Front Mission

Once you get into the rhythm of it, the back-and-forth between combat and outfitting gives Front Mission an enjoyable pace. There is a caveat, though: Trying to pound through multiple missions in any one sitting puts a significant damper on your enjoyment. The methodical combat starts to feel repetitive and the Wanzer-building element plays best when taken leisurely. It also helps to set your expectations based on what this is -- a remake of an old game. While touch screen controls have been added, the basic buttons work much better than trying to pick tiny little spots with the stylus, and multiplayer only supports 1-on-1 local play -- no online play despite how welcome it would be. None of this, though, prevents Front Mission from delivering a welcome return for fans and a great place for newcomers to try out a game whose name they recognize and have always wondered about.

"This game brings both style and content to the table. It doesn't pretend to be anything greater than it is: it's a very straightforward Strategy RPG. But once you start playing, I suspect you'll see what makes this game so special."