This isn't Front Mission as many of you would understand it...

This isn't Front Mission as many of you would understand it. While most would associate Front Mission with turn-based strategy it has often attempted to spread out from this base, much as Final Fantasy has gone beyond the RPG at times, to be other things. Evolved is essentially a third-person shooter with mechs and that may be no bad thing.

The tactical elements of classic Front Mission gaming remain. Your Wanzer (an ill-advised – in the UK at least – amalgam of 'Wandering' and 'Panzer') is customisable with different legs, torso and arms, which will dictate your 'class' for lack of a better term. You can then choose four weapons, one for each hand and each shoulder. Again you can use these choices to influence your playing style. Once out in the field you team up with allies in a squad who themselves will have specific attacking and defensive strengths that you can play to and against.

The combat itself is fairly typical of a third-person shooter. Shooting is handled with free aiming on the right stick, while missiles can be locked onto an opponent. You have a backpack for light hovering and fast horizontal movement as well as a melee attack for when things get a little hairy. Double Helix, the developer of the game, has also included something called Edge mode, which is a kind of bullet-time that includes the highlighting of enemies, faster movement and more devastating attacks. From the old games Battle Skills have been imported allowing for special upgrades like EMP attacks that paralyse other Wanzers.

Of course this all sounds like it would work particularly well in multiplayer and Double Helix isn't disappointing. It will be mostly team-focused with deathmatch and territory modes, while the single-player narrative and cut-scenes are all being handled by Square Enix internally (it has some skill in this area). Front Mission Evolved is an interesting mix of East and West as well as old and new and we'll see much more of it at TGS later in the year.