Reviews:

• Front Mission 3 (Playstation)
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica (Sega Dreamcast)
• Star Wars: Force Commander (PC)

Front Mission 3
Sony Playstation (Squaresoft)
$39.99

With the release of the Sega Dreamcast, and the coming onslaught from the imminent Playstation 2, Nintendo's Dolphin, and Microsoft's enigmatic X-Box, its easy to forget about the original Playstation. Sony's Playstation hammered the nail into the coffin of the Sega Saturn, but that was five years ago, and in the intervening time, its once-lauded graphics capabilities have fallen to the wayside.

Still, good video game experiences rely more on great gameplay than they do on great graphics, and nobody knows that better than Japan's Squaresoft. Since the release of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, Square has singlehandedly revived the console RPG's, a gaming genre that had been thought to have gone the way of the dodo. Bringing us game lengths that stretched into the triple digits, and game plots that read out of Shakespeare (both in their drama and complexity), Square has hit the mark with every one of the half-dozen or so RPG's released on the Playstation in the last 3 years, and their newest release, Front Mission 3, is no exception.

Unlike any of the Final Fantasy series, Front Mission 3 is rooted in the real world. The game takes place in the year 2112. A long, ongoing conflict between Asia and the unified continents of North and South America is in the midst of a lull. Players take on the role of Kazuki Takemura, a test pilot for Kirisawa Industries, manufacturers of, guess what...Giant Robots! (This is, after all, a Japanese sci-fi game...) While delivering two such robots (dubbed 'Wanzers', which I suppose is a contraction of 'walking panzer') to a military base, a strange explosion catapults both Kazuki and his n'er-do-well friend Ryogo into a world of military intrigue straight out of a Tom Clancy novel. To say much more would ruin the plot, suffice to say that things go quickly from the frying pan into the fire.

At the heart of Front Mission 3 is the battle system. Unlike Final Fantasy's 'Active Time Battles' (a fancy term for pseudo real-time combat), Front Mission 3 is a straight out tactical wargame, much like Final Fantasy Tactics. Each turn, the player is given a set amount of AP (Action Points) to spend on all their actions for that turn, including moving, attacking, and using items. Once the player has moved all his units, the CPU takes its turn, and so on until one side or the other is defeated. All in all its pretty standard stuff. However, this being a Square game, Front Mission 3 is far more complex than it initially seems.

You begin the game with a stock wanzer, but as the game ramps up, you begin to acquire 'ace points' which allow you to purchase special abilities that you can apply to various aspects of your wanzer. You apply these abilities by customizing your wanzers at your HQ, effectively programming them into your robots. You have a limited amount of 'slots' to place yoyr skills, however, so you must choose your skills carefully. The skills effects are varied; for instance, beat enough wanzers into scrap metal with your wanzer fists and you'll acquire the 'Double Punch' special attack, which allows you to hit the enemy twice in one round with your fists, doing tremendous damage. Other skills allow you to target specific body parts (even the pilot!), increase your rate of fire, make multiple attacks in a round, etc. The catch is that you have no control over when the skills take effect; they manifest themselves at random intervals. However, you can increase the rate at which they appear by 'doubling up' on the skill, basically dedicating more than one slot for the same skill.

In addition to the skill system, players can also pick up parts of downed enemy wanzers and use them to customize their own robots. Not unlike Armored Core, customization of your robotic units is a large part of the game. Players will spend many hours tweaking their robots to squeeze out every last drop of combat effectiveness.

The game's depth is not limited to the combat. Inbetween combat missions, there are CGI sequences to move the plot along and interactive narratives that take the form of 'down time' at your HQ (wherever that is...it shifts quite a bit during the game). While at HQ, you can save and load your game, talk to other characters, move to different locations, and coolest of all, check your e-mail and surf the internet (circa 2112, of course). Its this last option that is the most indicative of the care that Squaresoft has put into making Front Mission 3 an immersive experience. In addition to checking your e-mail, Front Mission 3 allows you to travel a pseudo-3d futuristic 'Internet' and check out the web of the future. Featuring an ungodly large information database, each 'website' you come across on your 'browser' is fully functional, allowing you to browse news, check out travel information, learn about the political scope of the world of 2112, brush up on history, download wallpaper for your browser (for real!), and so on. When I first booted up the browser, I spent 3 hours simply cruising the web learning about the history of the game world. Needless to say, a lot of reading is required, and for those who just want to kill stuff, this whole aspect can be skipped, but you'd be missing out on what is a truly remarkable achievement for a console game. Trust me...load it up and spend a little time here. You'll be amazed as to the depth of the information contained here. When I came across an article about a bizarre chupacabra like creature and was offered the choice to download its 'photo' for use as wallpaper on my 'desktop' I was blown away. This is more detail than most PC games go into.

