Armored Core 2

"Next Generation Mech Warrior"

Mech games have come a long way since the days of Mechwarrior for SNES. No longer placing you outside of the Mech, but now, inside of one, the Play Station 2 offers you a first hand view of what Mech-battling is all about. Giving you several different robot combinations, a parts listing that runs from the cooling units to the energy shields to close range melee weapons. The key points of the game have to do with the way that the game is set up to create and then pit your robot against the computer or your friends own creations. When you get deeper into the game, you’ll find that Armored Core 2 is a game well worth taking hold of and getting know before diving headlong into the world of the Machines.

Build Me A Robot…Capable Of Mass Destruction

Possibly the most comprehensive mech building game there is, you have a massive listing of parts and cores that allows you to build a custom made Mech for use in game. Each part has a specific rating that must be met without overloading the weight requirement of your Mech, and most weapons need to be used on a trial and error basis. Putting you inside of a huge arena, there is a need to do alot of testing, and then defeat your opponent before your Mech is completely destroyed. While this doesn't seem too difficult, the computer intelligence ranges from the insanely fast and weak to the ultra slow and super-powerful. Again, there will be a need to set your Mech to the situation that you're up against.

One of the coolest features is the fact that you can use your own created custom Mech that's saved on your memory card and fight against your friends on their game. This gives way to endless possiblities for battles and custom created Mechs. With the numerous parts that you can buy at the store, there are tons of different custom combinations that you can make that will effect how well you do in open combat. You’ll see that the game has plenty of things going for it in this respect, complete with all of the general statistics that you would expect from a robot game of this size. The difficulty that you find with the game really depends on how well you’ve done with creating your machine, so it is a complete trial and error type of game.

First things first. In terms of precise control needed to play, alot of practice will be needed to learn how to move your robot warrior and use the speed or sloth of the Mech to your advantage. The learning curve is relatively steep, so beginners will find some aggravation in trying to learn the movement of their Mech. Veteran and Expert gamers will find some difficulty at first, but once they've had a few rounds in the Arena with their custom Mech, there shouldn't be any problems in learning just what the Mech can do and in what situations. These is another part of the game that brings the difficulty up to par, and you’ll find that the game does have some challenge to it in simply controlling your robot in the way that you want it to go.

Dazzle The Eyes…

From massive explosions to huge missile barrages that race across the screen, each and every attack made or produced comes blazing across the screen in brilliant fashion. Mech's come in all shapes and sizes, being built from scratch and from core units to produce a well designed and neat looking robot warrior. Gamers will find that the speed placed into the game and the well produced explosions and weapons effects dazzle the eyes. Most arenas are straight forward, with well designed obstacles and items to find. Once you’ve been taken in by the sheer expansive of some of the areas, you might find that the actual mission locations have some repeating portions to them that do give you a little case of deja-vu.

Another feature in the game is that your robot looks exactly as you want it to and exactly how you create it. You’ll have different animations depending on the weapons, armor and even legs that you use for your robot. With this much detail, it would be expected that there are instances of slow-down in the game and there are portions that will test your patience when the screen seems to become overcrowded with action. These points are few and far between, but if you play enough, then you’ll find that the in-close battles are the ones that keep you from really getting a handle on where your robot is and where the enemy is as well. Another disappointment is there really isn’t anything here that will keep you buried in a story, as most of it is simple text mission briefings.

Future Dance…

A killer soundtrack with a heavy rock beat to it keeps the gamer in the action. Each stage keeps a fast paced tempo, and with a good stereo system hooked up, the 3D sound comes from all directions as you look at on the screen. Near perfect except that some of the sounds can become overwhelming and sometimes too loud when the volume is set too high from the stereo. The in-close battles have some problems because the sheer amount of bass coming through the stereo speakers can overload them and create static noise. The sound effects with the rockets, guns and even damage that you take can really overload the ears, so this is a game that really needs to be played during the day when everyone is awake or if you live by yourself.

Start Up Complete…

Armored Core 2 follows a long tradition that started with the original Playstation and ends up here with a very comprehensive and time consuming game that is both fun and challenging. Fans of Mech games should have no qualms about laying down 50 bucks to pick this up, as the endless possibilities of Mech building can be found here in this title. With the fast moving and detailed visuals as well as a decent soundtrack, massive amounts of gaming aspects and multiplayer options, you have one game that doesn't get old..it just gets better. Worthy of renting for the weekend, this is the title that you might start with before you get into the Armored Core expansion: Another Age and Armored Core 3. Beginners will enjoy it and veterans will probably find it to be a good refresher course before moving onto the later titles in the series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/01, Updated 02/04/03