Moving on.
Armored Core for Answer is the most recent iteration of the niche Armored Core franchise that first started on the PSone in the late '90s. Combing in-depth customization options with a fairly fast-paced, arcade-style action shooter, Armored Core is fun but has always catered to a very select audience. Answer, as the name indicates, is not technically a proper sequel to its predecessor nor is it a tremendous leap over the original in terms of its feature set or visuals. Like several of the other Armored Core titles, Answer offers new missions and a few minor tweaks, but everything else is about the same. But that's okay with me.
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I've actually been a fan of the franchise since the original titles on the PSone, but Armored Core is the type of series that's best to revisit after a long hiatus. Answer is the first Armored Core game that I've really delved into in a long while and thus suits me perfectly. If you're trying to decide whether to purchase this one or not, your choice will be made infinitely more difficult if you just bought Armored Core 4 last year. Although Answer is an improvement, your decision depends entirely on how much money you want to spend on a few new bits of content.
If you're approaching Answer from a fresh perspective and you belong to the somewhat eccentric mech-fan crowd like I do, then this title is going to be a lot of fun, despite its flaws. What I've always loved about the Armored Core franchise is the style and emotion running underneath third-person mech combat. The ACs (Armored Cores -- a mech's proper name) are more than just massive war machines; they're symbols for a variety of things: angels, demons, warriors, corporations, etc. This symbolism has always been incredibly cool for me, but it simultaneously serves as one of the franchise's weak points. The story of Armored Core has never been terribly fleshed out, but the inklings that are given to players -- whether through mission briefings, voice-only dialogues or battle chatter -- hint at something desperate and nostalgic in tone.
But what From Software has always tried to deliver is customization and action, and both are in full abundance here. Before entering battle, Armored Core feels very much like a sim game, where you can build your AC from scratch and purchase a menagerie of parts, like arms, legs, heads, weapons, boosters, generators, stabilizers -- I could go on. Almost any type of mech you could imagine from a typical anime can be constructed in Armored Core. If you want to design a light-weight sniper unit that can cut through the air with ease, you can do so. Or, if you prefer loading up a heavily-armored beast with enough firepower to level a city, the option's there. Building your AC is half the fun of Armored Core and that's still the case here.
You can also, like in Armored Core 4, distribute FCS (Fire Control System) points to different systems in your AC. After earning the points through campaign missions, you can assign them to help bolster things like your turning speed, booster power and weapons lock-on speed. If you thought the possibilities were virtually endless before, adding the FCS Memory to the equation makes things ever more engaging.
To add a cherry to the top, Answer also gives you extensive paint and emblem options to add a personal touch to your AC. If you want to ride into battle and lay waste to your enemies in an AC covered with green penguins, you're welcome to do so.
Actually getting into a battle changes the dynamic of Armored Core quite a bit. After accepting a task from a branching mission menu, you'll be treated to a highly stylized briefing that not only breaks down your objectives but gives you a little insight into the world of Armored Core. Depending on what company you support, different missions will be opened up to you and you'll see varying perspectives of the conflict which rages across the Earth's surface and through the skies.
Once your adorable little war machine finds its way onto the battlefield, Armored Core feels more like an action arcade game than a mech simulation. Although controlling your AC can still be a very technical experience (you have to manage ammo count, heat levels and tons of baddies), the action is extremely fast-paced, and using your AC's boosters is a necessary part of gameplay. You'll be flying around the screen and blowing stuff up in no time.
Gamers unfamiliar with the Armored Core formula might be a little confused at first during some of the beginning missions. Yes, your AC NEXT (the class assigned to highly advanced ACs) can take on MTs and NORMALs without much of a problem. You'll take damage if you're not paying attention, but usually you can boost through a level and decimate your unsuspecting opponents with little opposition. It's when you face an enemy NEXT that the game really gets insane -- almost too crazy for my tastes.
Sometimes, facing off again another AC can be extremely frustrating because the computer can quickly boost and fly around you and still land some fairly absurd shots, without you coming close to keeping up. This isn't always the case, but some NEXTs will trounce you and then walk away whistling. I appreciate the challenge of a good battle, and the frantic pacing of AC fights is definitely a thrill, but it would have been nice had From Software found some sort of middle ground between the laughably easy and excruciatingly tough.
What Answer does boast over its predecessor is Arms Forts confrontations. Arms Forts are massive mobile fortresses that your AC must take out for certain missions. While some of them are just oversized tanks, there are others that take up entire stages and are actually impressive. These fights add something to the mix and spice up the missions, which are otherwise typical for the franchise.
The other main addition to Answer is online cooperative play, or Partnerships. I can assure you that taking on a mission (for money, no less) with another player is sweet. Not all the missions are cooperative, unfortunately, as some of them are supposed to be one-on-one battles, but during my time with Answer it seemed like most of the tasks at hand were multiplayer accessible. Of course, you'll have to split the reward with your teammate, but the cooperative dynamic works very well. I was also surprised at how well most of the matches ran, both on the PS3 and 360. There really wasn't much lag to speak of and the missions only took a bit longer to load than normal.
Standard multiplayer matches also return in Answer. You can fight to the death in a battle royale or team confrontation, and I once again had no problems with either console. There were perhaps one or two moments where the game stuttered, but they were trivial and shouldn't pose a serious issue.
Honestly, the biggest problem with Armored Core for Answer's multiplayer is the number of people playing. Armored Core, as I mentioned earlier, has always been a niche title and there just aren't many people playing right now. Perhaps this will change with time, but if you're really interested in getting some cooperative action going, you might want to coax a friend into snagging a copy as well.
But as much as I love the Armored Core experience, it has its fair share of problems. Primary among them is a PS3-specific issue. The framerate on the PS3 version is downright awful during sequences of intense action, though, luckily, normal battles usually go by without a problem. I just couldn't seem to get the 360 version to slow down, even after launching hundreds of missiles and flying through a collapsing building. I was hoping that the optional PS3 HDD install would help a bit, but that's not really the case. Load times aren't even noticeably alleviated, which is a shame.
Fans of the franchise will know that Armored Core missions can be a bit bland (the fun comes from the actual piloting of your AC), but even blander are the game environments which are often completely devoid of detail. I'm well aware that this is a problem, but Armored Core has never really been about the tech. It's about building an AC and watching it change over time with new parts and tweaks, which are reflected in its performance. So if you're coming in to Armored Core for Answer expecting beautiful scenery, prepare to be disappointed.