Viewing Single Post From: Video Game Review Club

Viewing Single Post From: Video Game Review Club
Askio	Sep 29 2008, 01:25 PM
Crit McGee on Speed Posts: 2,853 Group: Veteran Member #436 Joined: October 1, 2005	Game: Armored Core for Answer Platform: PS3 and Xbox 360 Genre: Mech, Action (maybe even adventure) The armored core series is back at it again. And thankfully, its in North America has gotten it as well, thanks to Ubisoft taking up the mantle after Sega's horrible botching of the release for Armored Core 4, for many reasons. Going off of that, what exactly has Ubisoft done and not done to botch the game, and what have the people of Software done with the armored core mech series now? Well first off, the quick paced gameplay from Armored Core 4 is back, and retuned for easier play in some ways, and at the same time, making it not nearly as easy for certain weapons, which were useful in the story mode and abusive in online play, making things more balanced. This jump that was made in AC4 from the original intuitive yet somewhat clumsy at times gameplay in earlier generations has done the series great justice, seeing how in the story, a great deal of time has passed. Which is something that must be brought to attention. ARMORED CORE FOR ANSWER ACTUALLY HAS A DAMN STORY!!!OMG!! I'm sorry, but I can't help but leap for joy at this fact as a fan of the series. While Sega is great and all, rather than focusing on making robot girlfriends for lonely individuals, they should focus on not botching a games story. In Armored Core 4, the story was so scattered and so confusing in the cuts the releases outside of japan that were made, that a story basically didn't exist. It randomly took a jumble of ideas and threw them together, overall making the game seem less fulfulling and confusing. Not only have the creators made the story deeper and better, but Ubisoft actually stayed away from cutting the story for the most part, and brought in good voice actors to fill in the numerous roles in the game, making a much more pleasing experience. But where is the story at? Here is a brief run down of it. The game takes place around 10 years after AC4. There are numerous corporations that more or less rule the world. After the war that took place in AC4, the Lynx war, the corporations gained more power. However, numerous years of abuse to the planet by the coroporations production of weapons and other industries have led the surface of Earth to become polluted, for many, to fatal extremes. While still liveable, it is not easy. Rather than try to fix the problem on the surface, the corporations build giant flying sanctuaries, known as the Cradles. Millions live in these flying homes, under rule of the corporations. However, the Lynx pilots were left behind on the surface, as many executive leaders realized after the actions of a certain Lynx (you the pilot in AC4), that they were to unpredictable and to powerful. As a result of the war, the corporations joined together to form a group known as "The League." They used their power to create weapons they could control, rather than rely on the Lynx pilots all the time. Needless to say, they still need them. Which is where you come in. You are a new Next (mech) pilot, fresh and eager to earn a name for yourself. Like in AC4, your character does not have any cutscense, nor does he/she speak at all. Rather, your 'answers' are decided through your actions. Which brings in the main feature of the games story, that being there are three possible endings, each unique for which side you choose. Will you aid the League? Or will you side with the Reactionary army of ORCA, trying to open up humanity's future through extreme action? Or will you side with the independent states on the surface? Through which missions you choose in each chapter, and in some of them, who you let live and die, or make die and let live rather, will decide which path the game will end. After you complete one ending, you get to start over with all your money, equipment, ranks, etc. too, so its not like going from scratch. But one big difference is in the gameplay. It's not just the revamped speedy fun combat, but some of the new enemies, in particular, Arms Forts. Now, most people have played or heard of shadow of the colossus, a unique game pitting a lone warrior, his blade, bow, and trusty horse against giants, basically resulting in a major boss fight being the only fights. Take that concept, make it into a mech game where your super powered Next , maybe 50 or 60 feet tall, against some smaller ones that are about the sizes of a mansion, to giants that carry enough firepower to level cities, and carry enough troops to cover the ground and sky in black dots, (or red on your radar) and you have to crush them all. NOt only that, but how you deal with each one is unique not only on the type of Arms Fort, but the type of next you build. Which comes to the most known feature of the game. The mech building. There are 400-500 parts in the game, the exact number is hard to say. Needless, just on basic mech building, for anyone that wants to try having 20+ slots with over 400 parts you could combine together. Thousands of combinations are possible. Whats really nice is that rather than getting a lot more complex, in some ways, the process is simpler. The garage and shop can be accessed next to each other, but are seperate, making building less confusing than AC4. Not only that, but the decal, emblem, and various other options allow a true feeling of being able to make whatever you want. Wanna be a giant tank typle mech with a lot of Armor Points, and enough power and guns to make Sylvester and Arnold crap their pants? Go ahead. Want it to be bright pink with flowers on it? You can do that too. Or you can make a sniper, that can fly almost indefinately, with an effective booster system, picking off poor targets. Or you could load up a light mobile type with the enhanced back and quick boost parts, throw on some laser blades, and just cut everything. The graphics and music have also recieved quite the overhaul as well. Taking the sleek look of AC4, its been overhauled, making mech fans drool over the sleek look of their mechs even more. Not only that, the soundtrack has been vamped up. With tracks like "The Bloody Honey Never Stops", "The Answer", "Today", "I See All", and more, the soundtrack that ACfA has is impressive. The only real problem with it is that sometimes during the game, there seems to be a lack of variety of the great tracks at times, but often, its not an issue, making the battles epic. Another intersting note about graphics that makes the game epic. It takes "Totally destructible enviroments", those nice looking graphics you could stare and look at all day, and makes sure if you want to, you can blast them. Shoot a missle in a desert and it hits the ground, there will be a giant smoldering crater. Shoot a skyscraper or ruined building enough times, its going to collapse into rubble, or explode, depending on how you do it. Shoot a boar in the ocean, its not going to float there, its going to actually sink and say hello to Davy Jones. Overall, the only real problem with the game is the daunting task of catching up. If you have never played an Armored Core game before, hit up the web or go play the older games in the series to get a better understanding of some of what is going on, even the botched story of AC4. Also, even though it is simpler than some previous titles, the process of making a good mech that goes well to your style of gameplay may be challenging for newbies. But there are tutorials before anything begins, and now even better premade mech designs, more of which can be unlocked later on. Over all, ACfA is what AC4 should have or could have been, in almost every way, especially for release outside of Japan. All in all, a great addition to the series, and an interesting piece for groundwork to continue the series on, especially with the multiple endings. Story 8/10 Gameplay 9/10 Graphics 9/10 Soundtrack 9/10 Overall grade 9/10 or A- to A
	Fire Emblem Online Askio: 9-1-1

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