A Witch's Tale

When One Legend Falls, Another Must Rise.
Prepare yourself as one of the most revered RPGs of all time makes a triumphant return on Game Boy Advance. Embark on a desperate struggle to realize one hero's dream to become a legend.

Considering the pedigree of the series, the publisher, and how much I enjoyed Front Mission 3 on PSone, Front Mission 4 is a disappointment on just about every level. It's a shame too, as the opening movie features wanzers (this series' version of the classic mech) battling it out in a ballet of death that got my strategy RPG juices flowing.

Unfortunately, the game isn't as exciting as its opening cinema. The story follows the tale of two wanzer pilots – Elsa and Darril. The game opens with Elsa as she investigates an attack on several German bases, then it shifts to Darril and his team in South America. Not a bad tale, but nothing you haven't heard before.

The same can be said for the gameplay as well. Front Mission 4 is a fairly basic strategy game from beginning to end. There are some nice touches however, including the ability to vastly customize your mechs, and a brand new Link System lets the player sync wanzers together so that you can unleash multiple attacks in a single round of combat.

Overall, the game moves fairly slow and the combat is not nearly as deep as it could have been. Combine the mediocre gameplay with the sub-par graphics and campy story, and you can begin to see why Front Mission 4 is a bit of a disappointment. If you love giant robots, there is a good twenty hours of gameplay here, so this game isn't without its merits.

Taking the standard conventions of a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game--such as character creation, monster combat, special abilities, and spells--and combining them with a persistent and always changing online virtual world, Sony Interactive's EverQuest creates an experience like no single-player personal computer game. In fact, EverQuest features no solo or story-oriented game; EverQuest requires, and certainly encourages, interaction with the tens of thousands of other players online. (As an online-only game, EverQuest requires the use of your Internet connection.)
Players begin by creating their EverQuest alter ego. Elements such as race (12 in all, including Dwarf, Ogre, Troll, Halfling, Gnome, Barbarian, Dark Elf, Human) and class (14 in all, including Bard, Magician, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warrior, Wizard) determine your character's statistics and special abilities. For instance, the Warrior class of any race is inherently strong, though the Warriors of the Troll race are much stronger than, say, the Warriors of the Halfling race. Other races and classes favor intelligence or dexterity. Players can also customize their character's clothing, face, and name to further personalize their alter ego.

Vibrant graphics (particularly spell effects) and crisp monster and player models bring the EverQuest world to life. Game play consists primarily of combat against dozens of different creatures; defeating the varied beasts of EverQuest earns your character both coins (for the purchase of better equipment) and experience points (for improving skills, abilities, and power).

There's plenty of satisfaction in watching your virtual alter ego gain experience, power, and wealth. Though it takes an enormous amount of time to improve your character, EverQuest's addictive, easy-to-learn game play makes the effort worthwhile.

EverQuest's sense of community shines in the quests and battles you'll partake with other players. Taking on the more powerful monsters alone is suicide. But team up with a Troll player in Chicago and a Wizard player from Seattle, and you've got a monster-stomping gang sure to earn everyone fame, fortune, and friends. It's the sense of trust and teamwork that creates EverQuest's most endearing quality--and its most stressful: you never know if that Cleric you picked up in the local tavern is a talented healer or a worthless coward until you're mixing it up with a group of Minotaurs.

Most players find EverQuest's community atmosphere its best quality. Speaking with and questing alongside the thousands of players online provides good gaming, interesting conversation, and perhaps even real friendships. Verant Interactive listens to the community of gamers and constantly updates and changes the EverQuest world. Filled with monsters, dungeons, and fabulous treasure, and supported by an active developer and fan community, EverQuest is sure to live up to its name. Players will be adventuring in this rich online world for many years to come

EarthBound, known in Japan as Mother 2, is a role-playing video game co-developed by Ape and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super NES video game console. It was designed by Shigesato Itoi, who also developed its predecessor, Mother, which was released only in Japan.