The most approachable Armored Core game? Say it ain't so!
Coming into this game, I've played though a bit of Armored Core 3 on the PS2 to judge if the series would be worthwhile for me to get into, given I've heard that AC3 was the most approachable out of the older-generation games... Turns out AC3 helped me fall in love with the series, haha. Anyways... When I dove into this game shortly after getting the PS5 system I got it for, I personally noticed that the controls were far more intuitive and responsive compared to the clunkiness of AC3's default controls, and I got the hang of things pretty quickly as I went through the tutorial mission. When I proceeded to get to the tutorial mission's boss, namely a giant helicopter, I got blown up SEVERAL times as I tried to fight it off... However, I discovered that being aggressive and utilizing your mech's flying ability to dodge the chopper's onslaughts was key in attaining victory. As you progress through the story mode, you'll unlock several parts that you can buy or find during missions, and you'll be able to install them onto your mech, allowing for INCREDIBLE amounts of customization with the multitude of parts you'll eventually be able to use. The game primarily focuses on the single-player campaign, which is a "stereotypically Armored Core" sort of affair, featuring your player character as a mercenary accepting missions for various factions that are fighting each other on the planet Rubicon 3 over Coral, a highly valuable energy source. I'm on Chapter 4 of my first playthrough as of this writing, but be aware that repeat playthroughs will reward additional parts as you progress. I haven't gotten to the point of starting a New Game Plus playthrough yet, but I'll be sure to dive into that whenever I get an itch for AC6 in the future. There is multiplayer available after progressing to a certain point in the story, but it only allows for custom matches as of this review's writing. Given that I generally vibe with mech and robot games, like Custom Robo, I found myself hyper-fixating on this game through how I can customize my own mechs endlessly, as I often tweaked my builds depending on the mission. I find that this is the most approachable Armored Core game, given that the controls are fairly easy to learn and intuitive. It's also easy to make a good profit between missions, unlike in past games where you could potentially go into debt by doing poorly, mis-managing your ammo, or even outright failing the mission. In conclusion, I am in LOVE with this game so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes one of my personal all-time favorites once I'm through with it. Read more
