Armored Core Formula Front

[Cacophanus]

First off, if you can't read Japanese then WAIT for the English release. Even if you are an Armored Core veteran, you will need to understand written Japanese in order handle all the AI tweakage (read: the bulk of the game).

Despite the horrendous language barrier, it's still very very good though. You create AI controlled AC's to fight in an Arena to work yourself up in the league. You have a team of AC's which all use the same garage of parts (so no duplicate parts basically).

All the parts from Ninebreaker (plus a few new ones) are available from the start. If you have played Nexus or Ninebreaker you will have a headstart on knowing how to setup a decent AC, but it's by no means necessary.

The big thing about Formula Front is the AI setup. Your AC's head is customised to have a "character" and has a certain number of attribute points which you can assign accordingly. You then have time sensitive programs that the AC can use.

The important thing to realise is that once a match is running you cannot modify anything. You just sit and watch.

If you are an AC fan then this may be something a tad strange to experience, but it's still a lot of fun to build an AC, tweak its AI and set it off against another opponent. The camera views are cool too.

All in all, a lot of game here but not for the linguistically faint of heart (which is obviously unfortunate).

[Cacophanus]

Some may find the following helpful:



As for all the AI chips, that's a work in progress.

[MonkeyWrench]

Cheers for that. Played it briefly a few days ago, but I've been so consumed by RR and Lumines I've not been back to it since. Looked like a good game, and it's a nice slant on the AC formula, but damn From Software not creating a traditional AC game!

[Cacophanus]

Cheers for that. Played it briefly a few days ago, but I've been so consumed by RR and Lumines I've not been back to it since. Looked like a good game, and it's a nice slant on the AC formula, but damn From Software not creating a traditional AC game!

Half of it is traditional AC magic, the other half is suitably fresh and engaging though (which is always good). Great game, but the language barrier is a definite problem.

[Zed]

Caco mate - are you talking about the PSP or PS2 version? Or are they identical enough to not matter. Just the PSP has an English language option, and i wondered if this converted/enabled Roman chars rather than Kanji?

Otherwise i'll await the yank PSP release i guess, or the PAL one if (HA!) it comes out first.

[Cacophanus]

Caco mate - are you talking about the PSP or PS2 version? Or are they identical enough to not matter. Just the PSP has an English language option, and i wondered if this converted/enabled Roman chars rather than Kanji?

The PS2 version isn't out yet and the English language option on the PSP doesn't miraculously translate Formula Front into English (if only it could!). Moreover, the PSP and PS2 versions are different in terms of content apparently but you can connect the two together.

Otherwise i'll await the yank PSP release i guess, or the PAL one if (HA!) it comes out first.

Probably a good idea, the Japanese release is pretty language intensive.

[Cacophanus]

Well, I have finished Formula Front and I am quite impressed with it. The AI works well within the context of what it is setup to do and the parts list is as balanced as Ninebreaker (unsurprising that it uses the same parts).

It's a bit short though, only two leagues have to be beaten to reach completion (though a third is planned to be exclusive for the PlayStation 2 release, warranting its purchase and the connectability between the two versions).

I am also really looking forward to getting some wireless versus done on this (what an Armored Core game is meant for really) and unlocking the remainder of the AI chips.

[Cacophanus]

Here is the boxart for the PS2 version (looks lurvely):