In two weeks, on March 20th, we can get our hands on the next Armored Core installment. Let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to. This has been a consistently strong series in my experience, and ArCo5 looks like it won’t disappoint. Despite being a big hit in Japan, I don’t think the fanbase is quite as strong outside that robot-crazed land. In any case, I think it still has a pretty dedicated fanbase, however cultish it may be. With the addition of some interesting new elements, Armored Core V looks like a promising candidate to take the series into the mainstream.
Personally, I’ve been a fan of these games since the original on the PSOne, so I’m here to explain why it deserves some love. Let’s start with the [SFW] robot porn below.
If you have any love for giant robots–and I would be surprised if anyone reading this doesn’t have some love for giant robots–then you should check out this trailer. This one in particular doesn’t sport any in-game footage, but its drool-worthy CG makes it worth a watch.
What the hell is Armored Core anyway?
If you’re not familiar with the series here’s a brief breakdown: You take the role of an Mech Pilot (the mech’s are called “AC”s), usually as part of a Mercenary PMC hired for high-risk jobs. While working the jobs you will often contend with mechs from rival PMCs, among other things. The missions themselves play a lot like third-person shooters (see video with gameplay footage below), but the specifics are entirely determined by your mech set-up. All the recent ArCo‘s also include a kind of Gladiatorial coliseum mode wherein you fight your way through the ranks of the best AC pilots in the world, eventually reaching the number one spot to become the “Nine Breaker” (which you have to admit is a badass title). Back in the garage, Armored Core offers an unsurpassed level of mech customization. That complexity is probably a make-or-break aspect for most gamers.
For fans like myself, the depth of mech customization is one of ArCo‘s biggest selling points, but it’s not hard to see that deciding which radiator is a better fit for your bot could be a huge turn off for some. That said, the potential variety in weapon, armor, booster and speed setups is a mecha-nerd’s dream come true. With the ability to save multiple mech constructions in your garage in Armored Core V you can easily switch up your whole style based on the mission profile. Is it a quick smash-and-grab? Need to get in and out in a hurry? You’ll probably want a light mech with quick moving, reverse-joint legs, an emphasis on boosters to allow long-distance charges and extended flight. On the other hand, if you’re invading a high-security military compound and expect heavy resistance you could go with a quad-leg or tank-tread base (like the one seen in the trailer above) to support the heaviest armor and biggest guns you’ve got.
The big news here is all about the new multiplayer features.
Namco Bandai is publishing this iteration, and it seems fitting that they would push From Software to really emphasize the multiplayer aspect. In previous games, you could go head to head with your buddies but there wasn’t a lot there to keep you hooked in after you finished the main campaign. From the video below, you can see From Software is really trying to make Armored Core a new name in competitive gaming. Ambitious as that may be, from what I’ve seen there’s a real possibility that ArCo5 will do just that. It looks like they’ve invested a lot of time in developing an online framework to foster competitive play. Considering the level of customization in this game, we could see some really interesting team strategies come out of this.
The most exciting new announcement is the online 10-player team battles incorporating a pseudo-RTS element in the form of an “Operator” player on each team with an overview of the entire battlefield. The operator occupies a highly strategic role in the battle, directing the pilots to objectives, establishing strategy, dropping radar sweeps and even turret defenses as we see in the video below. The details are a little foggy at this point, but there is also going to be some sort of occupation element as well. Your team can take control of different regions and presumably get resources and prestige from them. This will also allow you to set up static defenses to try to ward off encroachment by your enemies. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Some other minor notes: It looks like the HUD has been cleaned up significantly. This is a very good thing when you’ve got upwards of six or seven different weapons to use at any given moment, not to mention things like overheating, fuel levels, and armor integrity to worry about. Obviously YouTube videos aren’t exactly reliable when it comes to giving us a look at how a game will look on our flatscreens at home, but it looks like the visuals are prettied up a bit since the last installment. Overall, I’m very excited about this game, and maybe after reading this preview, you are too.
As a parting gift, I leave you with some more [SFW] robot porn courtesy of namcobandaigames.com – Click to Embiggen:
