Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Instant classic"

Armored Core is a game that is easy to pick up but hard to put down. While the initially sluggish and clunky gameplay and the hours spent purchasing parts and swapping them around for the perfect fighting machine might scare some off, the game is definitely one of the most satisfying games I've played.

And let me say this: It's not easy. Armored Core takes patience - and a lot of it - to actually enjoy this game. Here's the honest truth: I got pretty darn addicted (and I don't get addicted very easily) - nothing's more satisfying than destroying every enemy in your path with a slew of machine guns and rockets and watching the sparks fly with explosive action to boot. The hours pile up, and before you know it you're sucked into the action and in no-time you've got a machine you can actually look at without cringing about how slow it used to be or how awful the missile lock-on was.

But what am I doing? Let's get on with it. That's what you came here for, right? Well then - let's begin.

Armored Core, developed by From Software and was graced to the States on Halloween '97 (don't ask why they did it, but it seems like strategic marketing to me). The game, like many would probably know, is a fine mix of MechWarrior and Gran Turismo. There's the mecha theme, of course - and then there's the knee-deep customization options to go with it.

The story pits you in as an amateur Armored Core pilot (or "AC" for short) that has been accepted to be a Raven, which is a member of a large mercenary faction called the Raven's Nest. Once you start up "New Game" you're already in the action. A message pops up saying that before you are accepted to be a Raven, you must prove yourself by defeating predetermined enemies and win without any prior training or instruction. From here you have to figure out the game mechanics on your own, and the controls you've got to figure out yourself. There's no hand-holding here, folks. The game does not spoon-feed you, and before you know it the game's kicking you in the butt. Then you start learning.

Once the battle is won, then you're a Raven. At first you might notice that your mech has ridiculously slow running speed (in fact, it's so slow that you might as well call it walking) and an awful rifle, along with the worst booster in history. How this piece of scrap ever got to be even considered as an AC is beyond me. However, no matter how far you get into the game, your AC will always be a piece of scrap - at the end of the missions, at least.

On these missions, you are issued a contract from an organization to aid them in whatever they need help with. These can vary from cleaning house by destroying enemies from the opposing faction, or by doing dangerous work that a normal maintenance unit wouldn't be able to do, such as disposing of hazardous material. It kind of gives you that awesome Gundam feel that you're in a powerful mech, but also that sort of Patlabor vibe, too - in which machines are used to do city work and maintaining the area. Working for different factions offers different assortments of missions, which means there are different ways to end the game depending on which faction you sided with. It gives the game a realistic, futuristic setting in which robots have more uses than for just destroying everything. You might be happy when a staggering 35,000 Credit reward is offered from the contract, but when the cash is raked in, you probably shouldn't get too excited. Maintaining a mech is harder than it sounds. At the end of every mission, you have to pay expenses to keep your AC alive and well. This means you have to pay for any ammunition that was discharged, and credits are required to pay for any damages that you might have attained during the mission. In addition to that, some contracts require than you only destroy a few specific things, such as other machines, but destroying civilian property would therefore subtract Credits from the reward. To balance this out, some missions with these restrictions offer an advance payment, which means you get credits for just accepting the contract. This - again - makes you feel like you're a real mercenary that's in it for the money, and that you'll do whatever it takes as long as you rake in the dough.

It gets worse. If you fail the mission, you receive absolutely no payment and you don't even get the chance to redeem yourself should you breach your contract by getting your butt handed to you, or if you attempt to steal the item you're supposed to protect, among other things. This means you can't retry the mission (unless you load the game) and you have to move on with the next one, which means you might have missed out on finding a hidden item or upgrade. Too many of these breaches of contract racks up debt. And a lot of it. However, there are dozens of missions to climb your way back up the ladder, so it's not all bad. The mechanics of this does seem intimidating at first, but you get used to it eventually.

On the flip side, if you get plenty of Credits, you can spend your hoard at the Raven's Nest shop, which provides AC parts. The shop is deeper than you'd probably expect. It sure was for me, because the first time I entered the Shop menu, I didn't know whatever the heck to do. The items in the shop include heads, cores (AKA the "heart" of the machine), arms, legs, back and arm equipment, optional parts, generators, boosters, and electronic enhancements to get a better lock-on. Each of these categories is divided into an even deeper assortment of items. Arms can vary from thick and heavy to thin and lightweight, or they can come with built-in Gatling guns or cannons. Legs can vary from humanoid legs, reverse-joint legs (akin to Metal Gear REX), four-legged pods or even tank-like treads. I'd go through the rest, but it would be best if you saw it for yourself. And I don't mean watching videos of it, but actually playing it. The immersive amount of options to customize your mech is something to be experienced first-hand. You could make a heavy monster with a crazy amount of explosives, or a lightweight mech that zips around with a light machine gun and some rockets. It's all up to you.

Speaking of customization, there's some of it, but other than swapping around parts there isn't much to do. You can change your mech from the default green color, and apply camouflage too. It's a little disappointing that they couldn't do more with the colors to make the ACs more personalized, but I guess it works out fine. You can also create and design emblems and place them on your AC to make it truly yours, though. I never created emblems, since it does take some expertise with pixel art, but those artists out there might find some great use of the emblem editor.

The music in this game is fitting for its genre. It's mainly electronic music, with the good old '90s sound of synthesizers and fast-paced drum beats. It keeps the fast action moving, and while there isn't music in every mission, when the music does kick in, it's awesome and fitting. One of the early missions require you to destroy as much property as you can that belongs to a rival organization in three minutes, and at the last minute they send an AC that you have to fight - which you are later told was the most experienced AC pilot in history. Then the music starts to kick in at around the 45-second mark, making this confrontation perhaps one of the most tensest moments in video gaming history - ever. You were once a puny amateur, but now you're a seasoned veteran. The atmosphere is simply flawless. Visually, the game isn't bad either. Environments can vary from dry deserts, to enclosed tunnels, and even water environments such as waterborne oil rigs and rivers next to dense jungles. The missions are varied and emit a steampunk-like feel, while retaining the Japanese mecha vibe. The sound is great, and the explosions and the sounds of gritty machine gun fire is great, along with the throaty noises from the booster. Nothing is better than hearing the sound of your 10-ton AC pounding its feet into the ground after a long fall. There's also voice-acting, which isn't hilariously bad like the ones seen in other PlayStation titles. The script isn't corny and there are no "Jill Sandwich"-esque lines to be found.

Armored Core sure is a deep and satisfying experience. Definitely one of the most defining games in its genre, Armored Core is a mecha game with obsessive attention to detail, and there's plenty to do after the credits roll. You can go back and revisit earlier missions and ones you might have missed out on due to a breach of contract or if you never sided with a particular faction. Also, make sure you keep the save file on your memory card, because your AC can be used in the next installments, Project Phantasma and Master of Arena.

Now suit up. Your perfect Armored Core fighting machine is waiting.

If you listen closely, you can hear its generators humming...