Armored Core 4, the most recent incarnation of the niche mecha-action
game series Armored Core, has quite a few changes to the traditional
formula that AC games are known for.
First things first, the graphics have of course been updated quite a
bit from the previous AC games on the PS2, the mechs themselves look
amazing on a HD TV/Monitor, but the environments can be underwhelming
at times, with a bit too many re-used terrain textures. The sound
quality seemed decent to fairly good, though that has never been a
issue with AC games, and hopefully will never become one.
On to more important matters, Armored Core 4 takes a big step forward
for the series in terms of improving and giving a face-lift to the
various Menu's and sub-menu's that consist of things such as the
Garage, Assembly, etc. In layman's terms, it's much easier to buy parts
and equip them, and several features of past AC games were removed to
make this installment have a lower learning curve. This was done most
likely in hopes of a surge of "new gamers" buying the game.
Unfortunately what they did was in all probability anger some of the
die hard AC fans with these changes to gameplay, Boosters are of less
importance in this game, and their seems to be a reduced number of
parts in total as well, allowing for less overall diversity.
As far as the single-player campaign goes, it is fairly
straightforward, in each Chapter, there are multiple missions listed
that you can accept, it's usually recommended you go in the order they
are listed, but you can do them in whatever order you want. This game,
like most other AC games, still doesn't give much advice on what types
of equipment/parts would be the best choice, it leaves you to find out
for yourself, so it's basically a guess and check system. The missions
vary dramatically in difficulty, some being easy as pie, and some being
crazy hard.
Unfortunately the Multiplayer, however awesome as the idea of AC online
is, is a letdown in many ways, yes you can fight against multiple
players, but for one, there aren't that many playing online at any one
time, and 2. most of the people your going to go up against are DIE
hard, fans of the series and have been playing one AC game or another
for years, and you will probably find that they already have all the
best combinations for parts and equipment, + are extremely skilled in
AC4's combat. This all meaning that us normal players don't stand a
chance in in Hell.
Overall, this game is a worthy title, if for nothing other than you can
battle with giant mech's in High Def with a friend or two, and enjoy
the great customizability.
