Armored Core: Formula Front

Armored Core: Formula Front
Developer(s)	FromSoftware
Publisher(s)	Agetec
Composer(s)	Tsukasa Saitoh Ayako Minami Hideyuki Eto
Series	Armored Core
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	‹See Tfd› JP: December 12, 2004 NA: December 15, 2005 EU: March 3, 2006
Genre(s)	Action, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Armored Core: Formula Front is a mecha video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Agetec. It was a launch title for the PlayStation Portable in Japan.

Storyline

As the newly hired architect for a team that has just made it into Formula Front's Bottom League, the player has been tasked with assembling and preparing the team's ACs for battle against those fielded by other Bottom League qualified participants. The decision as to how the ACs should be operated in their upcoming matches, manually or AI-controlled, is left for the player to determine. Both methods offer their own unique challenges.

Plot

As the player reaches to the Regular League, he or she is confronted by another brand-new team, BT Wyvern, and its architect, Linus. After two matches against BT Wyvern, Linus sends a message that he meet the player again. Rank after rank, the player again confronts a formidable opponent, Team Ogre, and its architect, Diablo. Though Ogre usually wins through harsh tactics, their battle against BT Wyvern was horrible. Fortunately, the player defeated Diablo. As the player gets nearer through the top ranks, he or she is again confronted by BT Wyvern with a new AC model, Force Wing X. Afterwards, Diablo confronts the player again with an AC similar to Linus' AC and has installed with a mysterious data in Diablo's AC. The player manages to defeat Diablo and Team Ogre was temporarily banned due to being accused of stealing the 'Master Data'.

After defeating the second rank Team Neonia and its architect, Raving, the player has the right to challenge Team Testarossa Artigiana (Or 'Arti' for short) and FFA's top architect, Bren. After the player defeats Bren, the credits roll and the player will become the new top architect. Also, the player will have three special exhibition battles against Neonia, Ogre and BT Wyvern.

Background

In the game's story, Formula Front is a worldwide competition in which unmanned, AI-controlled ACs [u-ACs] are pitted against one another in fiercely contested arena battles. The game takes place twenty-five years after Formula Front arena warfare was introduced. It is now the world's most popular form of entertainment. At the heart of Formula Front's success are the architects. These are the individuals responsible for assembling and programming the u-ACs entered into league matches.

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of an Architect. An Architect is a person who builds, programs and battles with a modified Armored Core known as a u/AC or an Unmanned Armored Core. u/ACs are AI controlled Armored Cores which compete exclusively in battling tournaments. u/ACs battle independent of the Architect's control, so the Architect must influence how the u/AC fights by customizing various part combinations and loading various program functions into the u/AC's AI. The North American version of the PSP game has since been modified to allow players the option of actually piloting their u/AC in battle instead of letting the AI fight for you. In the game, this is called a N-u/AC (N standing for Naked) and is supposedly notoriously hard to control.

Versions

Formula Front is the first Armored Core game to be released on multiple platforms, originally on the PlayStation Portable and later on the PlayStation 2. In Japan it was released simply as Armored Core: Formula Front. In America the game was modified and released as Armored Core: Formula Front Extreme Battle, however the PlayStation 2 version was not released in North America. The American version of the game was then re-released in Japan entitled Armored Core: Formula Front International; this re-released Armored Core: Formula Front International edition is considered to be the ultimate edition as it also contains a large amount of additional battles not found in the American version of the game, and includes both Japanese and English text options (except for the tutorial videos which are only in Japanese).

Customization

Armored Core: Formula Front also allows a player to build their own robot using 480 different parts. These part come in several categories. These categories are head, core, arms, legs, generator, fire control system, booster, radiator, extension, inside, right arm weapon, left arm weapon, back left weapon, back right weapon, right hangar unit, left hangar unit, and optional parts. Several different part types can also be available. For instance, there are three types of cores (OB, EO, and Standard). Other types of customization include paint, AI tune, Parts Tune, Repository, Sortie Order, Name Entry, Sample Emblem, and Edit Emblem.

Teams

There are several teams with which the player must compete with to reach the top of Formula Front. Some of these teams may contact you in your DAC. Many of them will request rematches. A few notable teams in the game are BT Wyvern, Ogre, AR tour team, Neonia, V.R. Expert, Peace Security, and Testarossa Artigiana.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)