Online multiplayer is better and worse, depending on how lucky you are. With most of the match settings determined seemingly at random and no obvious lobby controls, you’re at the game’s whim as far as who is placed on what team and what map you play on. When it works, it’s amazing; you have two small squads facing off and using a mix of terrain, sudden displays of aggression, and both teamwork and personal skill determining who wins. If you manage to get all these random factors lined up right, FME is a true joy to play. Unfortunately, gaining parts for your Wanzer in online play requires playing several matches and doing well, so people who have been around longer have access to more equipment than newcomers and it is often outright better. These aren’t sidegrades; they’re genuine upgrades where the more experienced player ends up with a Wanzer capable of crushing entire teams in seconds and the seemingly random team assignments make it entirely possible for a batch of new players to face off against what may as well be unstoppable gods.
Letting experienced players have outright better equipment means newcomers get ripped apart with ease most of the time, so it becomes a case of grinding for more gear or you’ll never stand a chance. This is pretty much the final straw that ruins what could have otherwise been an amazing online game, and one can only hope that developers learn to stop doing this sort of thing in the future. Since the single-player stages are merely decent, multiplayer was what was going to save this title if anything could, and this poorly thought out unlock system dooms it.
On the rare occasions you do get fair teams and a good map, Front Mission Evolved is absolutely fantastic but it doesn’t happen often enough. Even if you love action-oriented giant robot games like Armored Core, you should pass on this or at most rent it for the single-player stages. It’s nowhere near worth full price, and since the online play is poorly implemented, what little value this game has now is only going to fall as its online community fades... which probably won’t take much longer at this rate.
