This has finally been revealed properly as a fully online Chrome Hounds-esque team based game (with commander units to boot). Published by Bandai Namco abroad (like the upcoming Dark Souls) this looks like it could be very cool. They've also made a big deal about simplifying the controls down even further but still retaining the game's functional complexity (as in all the customisation and weapon management for instance). The delay was down to basically rebuilding the game from scratch to include all the new online stuff.
http://www.mechadamashii.com/news/news-armored-core-5-update/
...retaining the game's functional complexity (as in all the customisation and weapon management for instance).
And therein lies my problem with the game. I stress it's my problem as I 'get' the system, but my brain really isn't wired up to milk enjoyment from it.
The problem I find is that you end up incrementally upgrading all parts of your Mecha and have to make decisions as to which way you evolve it as the game progresses. Typical Speed vs Defence trade-offs etc. I would need to have total faith in the game balance that everything was achievable regardless of my chosen path (or paths as you have more than 1 mecha in your garage), but I get the feeling that there are a few 'right' designs that are devastatingly effective 90% of the time. This probably isn't the case, but the nagging doubt that it is keeps me from having a prolonged punt at an AC game.
It's option overload and probably the same reason I can't get into Gran Turismo. The auto-upgrade feature in Forza 3 is an excellent tonic to this as it takes away that entire facet of the game and just lets you 'get it on'. Maybe the more recent versions of AC have this feature.
...retaining the game's functional complexity (as in all the customisation and weapon management for instance).
And therein lies my problem with the game. I stress it's my problem as I 'get' the system, but my brain really isn't wired up to milk enjoyment from it.
The problem I find is that you end up incrementally upgrading all parts of your Mecha and have to make decisions as to which way you evolve it as the game progresses. Typical Speed vs Defence trade-offs etc. I would need to have total faith in the game balance that everything was achievable regardless of my chosen path (or paths as you have more than 1 mecha in your garage), but I get the feeling that there are a few 'right' designs that are devastatingly effective 90% of the time. This probably isn't the case, but the nagging doubt that it is keeps me from having a prolonged punt at an AC game.
It's option overload and probably the same reason I can't get into Gran Turismo. The auto-upgrade feature in Forza 3 is an excellent tonic to this as it takes away that entire facet of the game and just lets you 'get it on'. Maybe the more recent versions of AC have this feature.
AC4 and ACFA had an auto-tune option, but the games still require you to customise your AC per mission really. You never really have an uber setup in the games, as you're always constantly changing it to fit the situation. This may change in ACV as it seems to be more about area conquest than complex mission objectives.
Here's also an interesting interview with the father of Armored Core, Toshifumi Nabeshima:
Finally got around to reviewing the game. Really good and a lot easier than I was expecting.
http://www.mechadamashii.com/reviews/reviews-armored-core-v-910/