Armored Core: Formula Front

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Armored Core: Formula Front

Developer(s)	From Software
Publisher(s)	Agetec
Release date(s)	December 13, 2005
Genre(s)	Action, Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2

Armored Core: Formula Front is a mecha video game in the Armored Core series.

[edit] Storyline

As the newly hired architect for a team that has just made it into Formula Front's Bottom League, you have 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, has been left for you to determine. Both methods offer their own unique challenges, so finding the one that best suits your approach to arena combat will require some experimentation. At the end of the day though, all that matters are results. The expectations placed upon an architect by the other members of a team are high, and the choices you make will determine whether or not your team languishes in the Bottom League, or ascends through the ranks of the Regular League. Careful analysis of opponents and the implementation of sound strategies are the best weapons at your disposal. Good luck and welcome to Formula Front.

[edit] Background

Formula Front is the worldwide phenomenon in which unmanned, AI-controlled ACs [u-ACs] are pitted against one another in fiercely contested arena battles. These events are so popular that they have attracted over one billion spectators since first being introduced.

Although only twenty-five years old, Formula Front arena warfare is now the world's most popular form of entertainment. The excitement derived from watching two hulking masses of metal shred each other to pieces has proven irresistibly alluring.

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, and it is through their innovative spirit that the "unlimited possibilities" inherent in Formula Front have been showcased to the world. As long as they continue to deliver the thrills fans clamor for, Formula Front's popularity is sure to endure.

[edit] Gameplay

Armored Core: Formula Front turns the AC world completely on its head in terms of gameplay. The concept of the "Raven", a mercenary who pilots an Armored Core on missions for profit is completely done away with and the player instead assumes the role of an "Architect". An Architect is a person who builds, programs and battles with a modified Armored Core known as a "UAC" or an Unmanned Armored Core. UACs are AI controlled Armored Cores which compete exclusively in battling tournaments. UACs battle independent of the Architect's control, so the Architect must influence how the UAC fights by customizing various part combinations and loading various program functions into the UAC's AI. The North American version of the PSP game has since been modified to allow players the option of actually piloting their UAC in battle instead of letting the AI fight for you. 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 Amored 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).