Armored Core 3

"If I've learned anything, it's that blowing up robots is FUN !"

Story- You play as a “mysterious” AC (a giant robot, like in Gundam) pilot. You’re entering the ranks of the Ravens, a mercenary group that is hired by different corporations seeking to gain control of a large city. Sounds fun? Of course!!

Gameplay- What we have here folks, is Grand Turismo with giant robots. You start off with 3 AC’s, each one exactly the same, and equipped with basic parts to get you started. As you advance through your missions, you’ll be given money, which you can put towards new parts for your AC.

So, what are the missions like? They take place in a 3rd-person view, in many futuristic locations. There are many different missions, which can consist of protecting a target, destroy all enemies, or disable bombs. They can seem repetitive, but you don’t seem to notice cause you’re too busy blowing stuff up, all while raising your Raven Rank.

In certain missions, you are given the choice of hiring a wingman. This could be helpful, but you can keep the money instead of getting a wingman.

After each mission, you’re awarded with the cash, and you’ll be deducted for repairs on your AC and the ammo you wasted. You might also lose some money if you destroy some thing that weren’t supposed to be destroyed.

You can also earn money in the Arena. Here you’ll battle against fellow Raven’s. Each opponent has different strengths and weaknesses.

Now what can you do with the money you earn? Well, head over to your garage and buy new parts. You can buy a new head, core, arms, legs, boosters, FCS (fire control system), generators, radiators, insides, extensions, back units, and WEAPONS! Each part has different stats. A new head could give more Armor points, yet it could have no radar. A set of hover-legs lets you fly above water, yet you can’t jump anymore. You’ll need to plan ahead if you want to make a good AC to conquer your foes.

You can even customize your AC further, by giving it a custom paint job. You can give almost all the parts a custom color. It doesn’t end there, because you can also slap an emblem on your AC. You can chose from some standard ones the game has, make your own, or steal one from a defeated Arena opponent.

The game does have a versus mode. Armored Core 3 takes advantage of the PS2 i.Link. Don’t like split screen battles? If you’ve got 2 TVs and 2 PS2’s, just connect the PS2’s with the i.Link. If you don’t have that equipment, just play the standard versus mode, with split screens. You’ve got your Battle Royale, which is a kill everything, or a Team Battle. You can throw in computer players if you’d like some extra competition.

Graphics and Sound- Graphics are pretty good. You can see the details on the AC’s parts. The levels are pretty detailed.

Of course… If you’re paying attention to the graphics in the levels and on the AC’s, you’re not going to last very long in battle.

The sound is nice. The music tracks mainly consist of techno. The game does feature some nice sound effect, such as explosions, boosters firing off, and the sweet sound of a missile locking onto its target.

Replay Value- There is quite a nice bit of replay to this game. The way you can upgrade your AC offers almost unlimited play. There are also hidden parts to find in certain missions, by meeting certain conditions.

Rent or Buy- To rent or to buy… I would have to say buy. This is a game that offers unlimited gameplay. Creating your own custom AC’s is amazing, you’ll no doubt want to have every kind. You could rent it just to try it out, but you’ll just end up buying it, and you’ll probably end up keeping it until the next Armored Core graces us with it’s presence. The game could get repetitive, and could get a bit boring, but it will take awhile for that to set in.

My final score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/23/02, Updated 09/23/02