Armoured Core love

Thank god for the Armoured (I refuse to use the Americanization 'Armor') Core series of games.

1. It is a series of games about giant, agile robots blowing the snot out of everyone and everything around them. Even with an incomprehensible storyline, it's AWESOME and genuinely enjoyable.

2. Enormous amounts of customisation, leading to players designing their ideal robot with ease, then feeling pangs of guilt as they have to replace that (currently) useless laser canon on their shoulder with a missile launcher, even if only for one mission. This degree of customisation is absolutely brilliant, and is something all giant-robot games should strive for and attempt to emulate. Aesthetically, even though I'm more one of the bulky mid-tech style robots, the Armoured Core design is quite beautiful and varied, going from streamlined slender light 'bot, to bulky tank-tracked brute force machine.

3. I'm good at it.

You heard me. One of the reasons I view this game as superior to many others is the entirely selfish reason that I AM GOOD AT IT.

It takes me a few minutes when I pick the game up after a 12 month break, but upon replaying my friend's copy of AC4, I was able to defeat enemies that are meant to be enormously difficult with a scary amount of ease.

I'm not a savant at it or anything, I struggle with plenty of the missions, especially on hard, and there are still enemies in the Simulator I just can't beat, but... I do scarily impressive at it. And it gives me a chance to try and exercise the tactical side of my brain. I do radical redesigns of my beloved Scythe MK-II AC (creating the Scythe DF and MB. Direct Fire and Missile Boat respectively) dependant on what is required for the fight. From there I alter my in-game tactics dependant upon the AI strategy employed, keeping close to ranged-fighters, keeping distant from close-combaters, etc etc.

I love these games.


Coming up: First impressions of Grand Theft Auto, having actually, finally, played the bastard.