Square Enix had an offer for a free demo of Front Mission 4 they would mail right to your home, which is great because that's where I live. We've played it. Even when fully cognizant of the dangers inherent in Time Travel, it is easy to see why one might brave the chaotic realms outside linear time to snare a copy before the June release.

It was actually Gabe who told me about it - Gabriel, who ridiculed me almost the entire time I played Front Mission 3. You see, this was all before his enlightenment, when he slowly began to realize that Turn-Based Strategy afforded leisure and satisfaction in a ratio unique among the genres.

I loved almost everything about Front Mission 3 that had to do with its core gameplay. It had a sort of "Network/Internet" thing where you would browse websites and discover things, which would have been a good deal more enjoyable if the original Playstation's drive could keep up with the feature. I'm not the world's foremost expert on the series, but apparently Front Mission already had quite a history in Japan before FM3 was released stateside - and not just in the tactical strategy context we know it for. You could draw parallels between it and Resident Evil in that respect, where they play around with genres inside the confines of the license and have even taken it online - for example, there's a multiplayer Front Mission that eschews the turn-based elements altogether in favor of something more in the vein of an action/sim, possibly like what we expect from the excellent Armored Core. I've also heard it might be have MMO elements - I'll keep an eye out at E3.

That's all neither here nor there. The new Front Mission, at least, what we can see in the demo's handful of scenarios, is so polished it gleams. Like many Square games, they effort that goes into presenting these franchises clearly cost someone quite a lot of money. Full customization, specialized melee weapons, a variety of leg modules with different values on varying terrain, I was using a towel for the saliva but have recently upgraded to a bucket I can just empty when it fills up. Gameplay-wise, you satisfy mission objectives with your customized squad of Wanzers - walking tanks - in turn-based battle sequences interspersed with well-voiced cutscenes. Wanzers take damage in one of four quadrants, and can lose limbs which can then be repaired. I don't think it's something I need to go on an on about, though I clearly could. You already know whether or not you want to dominate foes in turn-based battles with robots you built yourself. The game is so impeccably produced that I can recommend it to anyone with affection for the genre, with little fear I have led you astray. As for the story, I have a sneaking suspicion it involves betrayal. Call me nuts.

A few readers wanted me to emphasize ArenaNet's Guild Wars Promotion that is occurring during E3, May 12th through the 14th. You can download the client right now in order to be ready, but essentially the floodgates will open on those days and you can play online with as many friends as you like. I mentioned this game recently when a reader asked if I knew of any Massive games without a monthly fee - and just for the record, not only does Guild Wars have no monthly fee, it also has no initial fee. It's my understanding that paid content updates, expansions essentially, are what they plan to run their business on. What I've seen of the game looks great, and gameplay wise it's apparently closer to Diablo than (let's say) EverQuest.

(CW)TB out.

the rules do not apply

There is a Pandora Tomorrow Xbox 2v2 Tournament advertised over at Clan World Network. I've actually never heard of the site bepore and the rules for the tournament make it seem like they have no idea what the fuck they are doing. This is from their website:

"The Matches will be played with the neutralization game mode and 2 of the same map played twice. The team that hosts will let the other team pick the side they want to play. Then the teams will alternate. A Team wins by doing any of the objectives or killing the other team."

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. We're organizing our own SC tournament for PAX and it's actually not an easy game to devise a set of tournament rules for. The problem is that it's very likely that in a Neutralization game, set to revenge mode the mercs could win both rounds. So if each team wins as mercs and loses as spies, how do you decide who won the game?

One way is to give the game to whichever team neutralized the most points as spies. It's possible that the mercs could totally shut out the spies in both rounds though. So do you just keep playing game after game until one team is able to neutralize a point as spies? It says on the site that a team wins by "doing any of the objectives". What the hell does that mean?

Obviously I'm interested in a huge SC tournament over Live, and honestly I already signed my team up. I'd just like it if they come out with some rules that make a little more sense.

It's true that I really loved the Front Mission 4 demo. I credit Disgaea for actually getting me in to the turn based strategy genre. From there I went right in to FF:tactics and at that point there was no turning back. Something Tycho didn't really hit on is the new combo system in the game. You will see blue lines stretching out from each Wanzer to the other Wanzers it's connected to. Any unit connected to the attacking Wanzer by a blue line has the opportunity to join in the attack, assuming it's within range and has enough AP. With some planning and careful placement op your units on the battlefield, you can set up some devastating linked attacks. The same sets of rules apply to defense as well. This means that linked Wanzers can often join in counter attacks. The whole system is really intuitive once you see it.

I saw Man on Fire this weekend and it was awesome. You should go see it.

-Gabe out

Reader Brendan Keough writes in with the following:

Yep, I got this in the mail last Friday and finished it that evening. I'll likely play it again before the retail version ships. One point of interest you didn't mention: once you finish the last level on the menu there is another, hidden level that has you fighting Wagner (not sure if that's his name, the dude with the red eyes and the fancy mech) on a German castle. To access the hidden level, finish all demo levels and move the cursor down past the last choice, the cursor will disappear under the copyright but you'll hear a navigation beep. Hit X and have fun (watch out for the artillery, large area effect explosions)!

(CW)TB

I mentioned Disgaea yesterday and gave it credit for getting me into the tactical strategy genre. I wanted to mention that the follow up to Disgaea, La Pucelle: Tactics (which is actually more of a prequel than a sequel) is available now in stores. Disgaea was one of those games that stores didn’t order enough of and it was extremely hard to find after word got around that is was totally fucking awesonahadnwtl wanted to give you aycteorrds up on La Pucelle. I’m actually heading out this afternoon to pick up my copy so I’ll try and get some impressions up tomorrow.

I said I wasn’t going to bore you guys with baby stuff but we have a doctor’s appointment today and we’re going to find out if it’s a boy, girl or some kind of insect. People ask me at conventions and stuff how it feels, and I tell them I oscillate between absolute terror and incredible joy.

Don’t forget if you’re going to E3 this year we’ll be at the Ubi Soft booth on Thursday and Friday at 1:00. We’ll also have a special treat for you.

One other thing, my email is all fuckered up but you can still reach me at gabe@penny-arcade.com.

-Gabe out

My local EB didn’t have La Pucelle and the baby wouldn’t cooperate. So I’ve got no quirky tactical strategy game, and no clue if we’re having a boy or a girl. The doctor said she saw a foot in the crotch…I’m hoping that clears up.

-Gabe out