this game is awsome. im over fifty hours into it. i play every day for at least four hours. i havent heard of the first three, so im going to give them a try.

There seems to be a lack of decent strategy games for the current consoles. Well at least Front Mission 4 fills that hole a little bit. Graphics, 3.5. The overhead view of the battlefields are nothing spectacular but get the job done. The one on one (or 4 on 1) matches between mechs (wanzers) are the better part but kind of slow paced. The CG intro movie is pretty cool though. The graphical end is more for functionality than flashy theatrics mostly. Sound, ehh 3.5. The voiceovers are ok, not worth any awards but gets the job done. Wanzer movement sounds and weapon reports are a little flat and sound manufactured. The music is pretty flat too. Control, 4.5. Hard to mess up menu navigation and selection controls. Nuff said. Gameplay, 4.5. Each pilot specializes in a certain form of combat and has a skill set along those lines. Melee, assault, sniper, support and a few others. It sounds kinda limited but it's not. The mechs are customizable, almost the way the Armored Core games mechs are. There are a lot of potential combinations with all the body parts, weaponry, armor resistance type and extra equipment that become available as you progress. The pilots are also customizable to a certain degree, you can pick and choose what skills you want to use, and buy new skills with earned points. Later in the game you'll be able to buy skill sets with money to multi-role your pilots or enhance what they already do. Another factor is linking, it basically lets you call on other pilots to back you up when you attack or are being attacked. All in all, it's a pretty good turn-based strategy game for those who have a lot of time to kill, some of the missions can last a few hours. The slow pace might be a turnoff to some people. But if you're a fan of strategy games, you can't go wrong with renting this one and giving it a spin.