I seldom buy games when they come out anymore. However, I played the hell out of Armored Core on the PS1, PS2, and PSP. I even bought one of those grossly overpriced PS2 Link cables to be able to connect to other people's PS2s for "proper" dueling, so seeing the newest Armored Core launching on PC? Sure, why not. I also enjoy big stompy robot games, and recently played through both Battletech and Mechwarrior 5.

Having gotten 100% on the game / all achievements within a week of getting the game, I wish I'd waited for a sale. The graphics look nice on my high end gaming PC, and the game has been very stable. It's nice to be able to dig around in the garage and mix and match parts for your AC, and the "Barbie dress-up" part of the game (the painting and decals) is pretty decently done. There are far fewer parts to chose from than previous AC games, and the stats felt a little simpler than I recall, especially the fire control system options (no range listed). There's a fair amount of mission variety, but for a modern franchise title from what is now a major studio, I really was hoping for more for $60+.

There's no CO-OP, unless you count the bare-bones arena mode, so you can't really experience the game with friends. There's no way to join up with an ally to clear more difficult missions. Once you've beaten the arena, you've beaten that part. The game mode Arena is easy to defeat every time a new opponent is available to beat. I use the hardest arena bosses for testing loadouts, with decent loadouts regularly killing the top arena boss in around 30 seconds or less. There's also no real end-game content at all. Once you've beaten the story three times over, collected all the stuff in missions, beaten the arena, and S-ranked all the missions (protip: shotties and needleguns), literally all that's left is is the Nest (online arena), which is shockingly minimalist / bare bones for a modern game. No actual chat function. Maybe a dozen or so canned phrases you can send (almost none of which are useful). No auto-randomization of the map. No way to limit or encourage specific builds or weapons. You can't even title your arena. In Nest arena combat, there's no way to communicate anything. No marking targets. No calling out threats. Nada. It's a bit like toddlers playing soccer, as a result.

Weapon balance is pretty lacking, so once you get the VE-60SNA Stun Needle Launcher and the SG-027 Zimmerman Shotgun, you can effectively clear all the arena and S-rank every level, and be a threat in most Nest arena maps.

There are some new play mechanics that felt hamfistedly inserted in the game, and constantly break immersion. The worst new feature has to be the auto-lock system. Playing with mouse and keyboard, the auto-lock system is so poorly implemented that you'll see your target lock bouncing around to random targets for no apparent reason. I'll be desperately trying to target the thing in the middle of my screen charging right at me, only to have my AC randomly lock onto something totally off the screen and slightly behind me instead. There is no effective way to lock onto a target, since anything in the foreground, background, near, or far can inexplicably swap the targeting system to it. I noticed this immediately in the needlessly difficult "tutorial" (first) level. In fact, the very final boss fight (New Game ++) is the player versus the non-existent target lock system. That's literally the fight / what makes the final boss difficult... poor U.I. design was literally turned into the final boss of the game. The hardest part of the fight is trying to figure out why your fire control system won't keep targeting the boss.

Another level that was poor U.I. design versus the player was based around the decision to not include a real radar or map function into the game, paired with objectives not showing up when using the "scan" function that players are introduced to in the optional tutorials. The level was an exercise in frustration since it was easy to get lost, and figuring out where you needed to go was difficult to determine without a map or radar. The level itself was quite easy, but making the map player vs. poor U.I. design was an exercise in frustration until you could at least kind of memorize the layout.

The other new mechanic that was a step backwards is ACS overload, which is a poorly justified sci-fi jargon for "stun." A popular Esport title (DOTA2) recently lowered all the stuns in their game because there's something absolutely not fun at all at hitting buttons in a video game for 5 to 10 seconds, only to have absolutely nothing happen until you die. Even more silly, if you get an ACS overload in midair, it stops you in mid air / gravity and momentum cease to exist. Within 24 hours of launch, it was apparent that the weapons which caused ACS overload the fastest were the OP weapons for the game, making the energy builds I historically enjoyed somewhat moot. To add insult to injury for us long-term AC fans, the formerly uber Karasawa laser rifle in this game is quite "meh."

I did like the rework of the U.I. where weapon heat was shown right by whatever the target lock happened to have gone to.

The largely tacked-on / non-existent story is par for the course for AC, but had a little more depth than previous versions. The inclusion of a disembodied waifu was kinda weird though, I gotta admit. It was a bit disappointing that there's no real "good" ending, but that kinda makes sense considering you're a friggin' murderer for hire. The voice acting was pretty good. The music was solid.

Despite being a fan of the series, finding some pleasant nostalgia here and there, and appreciating the game's sense of speed, two significantly poorly done U.I. choices (non-functioning target lock with mouse and keyboard and no real map or radar) were massively immersion breaking and frequently took all the fun out of what otherwise would have been a cool experience. With a few simple changes or additions, this game could have been a timeless classic that brought Armored Core to the masses. Instead, it's near-zero replayability will likely relegate it to a "one and done" for fans of the series or developer.

Final Verdict:
6/10. Buy it on sale if you like big scifi robots.

