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Playstation > PlayStation Game Cheats > PlayStation Reviews > Staff Review | |
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| Playability: Mech games appear to be an increasingly popular genre of video game. I won't even begin to name all of the various types of titles that are currently available for the various consoles and PC, but needless to say there are quite a few that cover several styles of gaming. The Armored Core series has always went for the arcade approach and has attacked the mech gameplay issue in a straightforward way…select a mission and kill, kill, kill. Of course I am totally over simplifying things here for effect but the basic gameplay is you against everyone else in a real time battle environment. Starting up AC 3 you are greeted with a menu system that will be entirely familiar to those that have played a previous AC game. Menu options are selected from a nice revolving icon system that let's you enter the mech garage, missions, shop, read email, registration and arena sign-ups. Before doing anything in the game I strongly recommend going into the Garage section of the game and familiarizing yourself with your AC. It is here that you can check all of the 10 main parts that you will use to build your AC. The game starts you with a completed mech but it is standard at best and will only get you so far into the game until you absolutely need to upgrade. You can also customize your AC's color and pattern here as well as getting part info and status on existing AC's. You can even customize your very own emblem here or choose from a number of sample ones. You can then jump over to the shop and see what your cash can buy you (you start the game with a nice lump sum of money so you can upgrade right away if you like). FROM Software is claiming something like over 180 parts that can be upgraded. I did not personally count everyone but after seeing the selections I have no reason to doubt them! Of particular note if the AC's head…this is a very important component in the beginning as it contains the electronics for radar and biosensors as well as other electrical components. If you like to know where you are going in the game (as in displaying a map) make sure your AC has this capability in the head or you will be basically walking around blind. After making your upgrades you can jump over to the Test AC area and see how everything works. At this point you should make your final tweaks, sign-in (name your AC and pilot if you haven't already done so) and check on your email for your introduction to an accomplice and info on your first mission. Jump over to the Mission icon and you will be ready to enter into your first battle. Just a little note here…you earn cash for the successful completion of each mission and some are worth more than others so look before you leap. There are a lot of buttons to use for controlling your AC…in fact I believe every single button has at least one use (except the L3/R3) and most have multiple uses. Surprisingly though control of the AC's was quite simple and intuitive. Response to button presses was very good and I found there to be a good deal of flexibility in moving the big guys around. Weapons locks worked well but you needed to be careful not to lock on something that is behind a door or wall or you will end up wasting shots. Character control has remained virtually unchanged throughout the series and in my opinion if it isn't broke it don't need to be fixed…control is top-notch. The action in AC: Master of Arena is fast and furious for the most part with missions ramping up at a good pace allowing newbies to learn the ropes and yet not too boring for more advanced players. There will also be many times when you can select from multiple missions…each having there own objectives and challenges. Occasionally you will not be prompted with a mission. It is at these times that you are able to go to a nice little place called the Arena. It is here that you get to challenge other Raven's that are registered with the Raven's nest. You have a choice of entering either the sub-arena or the main arena. In the sub arena you can challenge anyone you like but in the man arena you must work your way up through the ranks until you finally get to "9-Ball". During Arena play you can also select a stage that you would like to do battle in so try to pick an area that best suits your abilities and one that you may be familiar with. The two-player mode is nice and tight and comes in 2 flavors. There is a standard vs. mode where your screen is split vertically and you smash it up between two gamers. The other is the linked mode where two friends get to sit in front of their own TV's and do battle in a full screen mode. In each mode players get to configure their AC's, add color, emblems, etc. You select the map (location) to fight and get down to it. Afterwards there is a nice reply option that enables you to watch your just completed battle. Overall Armored Core: Master of Arena is basically "more of the same" kind of fighting and action that can be found in the previous 2 AC titles…but if you like this sort of stuff it works perfectly! The missions are diverse and offer a lot of excitement and challenge for both the average and more experienced players alike (some of the Arena battles can be brutal). Game Options: This is a 1 disk game for 1-2 Player. Link cable required for 2 player link mode. It is compatible with the standard (digital) joypad and the analog stick controls of the dual shock joypad. Games can be saved via memory card (1 block per save). |
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