Reviewed: September 27, 2005
Reviewed by: Matt Gonzales
Publisher
Agetec
Developer
From Software
Released: September 13, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4
ESRB: Teen
8
7
6
7
7.2
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
From Software has been in the gaming business for a while now creating several series each with their own devoted fan base. Gamers can enjoy the Tenchu, Otogi, or even the venerable King’s Field series, which, like Armored Core, started on the original PlayStation.
The Armored Core series is similar in scope to the Gran Turismo series, which follows a similar design spec: namely, a simulation game that involves in-depth customization and fine-tuning of your vehicle in preparation for “battle”.
Aficionados of mech games know all about the genre where players pilot giant erector sets armed to the teeth, ready to do battle in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Most games of the genre run the gamut of level of detail as far as controls and customization go. Some games are basically big vertical tanks, while other games require you to constantly watch the engine core temperature to avoid a fatal overheating.
Armored Core: Nine Breaker falls in between the two extremes by offering literally hundreds of custom hardware options while providing an arena experience in which to hone your skills.
I’ve been a fan of the Armored Core series since its debut on the PlayStation almost ten years ago. In a sea of titles, the series was a breath of fresh air with its simple but exciting offering of Japanese mech combat reminiscent of popular shows like Mobile Suit Gundam.
The interface of Armored Core: Nine Breaker is about as easy as could be expected considering the sheer scope of options provided for whatever model mech you choose. While there are various other mech series represented on the PS2, none of them offer the depth of the Armored Core series or its well-thought control scheme.
And to make things more interesting, your accomplishments in the arena garner you points with which to upgrade your mech along whatever path you wish. Crank up the firepower; make your mech virtually indestructible or just nimble and light. The upgrade system makes more than a favorable comparison to Gran Turismo’s celebrated scheme.
Of course, the meat of the game is in the arena fighting, which thanks to a complete jettisoning of any plot, is all you do in Armored Core: Nine Breaker. You work your way up through various levels like a government job until you reach the top – but it’s not exactly taking candy from a baby. No, thanks to a cunning AI, it’s more like taking candy from a baby in Master Chief’s Moljinr armor wearing a jetpack and carrying a weapon not unlike one that Tommy Lee Jones carried in the climactic scene of Men In Black. It’s a challenge, let’s just say.
The real issue with the Armored Core series is that From Software seems too content with its graphic engine to bother upgrading it since it’s debut on the PS2. And while the PS2 isn’t capable of the kind of graphic gymnastics of the XBox, it’s more than capable of rendering two battling mechs onscreen with more panache than seen in this series of late. Maybe it’s a concession to the concern of stifling load times by which graphically intensive games notoriously plague PS2 owners. Well, at least they’ve resisted the idea of going with a cel-shaded look.
Thanks to the eschewing of any semblance of plot for a more meat and potatoes experience, there’s even the absence of customary in-game cut scenes though, to be fair, that was never the series’ big draw.
Another thing for which to take From Software to task is the anemic sound. I’m not one to complain about a lack of any big name voice-over talent since I’ve played many games that were no better off for their inclusion. A bad script isn’t going to be helped just because some famous actor is reading it – and after all, there is no story to Armored Core: Nine Breaker.
The music isn’t particularly memorable, but it fits the action and the pacing of the game. Still, I’m thankful it’s not the standard battle game soundtrack of B-list nu-metal chumps that a lot of games try to foist on gamers.
With the customization options, the various arenas, and the well-programmed AI, you could easily spend countless days transforming your mech into the ultimate lean, mean fighting machine at the top of the robot heap. The replay value exists in the pared down format of hot mech on mech combat, foregoing any kind of a story and focusing on letting the gamer create a mech from the ground up.
Sadly, another misstep by From Software weighs down the otherwise good gameplay: the utter lack of online multiplayer. In the (final) days of the PS2 and a pervasive online community, it’s simply inexcusable to leave out this no-brainer of an offering. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with the old split-screen multiplayer option (which I find loathsome without a gargantuan television set).
Sure, there’s an option to link up to 3 (right, only 4 people at once) other PS2's via the hardly used i-link cable or the more acceptable network adaptor (what a tease). If nothing else, the deal is made a little sweeter by only costing about $40 instead of the usual $50. Not bad.
So, while there are plenty of mech games of various styles to be enjoyed on the aging PS2 technology, few have the pedigree of From Software’s Armored Core series in terms of handling and customization features while also offering a depth that hardcore mechers will appreciate.
The only real complaint is that after more than a half dozen iterations, it’s about time that From Software stopped resting on its laurels with the game engine and upgrade the quality of the models with some visual panache.
The bottom line is that if you want to play a mech game that handles well right out of the gate and offers a staggering variety of options, you can’t go wrong with Armored Core: Nine Breaker. But if you – like many gamers today – are looking for an online experience equal to the single player experience then you should probably keep on truckin’.