<s>
was	O
a	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
(	O
MMO	O
)	O
,	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Square	O
Enix	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
May	O
12	O
,	O
2005	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
and	O
on	O
December	O
8	O
,	O
2005	O
for	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
titles	O
,	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
is	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
serialized	O
storyline	O
that	O
follows	O
the	O
stories	O
of	O
various	O
characters	O
and	O
their	O
struggles	O
involving	O
mecha	O
known	O
as	O
wanzers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
(	O
MMO	O
)	O
,	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
spin-off	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
differs	O
from	O
the	O
tactical	O
role-playing	O
game	O
entries	O
of	O
the	O
numbered	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
being	O
played	O
out	O
on	O
a	O
grid-based	O
map	O
and	O
using	O
a	O
turn-based	O
structure	O
,	O
battles	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
real-time	O
on	O
full	O
3D	O
maps	O
akin	O
to	O
Armored	B-Application
Core	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
built-in	O
support	O
for	O
VoIP	B-Application
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	O
progression	O
in	O
Online	O
works	O
differently	O
from	O
other	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
entries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
PvE	O
mode	O
,	O
players	O
do	O
battle	O
against	O
enemies	O
controlled	O
by	O
AI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PvE	O
mode	O
of	O
Online	O
is	O
unique	O
in	O
that	O
like	O
the	O
other	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
titles	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
storyline	O
that	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
play	O
through	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wanzer	O
customization	O
in	O
Online	O
works	O
differently	O
from	O
other	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
titles	O
in	O
that	O
the	O
parts	O
,	O
auxiliary	O
backpacks	O
,	O
and	O
weapons	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
access	O
is	O
entirely	O
dependent	O
on	O
their	O
military	O
ranking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Missions	O
aside	O
,	O
Online	O
boasts	O
other	O
new	O
features	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
returning	O
ones	O
,	O
particularly	O
from	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
Series	I-Application
:	I-Application
Gun	I-Application
Hazard	I-Application
and	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
Alternative	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Set	O
in	O
2090	O
,	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
takes	O
place	O
on	O
Huffman	O
Island	O
,	O
a	O
fictional	O
Pacific	O
Ocean	O
island	O
roughly	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
Oahu	O
,	O
created	O
by	O
volcanic	O
activity	O
south	O
of	O
Mexico	O
's	O
west	O
coast	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
uneasy	O
peace	O
was	O
maintained	O
until	O
the	O
Huffman	B-Application
Crisis	I-Application
in	O
2086	O
,	O
when	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
skirmishes	O
across	O
Huffman	O
Island	O
causes	O
chaos	O
on	O
the	O
island	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plot	O
of	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
takes	O
players	O
from	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
2nd	O
Huffman	O
Conflict	O
to	O
its	O
end	O
in	O
2091	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
,	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
plot	O
covers	O
both	O
the	O
minor	O
and	O
major	O
events	O
that	O
occur	O
during	O
the	O
war	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
war-ending	O
Operation	O
Eagle	O
Tears	O
(	O
coincidentally	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
final	O
military	O
operation	O
,	O
taking	O
place	O
from	O
May	O
27	O
to	O
May	O
31	O
,	O
2008	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
service	O
,	O
players	O
could	O
fight	O
alongside	O
or	O
against	O
characters	O
and	O
groups	O
from	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
entries	O
made	O
appearances	O
in	O
several	O
missions	O
or	O
military	O
operations	O
as	O
either	O
allies	O
or	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
the	O
recurring	O
characters	O
whose	O
first	O
appearance	O
was	O
in	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ellen	O
also	O
makes	O
an	O
appearance	O
in	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
2089	I-Application
:	I-Application
Border	I-Application
of	I-Application
Madness	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ernest	O
also	O
makes	O
an	O
appearance	O
in	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
First	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yuji	O
also	O
makes	O
an	O
appearance	O
in	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
2089	I-Application
:	I-Application
Border	I-Application
of	I-Application
Madness	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
third	O
spin-off	O
entry	O
and	O
the	O
eighth	O
entry	O
overall	O
in	O
the	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
11	O
,	O
2005	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
testing	O
began	O
,	O
with	O
phase	O
one	O
locating	O
players	O
with	O
USB	O
headsets	O
and	O
phase	O
2	O
testing	O
the	O
feature	O
during	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
ended	O
its	O
services	O
and	O
was	O
discontinued	O
on	O
May	O
31	O
,	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
was	O
the	O
third	O
spin-off	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
eighth	O
game	O
released	O
overall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
soundtrack	O
was	O
primarily	O
composed	O
of	O
arrangements	O
of	O
music	O
from	O
prior	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
though	O
a	O
few	O
original	O
tracks	O
were	O
composed	O
by	O
Hidenori	B-Application
Iwasaki	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arranged	O
music	O
covered	O
every	O
prior	O
game	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
Gun	O
Hazard	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
arranged	O
by	O
Iwasaki	O
from	O
the	O
compositions	O
of	O
Iwasaki	O
,	O
Hayato	O
Matsuo	O
,	O
Yoko	O
Shimomura	O
,	O
Noriko	O
Matsueda	O
,	O
Ryo	B-Application
Yamazaki	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Riow	O
Arai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PS2	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
sold	O
over	O
42,000	O
copies	O
in	O
Japan	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
Battle	O
Stick	O
"	O
for	O
Windows	O
players	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Square	O
Enix	O
2006	O
Annual	O
Report	O
,	O
Front	B-Protocol
Mission	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
is	O
cited	O
as	O
a	O
reason	O
for	O
the	O
companies	O
13%	O
rise	O
in	O
their	O
"	O
Games	O
:	O
Online	O
"	O
segment	O
over	O
the	O
previous	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
