Armored Core 2

"My first time to ever play a game of this Genre, now I'm hooked."

When I first got my Playstation 2 for Christmas (Joy!) the first thought on my mind was to what? Rent tons of games of course! So rushing down to my local rental store, I pondered my choices and picked out my usual fighting games, and an RPG, when I saw a title that caught my eye. Armored Core 2? The first thing that hooked me was the box, the AC on the front sparked my interest, and I'd never played any game from the Mech Genre or anything of the type, so I decided why not? I took it home, threw it on the couch, and forgot about it for the first two days or so.

But by the time I had been through my first few rentals, and decided which games I liked, and which I didn't, it was time to give AC2 a test run. From the instant I saw the introduction (not the BEST graphics, but definantly improved over PS1) I was intrigued. Little did I know what was in store for me...

Armored Core 2 is a great game because of many different things, but one of the largest parts of it's greatness lies in it's nearly endless combinations and options for customization of your AC. With so many different sections, and dozens of parts for each section you can be stuck designing the perfect AC for you for hours! Plus the ''Emblem Editor'' and ''Color Editors'' allow for even more customization for those who are truly fanatic about making their AC THEIR AC.

Gameplay : 8
The gameplay can be a bit tough on begginers to the genre (like me)however once you've gotten the feel for basic movement, weapon interchanging and the overall basics of piloting the game becomes surprisingly easy to navigate controlwise. The gameplay is extremely smooth, although sometimes when you have a large number of missle/machine gun fire and various targets coming at you, the game can slow down greatly. This has only happened in two situations for me, but is still odd considering the rest of the game is so even.

Storyline : 7
The storyline was pretty straightforward, not too many twists, or even very interesting events. But for a game of this type, the concept was interesting enough to keep me playing, and enjoying it.

Sound : 6
This really seems to be the games weakest point. For what little music there really is in the game (of which the majority is repetitve elevator music, and gets annoying) it typically gets drowned out by the blaring gunfire and lasers going everywhere. <p>

Graphics : 9
The enviroments are amazingly well done, and the enemies are almost flawless, each AC and enemy is equally fun to look at and appealing to the eyes. However, the one flaw to be found in the graphics department is none other than your own AC. It seemed to me that the in-game behind view of your AC leaves the AC looking very blocky and nowhere near as sharp as in the ''garage''. <p>

Replay : 7
After beating the game, you get quite a few nice bonuses which add on a few more hours of gameplay to the game. Mainly used for mastering the Arena, and completing any unfinished missions and such. However, once you've accomplished that much, the game is pretty much over, except for the Versus mode! ^-^

Buy or Rent? :
For fans of the genre, and past AC players, this is a must have! For anyone who has never experienced this type of gaming, but is interested in trying it out, you should definantly give this your $5 rental and one weekend of your time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/01, Updated 01/02/01