Parents' Guide to Left Alive

There are some interesting ideas here, but they never merge into a truly fun and playable game. Left Alive's firefights can be punishingly difficult, encouraging players to exercise caution and plan out strategies to deal with enemies rather than rush in with guns blazing. But the stealth systems -- which involve much more than just hiding to avoid detection -- aren't fully formed. Resources, including both bullets and items needed for crafting explosives and traps, are so scarce that wasting them by accident can leave you virtually unable to complete core objectives. And the covering system is unreliable. Sometimes enemies won't see you when you're standing in the open just a couple of buildings away, while other times they'll somehow spot you when you think you're properly hidden, crouched behind an object or wall. Factor in seemingly superhuman foes -- who are all crack sharpshooters with nearly unending health -- and some clumsy controls that make the player-controlled characters feel like rookie soldiers, and the end result is a lot of unavoidable deaths and restarts. Challenging games can be fun and rewarding, but this one isn't.

The only redeeming part of the experience is the story, which sometimes tries to dig into the philosophy of war and conflict similar to the Metal Gear games. Two of the three characters (the wanzer pilot is a bit flakey) are compelling and sympathetic protagonists who make you want to see their stories through. And being able to make decisions that help shape these characters is a plus, even if it doesn't always affect the story as much as you might think. Sadly, the storytelling takes a backseat to that clumsy, tough, and frustrating stealth action, which ends up putting a thorough damper on the whole game. Left Alive might be worth enduring for die-hard Front Mission fans starving for whatever they can get from a once popular series now dormant for nearly a decade, but there's little here that will be enjoyable for anyone else.