So, the second generation of Armored Core. A more fluid experience than its predecessors with a solid story that tends to miss its mark in terms of mission objectives.
I feel as if I'm going to have less and less to say about AC sequels, but there has been a substantial jump from the PS1 here. The visuals are wonderful, at its best this game reminds me of F-Zero GX which is high praise from me. Having said this, locales often feel uninspired. Generic laboratory hallways and low visibility night areas take up a lot of the runtime and when the game does veer into more peculiar destinations, there's sometimes a catch. The snow and desert levels are particularly barren, with storms that make it difficult for you to see much. It feels unfair to say that the original AC did areas like this to intentionally build an atmosphere of desolation, but the vibes just weren't hitting the same way in this game. The soundtrack also blended into the background for me, listening back it's good but for whatever reason, it didn't have much staying power.
I was big on the customisation this time around. While I dabbled with different weapons during the prior games, I spent a majority of my time in the menus here. The arena works as a perfect testing ground for new builds and I actually ended up working my way up to rank 1. It took a while for me to find a build I was happy with; many of the best weapons just didn't have the ammunition to carry through the game's longest missions. But when I did settle on something for the final quarter or so, I was stoked!
The missions are the lowest part, though. There's very little in terms of truly unique objectives and on the whole, they feel too long. Many of these missions will drain of your most precious resources, health and stamina. While your AC controls better than ever, there's a vast number of enemies that dart around the screen, being totally impossible to pinpoint. The most annoying aspect of this is when they jump above you, as this is where your coverage is generally the most lacking. I still enjoyed the flow of gameplay for the most part, but the objectives here left a lot to be desired.
All in all, I do prefer this game to those that came before it. It's a big step up in general "feel", but the campaign needs some ironing out in order to truly shine.
I feel as if I'm going to have less and less to say about AC sequels, but there has been a substantial jump from the PS1 here. The visuals are wonderful, at its best this game reminds me of F-Zero GX which is high praise from me. Having said this, locales often feel uninspired. Generic laboratory hallways and low visibility night areas take up a lot of the runtime and when the game does veer into more peculiar destinations, there's sometimes a catch. The snow and desert levels are particularly barren, with storms that make it difficult for you to see much. It feels unfair to say that the original AC did areas like this to intentionally build an atmosphere of desolation, but the vibes just weren't hitting the same way in this game. The soundtrack also blended into the background for me, listening back it's good but for whatever reason, it didn't have much staying power.
I was big on the customisation this time around. While I dabbled with different weapons during the prior games, I spent a majority of my time in the menus here. The arena works as a perfect testing ground for new builds and I actually ended up working my way up to rank 1. It took a while for me to find a build I was happy with; many of the best weapons just didn't have the ammunition to carry through the game's longest missions. But when I did settle on something for the final quarter or so, I was stoked!
The missions are the lowest part, though. There's very little in terms of truly unique objectives and on the whole, they feel too long. Many of these missions will drain of your most precious resources, health and stamina. While your AC controls better than ever, there's a vast number of enemies that dart around the screen, being totally impossible to pinpoint. The most annoying aspect of this is when they jump above you, as this is where your coverage is generally the most lacking. I still enjoyed the flow of gameplay for the most part, but the objectives here left a lot to be desired.
All in all, I do prefer this game to those that came before it. It's a big step up in general "feel", but the campaign needs some ironing out in order to truly shine.