Of course, this wouldn't be a Square game without envelope-pushing graphics, and Front Mission 3's got that in spades. To start with, the CGI sequences in FM3 are some of the best I've ever seen...better, even, than 90% of PC games I've seen. Photorealistic doesn't even begin to describe it. The pixellated artifacting seen on many Playstation CGI sequences is almost entirely absent. I am amazed at the quality of the CGI in Front Mission 3. It has to be seen to be believed.

The in-game graphics are just as spectacular. For a five-year-old console, the Playstation is doing quite nicely. The polygonal models of the Wanzers are exquisite, being some of the best 3d renderings of giant robots ever to grace the Playstation. Although they look a little bizarre when moving about the tactical map, whenever you execute an attack, the action zooms in to show the robots blazing away with miniguns, shotguns, missles, or whatever. Damage is displayed in showers of sparks and smoke as multiple rounds impact the wanzers metal bodies, and the explosion effects are quite cool too, although not quite up to the elaborate 'summoning' spells of the Final Fantasy series. While we're discussing combat, I feel the need to describe another of Front Mission 3's nice options. If, during combat you find yourself in a perilous position, you have the option of ejecting from the cockpit of your wanzer. Ho-hum, you say. Well, get this. If, by chance, there is an unoccupied vehicle on the map, say, a helicopter, tank or other wanzer, you can then run to the other vehicle, board it, and pilot it! Cool! Not even the mighty Mechwarrior 3 allowed you to do that!

All this is not to say that FM3 is without its faults. For all its complexity, some things that happen during this game will have you scratching your head. For instance, if one of your wanzers bites the dust during a battle, they will mysteriously re-appear (intact, no less) right afterwards. This REALLY takes the sting out of losing a wanzer, and some of the tension of combat, as well. Since you can never really lose a wanzer, there's no real risk to the combat. Also, for better or worse, this is a Squaresoft game. What that means, in a nutshell, is that you are locked into a fairly rigid plot filled with unintentionally hilarious dialogue. While some may feel that this is a really bad thing, I kind of believe that this is part of the charm of Squaresoft. One of the most memorable bits of the game involves battling methane-powered wanzers shaped like John Deere tractors at a family farm in Indonesia. You have to be the kind of person that sees the humor in that to understand what I mean. Another typical Square flaw that rears its ugly head is the two main protagonists, Kanzaki and Ryogo. What is it with Square? Kanzaki is an insufferable prick and Ryogo is a 'ladies man' who looks like one of the effeminate teens from Hanson! When will Square come up with main characters that don't make you hate them within 5 minutes of the game's beginning? Maybe it's a Japanese thing. I don't know...

Still, with two seperate plot paths (including two seperate characters, depending on who you choose to play), over 150 hours of gameplay (as opposed to the 15 hours I got with Fear Effect and Resident Evil 2...), superb graphics, and Square's usual fantastic drama and depth, Front Mission 3 is a very strong candidate for Game of the Year.

Rating: 8 (out of 10)

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Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Sega Dreamcast(Capcom)
$49.99

(Review by Scott Baker)

Turn the lights off, this masterpiece dares you.

This is it. This is the Resident Evil you have been waiting for.

I don't know about you, but I was a bit disappointed with Resident Evil 2. While still a great game, it seemed a bit constrained for being in the city. And it seemed a bit short to me (Man, a bit short? I finished that piece of doo in one night...ONE NIGHT! And as for the 'extra play value' of 2 CD's, I finished disc 2 the next day...sheesh... -ed.). But, the storyline was great and really carried me throughout. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis should have been called Resident 1.5, as it took place hours before RE2. It just seemed like a waste of time to me.

But, now, we are back. This game scared the hell out of me. There are so many great moments in this game, if you own a Dreamcast; you have to own this game. The eeriness from the first game is back with RE: Code Veronica. Maybe it was just me, but a police station just didn't creep me out. This game has grungy prisons, another creepy mansion, and a gothic castle! And that's just the tip of the iceberg. RE: Code Veronica really has perfected this genre.

Graphics first. This sounds like broken record, but the graphics are the best ever seen on a home console. The lighting effects are nothing short of phenomenal. When lightning strikes outside, your face and body are highlighted perfectly. The Zombies seem to have more personality now, since the Dreamcast can handle more polygons. Claire's reaction to her environment is amazing, too. She looks around as she walks, raises eyebrows, gasps in fear. Perfect. Each area is like an artistic masterpiece. The backgrounds are no longer pre-rendered, but good ol' polygons, much like Dino Crisis for the PSX. The game is on 2 discs, and each is as big as the other. It makes for a smoother, more immersive game environment. The cut scenes flow in and out of the game play, and the only way you know is that you lose momentary control and the screen goes letterbox. And, to my surprise the voice acting is GREAT! Well, great as far as RE is concerned. It makes for a much more compelling storyline. And not to give anything away, but THE LOCK PICK IS BACK!!!!!!! And since, you, are the master of lock picking you know the rest.

