Got the official list of E3 games from Square Enix today and low and behold there's a new Kingdom Hearts game listed on there - Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded. Now its for the Nintendo DS, so this cannot be the official sequel to Kingdom Hearts 2 but the description of the game does suggest that the game plot does continue after the events of Kingdom Hearts 2, so at least we have progress here. Still the game is not called Kingdom Hearts 3, so its not the official sequel.
Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded Official Description:
"Sora’s journey in KINGDOM HEARTS II has drawn to a close, and now a new tale is set to begin. Jiminy Cricket is looking over the journal he used to document his first adventure with Sora when he discovers a mysterious message. He didn’t write it – so how on earth did it get there? King Mickey is determined to find out, so he and his friends decide to digitize the journal and delve into its deepest secrets. Inside this “datascape” dwells a second Sora who is about to embark on a grand adventure of his very own."
Again, this doesn't sound like an official sequel as it doesn't have anything to do with the secret ending found at the end of KH2.
Also on the list of E3 games was games like The 3rd Birthday, Dungeon Siege 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Front Mission Evolved, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and 2 Tales of Bearsworth Manor titles.
I'm looking forward to the new Dungeon Siege 3, Kingdom Hearts titles, Tomb Raider and anything Final Fantasy. Hopefully Square Enix will deliver some good titles this year.
I think this is the first time I ever realized that Square Enix makes role-playing and tactics games that don't involved magic somehow. And honestly, I don't care for such games ...
But I'm a professional and I'll give anything that Square Enix makes a good once over but I judge. Front Mission was original release for the Super Nintendo in 1995 but was only released in Japan. The game was remade for the Playstation in 2003 for the Japanese market again, but was then remade again for the Nintendo DS in 2006 for release in Japan and in 2007 for North American.
Front Mission has spawned 5 sequels, 6 spin offs and several remakes.
Set as a tactics game, Front Mission has you controlling giant mechs called "Wanzers" in a battle against feuding nations. The main storyline is set in the 21th and 22the century where 2 nations begin fighting over a small island in the Pacific.
Wanzers are deployed by the Oceana Community Union, against the peace treaty to one of the United States of the New Continent's weapons facility where UNC troops are ambushed and the facility destroyed. Roid, a member of the OCU, loses his fiance in the battle and the whole event soon leads to war, as the OCU denies any involved.
Roid is discharged his unit, but is later asked to join a special unit for the OCU with the lure of revenge against the man who killed his fiance.
Each battle is played out by the Wanzer units. Each unit has a long range attack and a short range attack. Each unit has a certain amount of moves that are calculated based on the terrain around them and each Wanzer has a certain amount of hit points for their body, left arm, right arm and legs.
Each attack takes out a certain amount of each hit point for each part of the mech and mech can also attempt to dodge the attack. Much like Final Fantasy tactics, when the board is clear of enemies and the object is complete, the battle is complete and the player moves onto the next level.
I was a little disappointed in the graphics for this game. I never played the first Front Mission for the Super Nintendo but playing this game made me feel like I was. I was hoping for maybe an updated cinematic or two, but everything was your basic SNES looking graphics.
The music is classic Square Enix. Even with a midi sound to it, Square always seemed to bring a real full orchestra feel to its games. Very well done soundtrack, even if this is the original music from the first version. (Not sure, didn't play the first game)
The storyline was a little bland for me. Honestly, if the storyline talks about futuristic wars then it better have a lightsaber or some photon torpedoes, or I'm not interested. I know there are people out there who enjoy mech games like Mechwarrior and to them I would recommend this game because it has a lot of mechs to play with.
The game play was pretty easy to understand, even with the long and draw out storyline causing your mind to wander to other things like your laundry. You use the stylus to move, attack and choose your attack methods. There aren't a bunch of command buttons or screen getting in the way of your tapping and I figured out the basic game play within minutes of picking the game up, so its pretty easy for anyone to pick up.
Honestly, I wouldn't normally play a game like this and the storyline went way over my head with its futuristicmumbo-jumbo, but if your a fan of Square Enix, love their tactics games and love stomping around in mechs, then this is your game. It just didn't float my boat in the end.
The Classic Strategy Saga Makes Its Debut in North America
LOS ANGELES (October 23, 2007) – Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that FRONT MISSION®, the exciting turn-based strategy game developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS™, is now shipping to retail outlets across North America.
The origin of the FRONT MISSION series has been localized for North America for the first time in this classic handheld saga. FRONT MISSION introduces exciting new features, such as dual screen presentation and multiplayer modes, that update the classic that gave birth to seven renowned sequels. Utilizing Touch Screen functionality, players command a squad of customizable mechs known as wanzers and direct them through turn-based skirmishes across the battlefields of the 21st century.
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to present FRONT MISSION to our North American audience,” said producer Koichiro Sakamoto. “We have recreated this classic masterpiece utilizing dual screen presentation and stylus-driven controls, allowing players to experience the intuitive gameplay in a whole new way.”
FRONT MISSION focuses on the conflict over Huffman Island, located in the neutral zone between two superpowers known as the Oceania Cooperative Union (O.C.U.) and the Unified Continental States (U.C.S.). Players can experience the Second Huffman Conflict from the perspective of Royd Clive, the leader of the O.C.U. mercenary outfit “Canyon Crows,” or Kevin Greenfield, the commanding officer of the U.C.S. Special Forces squad “Black Hounds.” Through intense missions against wanzers, tanks, attack helicopters, and giant mobile weapon platforms, the true motives behind the war over Huffman Island will be revealed.
FRONT MISSION has been rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and will be available at retailers for a suggested retail price of $34.99. For more information on FRONT MISSION, please visit http://na.square-enix.com/frontmission/ For more information about the ESRB please visit www.esrb.org
