Finally, an Armored Core game I truly love. It has its flaws just like the rest of them, but has the best balance of mission design, story and music to date.

Armored Core 3 is a little more direct with its story from the get go. The world is explained to you, a society built in layers ruled over by a force known as "The Controller". It's simple sci-fi guff, giving me big Psycho Pass vibes, but more effectively established a core threat. Obviously, the idea of a supercomputer making every single decision is rather dystopian, and the game grapples heavily with themes of control and oppression. It won't win any awards, yet I was hooked throughout, and once again found myself building rapport with different companies based on how they responded to current events. It's AC storytelling at its best!

Missions are about as good as they've ever been, too. Plenty "kill all enemies" objectives, with a smattering of escorts, defences and more unique goals, such as surviving a firing range without shooting back or my favourite level, a vertical dive into a sunken cargo ship where you balance how much you can destroy with both a time limit and limited ammunition. Once you get to the bottom, you're put against the clock and have to scale your way back and with the game's electrifying soundtrack, it makes for an incredibly intense setpiece.

AC3 does fall into the trap of previous titles where the final stretch of the game can just be a tad too brutal. Everything kills you in seconds and requires an accurate onslaught from yourself in order to stand a chance. It's just a touch frustrating, but otherwise this game excels in its mission design.

Just a fantastic entry in a series I'm truly growing to adore. I've got a lot more Gen 3 ahead so I'm happy to see it's off to a great start.