The sound is almost its own character in the game. The soundtrack is perfect once again. I can't hear a piano now without getting chills. The ambient sound effects range from the pitter-patter of rain to the far off groan of a zombie.

RE: Code Veronica has the same interface as the previous games. And, it's still not perfect. It's a bit clumsy, and it's a bit hard to organize things, but fans of the series should have no trouble. The control has always been questionable in the series, and it's either you love it, or you hate it. It is still VERY hard to run in a straight line, and sometimes it is impossible to dodge an enemy. And since ammo conservation is an important part of the game strategy, you will end up getting bit more often than not trying to run past enemies. Capcom is guilty of also TOTALLY ignoring the analog control. Pressing hard or soft results in no change of speed. I actually recommend using the D- Pad, as you get more precise control.

However, I am just being picky, as the genius of the game MORE than makes up for these minor annoyances. Resident Evil: Code Veronica is the perfect game. This game is the pinnacle of the series so far. Capcom has hit another home run, and this is one scary baseball game.

RATING: 10 (out of 10)

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Star Wars: Force Commander
PC(Lucasarts)
$39.99

(Review by Scott Baker)

IF THIS IS A RTS GAME, WHERE IS THE FUN OF A RTS?? COMMANDER, TEAR THIS GAME APART UNTIL YOU FIND THE GAME, AND BRING ME THE DESIGNERS, I WANT THEM ALIVE!!!

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It used to be you couldn't find a bad Lucasarts game. Now they are like abad penny. What has happened to my Star Wars games?? I have been looking forward to this game for 3 friggin years!!!!!! It was supposed to be out last year, but then they said they were going to scrap the 2D interface (a'la C&C) and go completely 3D. This brilliant move DESTROYED the game.

Force Commander is Lucasarts second foray into RTS. The first being the anal slurp that was Rebellion. Now, that was crap. When I heard that they were doing this game, I got all excited. Can you imagine a RTS with AT -AT and Stormtroopers at your command?? Yes! Can you imagine being able to pick the Empire or the Alliance? Yes!! Did it happen?? NO!!!

First off, the graphics. They suck, no getting around it. They suck ass, in a big way. They are choppy, blurry, and look uninspired. They polygon models look great as long as you are viewing a vehicle, but the troops and creatures look like they are Lego people. You can zoom out the camera and they look OK, but as I will discuss in a moment, that's only if you want to lose and get frustrated. Plus, because of said graphics, this game is a system hog. It requires 454 MEGS (that's right, MEGS) of hard drive space. I am running it on a P333, with 128MB of RAM. It is still a clunker. Once again, Lucasarts has designed the game with a Cray in mind!

Now, the interface of the game. Remember how easy C&C was to learn, and then you had to master it?? No such luck here. Because it is a 3D environment, you have to learn camera controls to effectively control your troops. I am not talking about 9 or 10 commands here, but a whole SLEW of 'em!! Like 2 pages worth. It makes for a very frustrating game experience. You loose track of troops off screen, your camera gets stuck behind rocks, it's pathetic. It's too easy to move the camera in the battle view with your mouse, the screen files uncontrollably away from the action. The control interface also takes up a good portion of your screen. You can turn it off, and go with the key commands, but I believe that might require a Microsoft certification.

Also the balance of the game is off. You know and I know that 9 out of 10 times, the Empire would kick the rebellion's ass, so that wouldn't make for a fun game. So, I understand that they had to "dumb" down the Empire's forces. But when it takes an AT-ST 3 or 4 shots to take out a rebel soldier (you know, the guys that were dropping like flies at the battle of Hoth) that borders on ridiculous. Plus, the learning curve is too high. The beginning training missions are good, and teach you well, but the next "real" mission is WAY too involved from the get go.

I have to admit though, I love the imperial march remix. I imagine some people will hate it, but I just think it was awesome. Luckily, however, the game uses John Williams's score during play.

There really isn't a whole lot more to say. For those of you who thought Jar Jar Binks ruined Star Wars, go buy Force Commander. Yousa be luvin Jar Jar mouie mouie!!! This is another HUGE let down from Lucasarts. I pray Jedi Knight: Obi Wan saves its reputation!

RATING: 2 (out of 10). And the 2 is just because it's Star Wars.

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