I seldom buy games when they come out anymore. However, I played the hell out of Armored Core on the PS1, PS2, and PSP. I even bought one of those grossly overpriced PS2 Link cables to be able to connect to other people's PS2s for "proper" dueling, so seeing the newest Armored Core launching on PC? Sure, why not. I also enjoy big stompy robot games, and recently played through both Battletech and Mechwarrior 5. Having gotten 100% on the game / all achievements within a week of getting the game, I wish I'd waited for a sale. The graphics look nice on my high end gaming PC, and the game has been very stable. It's nice to be able to dig around in the garage and mix and match parts for your AC, and the "Barbie dress-up" part of the game (the painting and decals) is pretty decently done. There are far fewer parts to chose from than previous AC games, and the stats felt a little simpler than I recall, especially the fire control system options (no range listed). There's a fair amount of mission variety, but for a modern franchise title from what is now a major studio, I really was hoping for more for $60+. There's no CO-OP, unless you count the bare-bones arena mode, so you can't really experience the game with friends. There's no way to join up with an ally to clear more difficult missions. Once you've beaten the arena, you've beaten that part. The game mode Arena is easy to defeat every time a new opponent is available to beat. I use the hardest arena bosses for testing loadouts, with decent loadouts regularly killing the top arena boss in around 30 seconds or less. There's also no real end-game content at all. Once you've beaten the story three times over, collected all the stuff in missions, beaten the arena, and S-ranked all the missions (protip: shotties and needleguns), literally all that's left is is the Nest (online arena), which is shockingly minimalist / bare bones for a modern game. No actual chat function. Maybe a dozen or so canned phrases you can send (almost none of which are useful). No auto-randomization of the map. No way to limit or encourage specific builds or weapons. You can't even title your arena. In Nest arena combat, there's no way to communicate anything. No marking targets. No calling out threats. Nada. It's a bit like toddlers playing soccer, as a result. Weapon balance is pretty lacking, so once you get the VE-60SNA Stun Needle Launcher and the SG-027 Zimmerman Shotgun, you can effectively clear all the arena and S-rank every level, and be a threat in most Nest arena maps. There are some new play mechanics that felt hamfistedly inserted in the game, and constantly break immersion. The worst new feature has to be the auto-lock system. Playing with mouse and keyboard, the auto-lock system is so poorly implemented that you'll see your target lock bouncing around to random targets for no apparent reason. I'll be desperately trying to target the thing in the middle of my screen charging right at me, only to have my AC randomly lock onto something totally off the screen and slightly behind me instead. There is no effective way to lock onto a target, since anything in the foreground, background, near, or far can inexplicably swap the targeting system to it. I noticed this immediately in the needlessly difficult "tutorial" (first) level. In fact, the very final boss fight (New Game ++) is the player versus the non-existent target lock system. That's literally the fight / what makes the final boss difficult... poor U.I. design was literally turned into the final boss of the game. The hardest part of the fight is trying to figure out why your fire control system won't keep targeting the boss. Another level that was poor U.I. design versus the player was based around the decision to not include a real radar or map function into the game, paired with objectives not showing up when using the "scan" function that players are introduced to in the optional tutorials. The level was an exercise in frustration since it was easy to get lost, and figuring out where you needed to go was difficult to determine without a map or radar. The level itself was quite easy, but making the map player vs. poor U.I. design was an exercise in frustration until you could at least kind of memorize the layout. The other new mechanic that was a step backwards is ACS overload, which is a poorly justified sci-fi jargon for "stun." A popular Esport title (DOTA2) recently lowered all the stuns in their game because there's something absolutely not fun at all at hitting buttons in a video game for 5 to 10 seconds, only to have absolutely nothing happen until you die. Even more silly, if you get an ACS overload in midair, it stops you in mid air / gravity and momentum cease to exist. Within 24 hours of launch, it was apparent that the weapons which caused ACS overload the fastest were the OP weapons for the game, making the energy builds I historically enjoyed somewhat moot. To add insult to injury for us long-term AC fans, the formerly uber Karasawa laser rifle in this game is quite "meh." I did like the rework of the U.I. where weapon heat was shown right by whatever the target lock happened to have gone to. The largely tacked-on / non-existent story is par for the course for AC, but had a little more depth than previous versions. The inclusion of a disembodied waifu was kinda weird though, I gotta admit. It was a bit disappointing that there's no real "good" ending, but that kinda makes sense considering you're a friggin' murderer for hire. The voice acting was pretty good. The music was solid. Despite being a fan of the series, finding some pleasant nostalgia here and there, and appreciating the game's sense of speed, two significantly poorly done U.I. choices (non-functioning target lock with mouse and keyboard and no real map or radar) were massively immersion breaking and frequently took all the fun out of what otherwise would have been a cool experience. With a few simple changes or additions, this game could have been a timeless classic that brought Armored Core to the masses. Instead, it's near-zero replayability will likely relegate it to a "one and done" for fans of the series or developer. Final Verdict: 6/10. Buy it on sale if you like big scifi robots.