that they are the “baddies” (way to go on the narrative subtlety there). In any case there are lots of nice screenshots to look at and, for all our worries about the game, it is looking nice.

Gametrailers recently uploaded an interesting dev diary for the upcoming Front Mission Evolved, as it covers a lot of ground on how the new game is handling the classic wanzers. From customisation to the three available leg types the game will offer, it’s all pretty standard Front Mission fare. However, one comment especially from Michael Willette (the game’s lead producer) concerns us. Specifically, around the 4:50 mark he talks about the responsive controls being something no-other mecha game has yet offered. From the various reports from E3, as well as before that, it’s clear that the jury’s still very much out on that statement. In addition, that kind of comment is a pretty bold claim considering the scope of mecha gaming. After all, games like Armored Core For Answer have the player travel in excess of 2,000 km/h just in normal gameplay. I’m not sure how much more responsive you can get from that without your eyeballs/hands melting. In any case bold comments infused with testicular fortitude aside, we’re still curious to check the game out come its September release.

Watch Video »

Over at Gametrailers they’ve managed to capture some surprisingly steady hand camera footage for a multiplayer game in Front Mission Evolved. Much like the older videos, it seems the mecha handling still has no real discernible weight. As such there’s no penalty with momentum between dashes, which makes the movement look very jerky. On the one hand the reasoning behind this choice is pretty obvious; as it means more gamers will have an easier time with the mecha handling learning curve but the downside to all this is that the mecha control will plateau very quickly in terms of player skill (something not entirely ideal for a game with online multiplayer). Naturally, we’ll reserve judgment on our review come September but these videos do continue to fill our robotic hearts with a palpable sense of foreboding.

Watch Video »

Over at Game Watch it seems that the Japanese release date for Front Mission Evolved has been confirmed as the 16th September. Interestingly, the article also talks of a release on Steam. The US release, confirmed in the trailer below, is two days before the Japanese one; on the 14th September. Naturally, upon release, we’ll be reviewing the game – so keep an eye out for that.

Watch Video »

Those indomitable people over at FrontMission.info are in the process of finally translating one of the most interesting entries into the Front Mission saga. Specifically, the far more RTS focused Front Mission Alternative. Unlike most other Front Mission games, Alternative didn’t use the fixed turn based approach to strategy, instead it opted for a real time command system using a form of waypoints. In terms of development Alternative was actually meant as a means for Square Enix to recoup the very large development costs for Front Mission 2 at the time, as it shared much of its core technology. As a consequence, the game was released less than three months after Front Mission 2 (a game that the above translation team are also studiously working upon). In any case, it will be wonderful to think that more people will be able to appreciate Front Mission Alternative in the not too far off future, especially with the far more action focused Front Mission Evolved around the corner. The team have also been kind enough to put together a trailer for their upcoming release, which we’ve linked below.

Watch Video »

Over at Gpara there’s some new coverage for Front Mission Evolved and what’s interesting about this little nugget of PR, is that it focuses a lot more on the characters of the game. What’s most striking to me is that the characters themselves look a lot more anime inspired than I was expecting (especially from a Western studio). Considering that the original Front Mission’s characters were penned by Yoshitaka Amano, you’d expect a nod to this kind of artistic heritage but seeing it nonetheless warms the cockles of our merciless robot heart. Naturally, the update over at Gpara also goes into lots of nice nerdy detail on the garage as well as displaying more pictures of the wanzers in action. Still no word on an actual release date though.

Update: Here’s also a fascinating insight into the mecha design behind Front Mission Evolved, as its primary designer Skan Srisuwan at Imaginary Friends is penning the new wanzers. What’s reassuring, despite the man’s obvious talent, is that he’s quite open about his influences. Such as Hajime Katoki for one and not to mention the Yutaka Izubuchi designed Hygogg kit on his disk, all of which clearly shows in terms of the game’s overall aesthetic for the mecha. Thanks to LegaiaRules for the heads up.