Location: Home » Simulation Games » Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle

Armored Core Formula Front: Extreme Battle

From: Tommo
Category: Video Games

List Price: ~~$39.99~~
Buy New: $10.40
as of 7/30/2010 18:22 CDT details
You Save: $29.59 (74%)

New (12) Used (10) from $7.99

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

7 reviews
Sales Rank: 6830

Platform: Sony PSP
Genre: Simulation Games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Sony PSP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4 x 0.5
Memory Card

MPN: PSP100
Model: 93992097301
UPC: 093992097301
EAN: 0093992097301
ASIN: B000809NXM

Release Date: October 26, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

•	1-2 Player

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Armored Core: Formula Front delivers a hardcore sim experience with all-new features not available in the Japanese version. This Special Edition utilizes the complex AI designing and wireless head-to-head action of the original version, and adds action-based player combat interaction to give PSP players the intense fighting gameplay they crave from Armored Core. Building an unstoppable warrior to annihilate the competition has never been so much fun.

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 7

1 2 Next »

Armored Core review September 21, 2009
Bradford Oshiro (Honolulu, HI United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

OK I love the first two armored core Armored core and Amromed Core Project phantasma for Playstation 1 and Mech warrior 4 for pc however in this case this is the wost game of this series is. the game play realy stinks. its unsuable. there is no missions. its all areana based. the entire thing is done wrong exept the graphics. good graphics dose nothing if the game play stinks
avode it. get the Armored Core and Armored Core Project Phantasma for Playatstion 1 instead. that you will be pleased with. there is no Game Shark for PSP
video game enhancemer is not for this PSP system
ac fORMULa front stinks to high

4 out of 5 stars

A perfect handheld mech game. August 23, 2009
Talus (USA)
Armored Core: Formula Front. I was honestly surprised when I started playing this. Despite being a handheld entry to the venerable series, the quality of the game is equal if not better to it's console brethren.

Graphics:
The graphics are about on par with the PS2's Armored Core 2. The resolution and texture for the landscape, buildings, etc., are very low-key and bland. However, the mecha themselves are very highly detailed, and the gunfire, lasers, missiles, and explosions are very enjoyable. The frame-rate is very high also.

Controls:
The controls about as good as the PSP's control scheme allows for, which has always been a bit deficient due to the lack of a second thumbstick. There are two modes of control: Manual and AI. Manual uses a very standard Armored Core control scheme that can be customized. AI mode is where the Computer controls the mech, and the PSP controls make for a very good cinematic camera scheme. More on AI mode later.

Gameplay:
This game shines in two areas.
The first is the level of sheer parts customization. There are hundreds of parts, for every single part of the mecha's body. There are also many weapons, and performance enhancing add-ons. Many parts can also be "tuned", reducing weight, adding more armor, or draining less energy.
It's also worth noting that there is no money system for purchasing parts. Every single part is unlocked at the beginning of the game, and ammo and repairs are free. This means you don't have to wait and save up to build that heavily-armed superweapon of a robot.

The AI is what really sells this game. The artificial intelligence of each of Mecha can be programmed down to a very minute level. You can program it to stay at long range or short, how aggressive or defensive it should be, how much to jump around or dash, and how often to switch it's weapons. You can also allocate a set number of point to improve it's mobility, target acquisition, terrain navigation, weapons handling, energy consumption, etc.

Lastly, you can install "performance chips", which tell it what do at specific points in the battle. For example: I may create a close-range mech with long-range missile launchers, as well as a short-range laser blade and shotgun. I can install a chip ordering my mech to focus on using missiles in the first 30 seconds, decimating the enemy before moving into closer for the other weapons.

All in all, this is a great game, and I highly recommend it to Armored Core fans.

5 out of 5 stars

have some patience and watch some robot gladiators duke it out June 14, 2007
sci fi fan (pluto)
I can see why this game is clearly not going to please everyone, it requires a GREAT deal of thought, patience, and tinkering, balancing out several different components, such as weight, energy consumption, and AI as you prepare your AC for its next duel. The time it takes to customize, tweak, test, and retest your AC far outweighs the few thrilling minutes that you actually watch it fight in a tournament. However, once you beat an opponent from the league you can have a free fight with them anytime at all. Also, if you do lose in a tournament battle, you can immediately try for a rematch or do some more tweaking first. If you have a friend with a PSP and a copy of the game, you can fight a duel with him too.

The weapons and tools used to create the ultimate AC fighting machine are very interesting. All in all, if this game sounds like fun, it sure is, but only if you are willing to spend a great deal of time concentrating on tinkering and tuning the parts as well as watching the results. Graphics of the mechs and their weapons in action are stunning, battlefields are interesting, most mech opponents present a real challenge to defeat, and the best part is this game costs under 15 dollars if you look around.

I would estimate this game would not be suitable for a someone under the age of 13, as all of the concepts of putting together a mech may be a bit overwhelming for a young child, and again, this game is not for everyone, it takes a lot of concentration and patience, working on a mech, part by part.

4 out of 5 stars

Almost what I expected February 2, 2006
zhnkiu
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I picked up this game a few days ago on the hope that the AI customization would allow for direct programming of the AI routines. For example: jump/fly forward 15 feet, scan, if enemy found: shoot, etc. Similar to Origin's Omega circa 1987.
Actually, such AI programming is more suited to 2D enviroments than 3D, so I am not disappointed. What you get instead is a small set of routines you get to unlock, and a bunch of combat style variables. The selling point for others, I suppose, is the ability to use 300 or so components to construct your uber-AC and combat other such constructs either manually (with the US edition) or in simulation. I have learned that the game is seriously unballanced in this respect. There is the possibility to construct an AC which is so stupidly powerful, that anyone who has less than a modicum of an idea what they are doing (such as myself) will simply be obliterated within 15 seconds. The challenge then becomes, ignoring the point of numerous failures, what exactly is his weakness? Well, he's slow and heats up fast. You can't get him by direct attacking. Too tough. You can't get him by flying about, he'll just shoot you down. And if you try long distance sniping, the arena is too small, he just has to get into range. So all I can think of is to try to stay out of his vision, and wait until he breaks down from overheating after 2/3 of the match is over. This game requires some difficult planning. I think the game should have allowed for some form of direct AI programming in order to deal with this issue and to the circumvent the need to find the right tactical combination of routines through tedious trial and error. But I did buy the game expecting this.

5 out of 5 stars

Armored Core rules! January 13, 2006
Michael Forbes
6 out of 27 found this review helpful

Best game for PSP ever

Showing reviews 1-5 of 7

1 2 Next »