From Software's most is best known for their hardcore mech-building series of Armored Core titles on Playstation. The AC games allow you to build mechs using a complicated "programming" interface of linking parts and abilities; once you build a mech you throw them into a fighting arena to do battle with other mechs for access to more parts. Think of Frame Gride for Dreamcast as a simplified, medieval take on the Armored Core concept.

The one thing Frame Gride does extremely well is build a believable, yet appealing atmosphere. It all starts out with the intro movie, showing various mechs battling it out in exotic locations to the tune of inspiring orchestrated music. You are immediately drawn into the medieval world of Frame Gride - full of mystery and magical enchantment; if you didn't know better, you would think a great RPG were in store for you! Since the online mode requires a long distance phone call to Japan, all of my Frame Gride experience is relegated to the one-player portion of the title. When you start your game, the atmosphere created by the introduction is craftily carried over; you walk in a first person mode down a torch-lit corridor, being asked questions by retired knights. The questions, and the answers you give to them determine the initial shape of your mech.

Once your mech is finally created you are ready to go into battle (or give the practice mode a go around… I went straight to battle). Battles are completely controlled by you in a full-3D environment. Your mech's abilities vary depending on how it has been built (more on that later), but the standard set of moves include a sword attack, a block, a gunshot, charge, strafe, jump, punch, and super-power shot. Holding down both triggers and pressing an action button can perform special moves; the results vary, but you usually pull off a sword combo or some sort of high-powered blast. The moves you can execute in battle are not only determined by your mech's abilities, but also by how much "power energy" you have. Every special move and discharge move (gun shots, etc.) use up your power energy; the power energy bar regenerates, but it never goes fast enough for you to constantly perform power move after power move.

Defeating the computer-controlled mechs is an easy task once you get a hang of the controls; you can use multiple strategies, but if you just go up to the opposing mech and use your sword combo you'll pretty much dominate all the way up until the last boss. Defeating opposing mechs and their squires (helper mechs that you and the enemies can generate) you earn crystals. The crystals are what you use to create new parts for your mech, to create squires of your own, or to build parts to use for a completely new mech. Sadly, the one-player game against the computer is short and easy enough that relatively little mech upgrades are required to defeat it. You basically end up outfitting your mech with different parts for the hell of it, which is all well and good, but it doesn't exactly hold your attention for long. Methinks the entire mech creation and upgrade mode would work wonderfully with the Online modes of play, defeating other human opponents for their crystals to be used in future creations… but it just doesn't work against the computer.

As I said before, the atmosphere in Frame Gride is the one quality From Software really nailed down; this is quite apparent in the interface and graphics of the game. To select which computer-controlled mech you want to do battle with, you select your location of war via a 2D-styled world map, similar to what you would see in a well-done military simulation. The in-game battles also look solid -the environments or the mechs don't stand out individually, but together they create enough visual candy to continue to hold the game's mood. Mechs are elegantly crafted knights, stocked with ornate armor that adds a certain regal quality to the proceedings. The environments carry the game's fantasy feel completely; you fight in lost ruins or in castle room lit with this fantastical red glow.