feels like a game you'd have to be really plugged into armored core to get a lot out of. nothing about the game felt particularly thought through in a way that was far less forgivable since it's apparently the seventh or eighth entry. i'm really hoping the next couple games i try feel more compelling, as nothing in this one sold me on itself. i'll grant that at least part of that is probably because i didn't already go through silent line (assuming that's particularly good), but i was recommended this game and last raven as a duology of sorts. it gives me a bit of pause on the next set of ac games i was recommended on the road to 6.
back to this, though, i found that nexus overstayed its welcome after a while and got to a point where i'd acquired so much money with nothing of note to spend it on that it felt like the gameplay loop had just... slumped. i barely felt like i was upgrading anything after a while and experimenting with all kinds of parts became dull as a lot of what the game had to offer didn't feel too distinct. what had felt like being a kid in a candy store early on eventually became a sad sigh as nothing seemed to change quickly enough to satisfy that lust for experimentation these games seem to want to foster.
the missions weren't nearly as enjoyable as they could have been, feeling too similar without an excuse, and the music got grating during my least favorites of them (i'd imagine there's a correlation). the fights against other acs never really clicked, either, and while they weren't particularly brutal until a bit later it still just seemed like there was a level of non-flow with the (many many) weapons i'd experimented with that was unfortunately unavoidable compared to what i'd previously played (that being the first game). at the very least the base movement and some of the new systems that'd premiered since my previous experience were nice, though. it all felt like an evolution of some sort. i think.
it was nice feeling the general quality of life improvements that had come in the many games since the previous one i'd played, but that alone didn't feel like enough to make the game particularly enjoyable to the point of wanting to finish it. still, since i was kinda playing through it in long bursts i might just come back to it later in case i was just getting fatigued. it wasn't like it felt too bad to play, it just had no pull. regardless of specifics, i did feel like this entry was a lot more sloppy than i'd hope for for something so far into a franchise. i can only hope this is not an omen for anything to come.
back to this, though, i found that nexus overstayed its welcome after a while and got to a point where i'd acquired so much money with nothing of note to spend it on that it felt like the gameplay loop had just... slumped. i barely felt like i was upgrading anything after a while and experimenting with all kinds of parts became dull as a lot of what the game had to offer didn't feel too distinct. what had felt like being a kid in a candy store early on eventually became a sad sigh as nothing seemed to change quickly enough to satisfy that lust for experimentation these games seem to want to foster.
the missions weren't nearly as enjoyable as they could have been, feeling too similar without an excuse, and the music got grating during my least favorites of them (i'd imagine there's a correlation). the fights against other acs never really clicked, either, and while they weren't particularly brutal until a bit later it still just seemed like there was a level of non-flow with the (many many) weapons i'd experimented with that was unfortunately unavoidable compared to what i'd previously played (that being the first game). at the very least the base movement and some of the new systems that'd premiered since my previous experience were nice, though. it all felt like an evolution of some sort. i think.
it was nice feeling the general quality of life improvements that had come in the many games since the previous one i'd played, but that alone didn't feel like enough to make the game particularly enjoyable to the point of wanting to finish it. still, since i was kinda playing through it in long bursts i might just come back to it later in case i was just getting fatigued. it wasn't like it felt too bad to play, it just had no pull. regardless of specifics, i did feel like this entry was a lot more sloppy than i'd hope for for something so far into a franchise. i can only hope this is not an omen for anything to come.