Armored Core 4

"Pretty, and fun, but only pretty fun."

I'll give you some background on my playing experience before I get to the review, so you can understand what my expectations were, and why I graded certain aspects in the way I did.

I started playing Armored Core when the Playstation 2 first came out, with Armored Core 2. I learned with what became known as "Type B" controls up until Last Raven, and became accustomed to the series as it evolved. Raven combat, new parts, tweaks and features, etc. I've played through each game several times, so just to let you know this is from an experienced point of view. I've played this game on a friend's XBox 360, both single and multiplayer.

Graphics: 8/10
Personally, I loved the graphics. It might have been me getting accustomed to the Playstation 2's aging capabilities, but the game was downright gorgeous. Laser blasts, grenade explosions, boosting, environmental effects, they all made my jaw drop. Like I said in the title, it's pretty. Maybe it's not as great as other next gen titles, but it fits the game to a T. The only things I didn't like about the graphics in this game were the minimalistic Heads Up Display and the somewhat frequent slowdown. It wasn't a huge problem, but for a next gen title I would have favored smoothness over impact.

Controls: 9/10
This one is a touchy subject for me. Like I said, I used the old "Type B" controls. That control style no longer exists, and with good reason. Your Core handles a lot differently in this game, with quick boosting, an altered weapon switching system, the elimination of extension and inside parts, and a few other factors. However, the new controls are customizable, and fit the new style well. I went with "Custom B" and changed the boost buttons to the bumpers, and the fire buttons to the triggers, and it felt natural. If you've ever played a First Person Shooter, you'll feel at home. Left stick to move and strafe, right stick to look around and turn. Quick boosting jolts you in the direction the left stick is pointed in, or if you're simply turning, it acts very much like the quick turn extension from previous games. Newcomers will have an easy time learning, veterans will have no trouble adjusting.

Sound: 8/10
The sounds were appropriate, but nothing memorable. The music was similar, fitting but unremarkable. You'll know what's going on, but nothing will really jump out at you as awesome.

Challenge: 4/10
This rating is for singleplayer, obviously. I played through the game in 6 hours, beating the normal campaign, a handful of Hard mode missions, and the game's Arena mode, called the "Simulator" mode. During that time, I changed one of my boosters, and a weapon. That's it. A majority of my mission results were S ranks, and all but one of the Hard mode missions were S ranks first try. Perhaps a new player might have a harder time as they are unaccustomed to the game, but for a returning player, it's very disappointing. Other Cores put up pathetic fights, and most 1 on 1 matches will last under 30 seconds. A few simulator matches went as short as 6 seconds. A certain Hard mode mission featuring a 4 on 1 fight was cleared with over 3/4ths of my AP and over half my ammo remaining. It was for this reason I did not finish the Hard mode campaign except to obtain a few notable secret weapons.

Gameplay: 7/10
For those new to Armored Core, you have a mech or robot, which in this series is aptly named a Core, or Armored Core. The central unit is the core, which then has a variety of chassis parts that are required. Arms affect the aiming of your weapons, add armor points (your health), the damage your energy weapons will deal, and in some cases are weapons in and of themselves. Legs affect your mobility, stability, and maximum load. Your head will affect the overall stability of your Core. Then the required internal parts, which are your energy generator, Firing Control System, four different boosters on different locations, and the meat and potatoes, the weapons.

You can mount a weapon on each arm, a weapon on either (or both) side of your back, and some on the sides of your arms. The weapons come in basic flavors, like your standard rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, bazookas, missile launchers, laser rifles, laser blades, and more. Choosing weapons that work together with other weapons and your chassis is just as important as the chassis itself. I would even say that half or more of the game is customizing your Core.

After you've got your Core set up, it's time to fight. The Armored Core you are piloting is called a "Next", past generation Armored Cores are called "Normals". Normals are the staple ground soldiers of this game, Nexts are few and far between, and usually the focal point of missions when they're featured. There are also MTs, which are smaller, weaker vehicles, but they are mostly insignificant as they are easily dispatched.

The game functions somewhat like a shooter, using the left control stick to move and the right to aim. You can boost around and fly, overboost and quickboost. Typical mission objectives are to make sure something doesn't get destroyed or to destroy a target, multiple targets, or everything. Multiplayer is focused solely on the destruction of other Nexts.

And for the returning players, there are some changes from past games.

The Cores move fast, a lot faster than previous games. The heaviest weight Core will feel akin to a medium weight from previous games, and lightweights will feel like you're Zinaida. Quick boosting gives you easy mobility options, and turning is less of a chore because of it.

Energy is a lot more abundant. Boosting takes very little energy, you'll even gain energy while boosting on the ground or over the surface of water. Energy weapons and quick boosts are the only significant impact on energy, and generator busting is impossible. There's a second energy type, dubbed "Kojima Energy" that all generators produce as a secondary stat. This new energy fuels your overboost (which is now a separate part from the core, by the way), and your "Primal Shield", which is an energy shield that acts as an external defensive layer that weapons will have to penetrate before getting to your Core. Thus, all weapons will have new stats for interaction with a Primal Armor. Each part of your chassis will also have stats for Primal Armor. To me, this new defensive layer was somewhat unnecessary, just adding another artificial layer of strategy. Heat, and subsequently calorific value, has been removed from the game, simplifying part strategy.

The FCS (Firing Control System) of previous games has been replaced with a new system. You no longer get a lockbox with a certain size, along with targeting and efficiency stats. The lockbox is effectively the whole screen, which can create some problems when multiple enemies are onscreen. You still have a lock speed and missile lock speed, but they seem to be secondary to arm maneuverability and precision. There's also another stat which claims to be coverage, but mine seemed to always stay at 9999, which I'll guess is the full screen. Another major change is that instead of the head having built in radar, FCS has a built in radar.

Tuning is somewhat different. You can still tune your non-weapon parts, but instead of each weapon simply having a maximum tuned amount, you have a certain number "Memory Points". Each part only has a couple of values that you can tune, but you must pull all tuning points from the main point pool, so you can't tune every part if you put a lot of points into a few parts. I'd rather go with the old system and be able to tune every part, rather than have one part excel at the expense of a totally unrelated part. (For example, I use all my points increasing generator output, so my arm's maneuverability speed cannot be increased, even though the two parts are completely separate.)

Certain parts seem extremely imbalanced, particularly when reacting with the Primal Shield. Of note would be machine guns and laser rifles. Laser rifles have a fairly high impact, but also high PA penetration, so they do a lot of damage quickly. Machine guns however, need to remove the Primal Shield before they start doing good amounts of damage. It's a shame, because I have always liked using energy weapons, and the people I used to play with refused to play against me using an energy design now.

There are now parts called "Stabilizers", I'd liken them to putting spoilers on your car. They're supposed to change the balance of your Core, affecting the way it boosts, turns, and whatnot. The only thing I noticed from them were aesthetic changes and minor stat changes, most of which were negative.

Overall:7/10
This score is what I felt it deserved as an overall score, and isn't reflected in the scores attributed to the individual parts of the game.

The game is good. Not what I hoped or expected, but still good. I'd attribute it to being the first game of it's generation, and just like Armored Core 2 evolved into the later games, this one provides a good groundwork to start the series's new style. I have high hopes for the next game. While I myself prefer Last Raven, if you've never played an Armored Core game, this one would be worth picking up.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07