The way I see it, there are two kinds of robotic action games for the gaming audience out there. The first follows in the footsteps of Virtual On, and simply puts players into the shoes of a giant mech with an arsenal of weapons and moves to use against any given opponents. Not much thought is involved, but the action is bound to be frenetic and supercharged enough to give you bang for the buck or two that you spent to start it up. Then you have Armored Core, From Software's long-running mech series that's built into a league of its own. Does it have action? Sure, it does. But it's made for the thinking gamer, forcing them to try their hands at new parts and work on a better performance in order to survive the brutal levels buried later in the game.

Formula Front is certainly no exception. This is the first time that the series has strayed away from its home console roots, giving gamers the chance to take their metal behemoths on the road for the first time. Certainly, you won't be the last person who screams "MAKE THEM A MOLTEN HEAP OF SCRAPS!" at your grandmother's house. In the game, you once again take control of mechs, this time a helpful team of five, as they work their way through a number of missions. Story isn't important, only results and the fact that you remain alive through a number of bullet-riddled attacks.

But don't go jumping into this expecting to simply wipe out the competition. No, sir. You'll be more sorely disappointed. Formula Front strives on its over-complexity, forcing you to keep a close eye on numerous performance gauges during your battles. The slightest misplaced part can easily spell the difference between victory and defeat, so if you've been looking for a game that pays such attention to detail, sign right up.

It's not like complexity is a bad thing, far from it. It just overwhelms some people. Me, I was digging the amount of things you could mess with in this game. By the time I was done with my first two-hour session, I had made this bad-ass, bulging piece of work with handy cannons and a cool little emblem resembling my drunken state at the time. (I won't say what, but, damn, I'm glad I saved it.) Granted, I had to be extremely careful, setting up parts in the right place and then making sure my robot didn't become scrap metal at the hands of a perfectly balanced AI droid ready to tear me up.

The game does feature the kind of AI that may eat you for lunch if you're unprepared, something that previous Armored Core chapters have shown us. If you're new to the series and eager to give it a chance, my recommendation is to go with the AI control scheme. Sure, this doesn't directly put you hands on full-time over the robot, but it does give you a chance for survival and gets you used to the idea of robotic combat that From Software has gotten over the years with their series. The manual control scheme is far more difficult, forcing you to handle so many aspects in performance. It's way overwhelming for someone who isn't expecting it. Pros of the series, however, will pick manual, grit their teeth, and prepare for a holy crusade of recycleable enemies.

It looks terrific, with tons of on-screen action impacting the PSP screen and coming across very beautifully as a result. The loading time could've been a little bit better, I admit, but it still has the goods to hold up in its transition to portable. The music's not bad either, nor are the thunderous sound effects that remind you you're in the middle of a robot superiority battle, not band practice. And something should be said about the ability of taking on a friend in versus battle and being able to upload and download new emblems to further enhance your creative skills. It's not anything really over-the-top, just a simple "let me match up with you and hand you your ass" invitation.

I was slightly disappointed that the game didn't have more back-story to it, and also found myself at times cursing it out when I really expected my robot to perform better. It was like taking a souped-up Beetle on the NASCAR circuit and expecting perfection- yeah, like I'll get it. This goes to show that the game wasn't built for everyone. It seems like a love letter written to the long-time fans and those who have been itching for a portable version of Armored Core for the longest time. That's not entirely a bad thing, it just would've been nice for Agetec to throw in maybe a little something more to attract new fans, aside from the AI back-up controls.

But I'll still give Armored Core Formula Front a recommendation. It contains far more greatness than I expected in its customization features, its difficult, and its visuals, and the multiplayer is admirable if not stupendous. Just make sure that, when you buy the game, you know EXACTLY what you're getting yourself into. I've seen two schleps return this game to a game store because they were expecting something along the lines of Gundam. Silly robot amateurs.