Again an unlikely hero is thrust into the midst of intrigue, and betrayal. Enemies close in from all around, but who is friend, and who is enemy? Whole cities face annihilation by horrifying destruction ... and all you were supposed to do was drop off some stuff. Oh well. That's life boy, and that's the way it is.

So what's Squares latest project about then? It's a turn based strategy game involving near futuristic armies that use truck sized robots for warfare. Not content to merely allow you to wander through each battlefield with the brain on 'kill' Square have squeezed the makings of a quality story in there as well. Many are the faces of the people you interact with - enemies, and allies alike. Each with his or her own unique abilities that must be explored to be capitalised. Thrown into the mixture is the ability to go 'cyber' at certain times. Exploring the internet, finding sites that detail passwords, and codes to military websites, reading and replying to email from mysterious sources, purchasing upgrades and robot parts online, and ... well you get the idea.

Front Missions 3 requires players to be part strategist, part analyst, and part anarchist to survive. Being diligent in each area brings it's own rewards. A good strategist will attempt to capture enemy 'Wanzers' (battle robots) so that its strengths and weaknesses can be tested, and used if required. Different weapons will be armed to specific robots, depending on their abilities. A good analyst will patiently look for clues in email that may lead to further clues. Websites will be checked thoroughly, and software 'downloaded' from the web to enhance the players 'cyber' abilities like decryption, and file restoration. A good anarchist will succumb to gratuitous firepower and shoot at anything that moves.

While the storyline itself is virtually linear the gameplay elements within the game allow for a wide range of variety. Robots can be customised to suit each players tastes. Secret abilities are inherent to each robot part that must be uncovered. A variety of characters are available to aid you in combat, but which ones to take?

There is ONE specific story branch that you must decide upon later in the game. This path leads to one of the two possible endings. Although I have yet to play through the entire game, the box boasts gameplay time to be "...over 150 hours..."

How does the game manage to cram in 150 hours of gameplay onto only one disk? Well, it's mainly because the story-telling portion of the game is done using static screens, and speech bubbles. There are no splendidly rendered backgrounds as in Final Fantasy 7 or 8. In comparison the background is merely wallpaper that basicly sets the scene for the characters that talk using speech bubbles, and are only represented by character portraits. At first this seems like a crude way to express the story, but it is the story's strengths that over time win you over, and allow you to forget about the lack of motion within the scene.

The battles themselves are rendered, and played in real-time. The landscapes comprise of trees, roads, crates, bridges, explosives, barrels, and other such field accessories. The ability to fully rotate the map allows players to see around corners, and behind buildings. The Wanzers are large, and move with a clichéd ponderousness that fits them perfectly. Everything is rendered to an acceptable scale, and shows that the PlayStation has few surprises left in it's programming arsenal.

Each of the (up to) four Wanzers under your control has an allocated amount of 'action points' to use each turn. Moving one square uses one point, firing a shotgun uses 3, and firing a missile launcher takes ten. There are a number of weapons that the player can use - each with it's own strengths, weaknesses, and action point usage. Finding the right balance of firepower comes with much trial, and error, but ultimately will help long-term. With each victory experience is won, and eventually allows Wanzers to 'level up' allowing for more strength, speed, and abilities.

During battle, damage inflicted upon an enemy or player's Wanzer may result in 'stunning' where the Wanzer cannot move for a full turn, Confusion - where more action points are used up per turn, and Ejection where the pilot of the Wanzer is completely ejected from the cockpit of the robot. Damage must be inflicted upon each enemy Wanzer until they either surrender, or are destroyed.

Sound effects back the combat well with servos whirring, feet pounding, and machine guns rattling. Music is passable but of no real note.

The manual is a boon for those wanting to make the most of their game. It details the main characters within the story, as well as illustrating most of what you need to know to be effective in battle. For those of you newly arrived from Germany, the second half of the booklet is written in your language.

Strangely though, there are a couple of things that detract from the overall fun of the game. The first being that when in combat sometimes Wanzers will face foot soldiers. These tiny men are dwarfed by the sheer size of the Wanzers, but fire with comparatively powerful weapons. A foot soldier may fire upon a robot at point blank range and do 150 points of damage (Wanzers typically have 2 to tens times that amount of points), while a Wanzer firing at a foot soldier (with only 20 points) at point blank will only do a maximum of 12 points of damage. When you see the soldier firing a little wee gun, and then the 60 foot tall robot firing a cannon the size of a large car, and then the comparative damage dealt, you may screw up your face a little, and utter "Uurrr?"

The second niggle I found was the inability to target specific regions of the Wanzers, and other military units. Wanzers are comprised of 6 parts. Arms, legs, torso/head, and pilot. When firing at an enemy it is totally random as to where your damage connects. It would have been nice to be able to take out an enemies legs, and then jumped out of range of his weapons, or concentrate firepower on the pilot so that the mech is left largely untouched. But no, maybe next game.