Square Enix's Front Mission series has always been more popular in Japan than here in the States, which is why we have seen so few of them. However, the publisher decided to grace us with a port of the PSOne remake of the SNES original. The DS version takes the upgraded version and tacks on a few special features that only it could provide. The game is a tactical, grid-based role-playing game (RPG) in the strictest sense, deviating very little in its combat setup.

Set about a hundred years from now in a war-torn world, two opposing military factions are at each other's throats as they vie for dominance. Yes, we've heard it all before, and for fans of mech games, the storyline will be that much more familiar. However, in this re-release, you can play as a character from either side of the war in two different campaign modes, providing a unique twist. The story itself might not be so unique, but if people have never delved into the series before, this makes for a cool introduction.

Between bouts of dialogue, you can enter into the battlefield on a mission, practice your combat skills to earn some money in the arena, converse with citizens in the many cities that you'll visit or spend valuable dollars on upgrading your mech. Depending on what you like to do, there is usually enough of that element to satisfy, but to survive in the game will require some tinkering with your mech (known in the game as a wanzer), which can get very intricate and time-consuming, potentially turning off more casual players.

Square Enix put the stylus to good use by having it handle most of the controls, including selecting tiles on the grid or various actions from the menu. Unfortunately, the in-game menus are incredibly tiny, often leading to frustration as you attempt to select a desired choice. Selecting squares on the field can also be cumbersome, especially if the squares are partially hidden by on-screen obstacles. Still, it's functional if you're patient.

You play the game on the touch screen, with battles commencing on the upper screen. These are easily the best looking moments in the game, as the camera zooms in on the mechs, and there is much more animation to watch due to the variety of attack styles available (short, medium and long-range). The battlefields look acceptable, but there have certainly been better looking tactical games. Though being a port of a PSOne game, the visuals have aged fairly well. The audio, on the other hand, sounds ancient. The music is mostly lackluster throughout, with a repetitive score that doesn't do much to heighten the intensity of the battles. We can say the same thing about the sound effects, which too often lack depth. There is no voice acting, as the characters tell the story through text balloons.

If you stick with the game, you'll wade through a lot of stats and spend a good amount of time in the shop fixing up your wanzer for optimal performance. If that sounds exciting, you'll probably enjoy Front Mission.

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