in combat. Mission rankings are tied to another new feature - mission branching. Based on how well or poorly the player performs in specific missions, they can unlock new story scenarios to play and new endings to view. The range system affects battles in that distance is factored into weapon accuracy and a unit's evasive maneuvers. The farther away a target is from the attacking unit, the less likely its weapons will hit it. Likewise, a unit will be unable to evade incoming fire if it's attacked at close ranges. Auxiliary backpacks are no longer restricted to storage and generator types; there are new backpacks which possess unique features. These include: anti-missile guns, night vision sensors, vernier packs, flare dispensers, radar antennas, and ECM devices. Cockpit Mode allows the player to view battles from inside the WAW cockpit; this mode grants greater control of the action and operates similar to a first-person shooter. Game progression in Alternative is done in linear manner: watch cut-scene events, complete missions, set up WAWs during intermissions, and sortie for the next mission. Briefings from Front Mission and Front Mission 2 can also be reviewed during intermissions. Alternative expands on this feature significantly: briefings now reveal enemy threats, mission objectives, and topography conditions, using pictures to illustrate these details. The player can also run simulations of their strategies on a 3D map of the mission. The player travels to locations on a world map. As the player progresses through the plot, new locations are revealed on the world map. The game supports control through the PlayStation Mouse. Story Set in 2034, the story of Front Mission Alternative takes place in Africa. In the early 21st century, nations around the world form regional entities to combat a global recession and other crises. While many regions thrive under their newly formed supranational unions, the nations of Africa fall deeper into environmental, racial, and ethnic conflicts. In an attempt to help them, the European Community (EC) and the Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU) assisted the African countries in forming a continental alliance called the Organization of African Consolidation (OAC). Although it initially thrives in the first three years, disputes flare up between the OAC's five regional blocs - the Union of Northern African States (UNAS), the South African United States (SAUS), the Community of Central African States (CA), the East African Communities (EA), and the West African States Community