Armored Core 4 Review

By Dave McCarthy Published 24 January, 2007

Mechs appeal.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

It might be the first to appear on the PlayStation 3, but Armored Core 4 is actually the twelfth game in the series. The chances are, though, that you won't be too familiar with any of the previous 11 games in the Armored Core series, so here's a quick rundown: create or customise a big robot (called, appropriately enough, an Armored Core, or AC) by choosing from hundreds of body and weapon parts. Then fight other big robots, either in one-on-one arena battles or in more elaborate missions. It's a simple formula, which conceals an enormous amount of depth. But it's not a formula that, so far, has had a huge amount of commercial success outside Japan and the US.

Partly that's because of the idiosyncrasy of the game's default control scheme, which forced players to move around using the d-pad and look up and down by using the triggers, instead of simply using the two analogue sticks like every other third-person title in existence. But actually, the clunky controls did a good job of capturing the lumbering sense of scale of piloting a big stompy robot.

1

As in previous Armored Core games, the robot designs are generally pretty pretty.

So the most obvious thing about Armored Core 4 (apart from the fact that it's on the PlayStation 3) is that they've changed the control scheme. Now, as with every other third-person title in existence, one analogue stick is used to move and the other to look around. Not that the sense of piloting a complicated piece of machinery has entirely vanished: you'll still need twenty fingers to switch between your various weapons while strafing, boosting, dodging and launching countermeasures. Still, the result, along with a cleaner, clearer HUD design and a couple of tweaks to the gameplay (no more overheating, greater freedom to use your AC's booster), is a more accessible, more streamlined, and a much faster, more fluid game than previous Armored Core titles.

Of course the other big departure from previous games is that it's now on the PlayStation 3 (did we mention that already?). Consequently there are one or two sweet technical flourishes, from the grainy realism of the cut-scenes that bookend the game's chapters to some of the lighting effects, and even just the neat fade-out at the end of missions. Nothing revolutionary, for sure, but pretty agreeable all the same - as are the environments in which missions take place, which are almost universally awesomely pretty. Over the course of the game you'll duel enemy ACs against moody sunsets, smash through ice floes, dodge helicopter gunships while surfing through sunken cities, struggle through oppressively intense sandstorms, and even operate in the pitch dark - your way lit up only by the occasional explosion and traces of gunfire.

2

Simulation battles are quick and dirty circle-strafe affairs, and the AI is generally smart.

Those are the big differences, but in substance Armored Core 4 will be familiar to anyone who's played any of its predecessors - which means there is an almost forbidding degree of choice. At any point in the game you can edit the colour scheme of your AC in intricate detail, right down to designing new decals and emblems. Then there's the more complicated issue of choosing your AC's body parts and weaponry in order to make the most badass big robot possible. Choose between four legs, two legs, tank legs, weapon arms, standard arms, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, pulse guns, machine guns, radar...

Everything in the game is a trade-off between manoeuvrability/speed and firepower/armour, and although the scale is slightly overwhelming, you can choose from one of six pre-configured ACs at the start of the game. The upside to this level of customisation is, of course, that it provides enormous potential to tailor the game to your chosen style of play, be that of a ponderous walking tank, or a stripped-down and speedy melee assassin. Either way, once you've tailored your AC, it's off to the next mission briefing and then on to a mission - most of which are actually pretty brief.

3

It's currently easy to get a game online, and the experience is remarkably robust.

Brief, but absorbing; occasionally epic, and frequently full of memorable set-pieces. Most of the missions ultimately boil down to destroying the bejesus out of pretty much everything, but there's a remarkable degree of ingenuity in the way you go about it, and most of the time you'll need to filter out the battlefield noise to focus relentlessly on reaching your primary objectives. Again, in this respect, the game is typical of the series so far, and features a good variety of objectives and enemy types: shoot down swarms of enemies, escort transport vehicles, destroy key objectives. Take, for example, a mission in which you parachute down into a chimney, aligning yourself for the drop while avoiding serious incoming fire. Or a mission in which you have to defend a tanker from occasionally surfacing submarines (hint: a good radar comes in handy here). There's certainly enough variety to reward the multitude of playing styles made possible by the emphasis on customisation.

And there's more, in the shape of arena battles (now called 'Simulation' battles) against individual enemy ACs (who are much more taxing opponents than the cannon-fodder found in most of the missions). It's a good proving ground in which to learn the subtle intricacies and tactics required for the multiplayer modes, which are essentially an extension of the Simulation mode, offering robust one-on-one, team-play and free-for all arena battles for up to eight players.

4

Although most of the game's menus are in Japanese, the game is fairly import friendly.

If the game does have a flaw it's the severity with which the difficulty level occasionally spikes. Although the game appears to offer total open-ended freedom to adopt whatever battle tactics you might care to use, there are certain missions that require a pretty specific approach, resulting in successive unsuccessful attempts before you alight upon the correct configuration. Other minor niggles include annoying load times between menu screens, the brevity of the single-player campaign (it's just 37 missions long and, difficulty spikes aside, fairly easy to breeze through) and, ultimately, a slightly weary sense of familiarity for anyone who's played through those previous 11 games.

But for anyone who hasn't had that pleasure, this is probably the best place to start. Armored Core 4 is more accessible than its predecessors; and at its core, beneath the complicated controls and imposing arsenal of body parts, it's a pretty simple, superfast, graceful and smart mech-combat game, and it deserves your attention.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (57) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tonka #1 5 years ago

    Bloom much?

  • Tejstar #2 5 years ago

    Never been too much of a fan of mech games bar Virtual On. The sticks for the DC version were awesome!

  • special_move #3 5 years ago

    360 version?

  • urizen #4 5 years ago

    That old From control system was a right chore - sounds like they have defnitely changed the series for the better, though teh har8core may disagree.

  • penhalion #5 5 years ago

    Yep when is the 360 version out?

  • Darkedge #6 5 years ago

    hmm well it lives up to the VG cats comments about next gen graphics:
    [link url=http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=224
    ]http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=224
    [/link]

  • dr_faulk #7 5 years ago

    So as good as Halo 2 then.

    lol, hooray for PS3. It needs more good games. ooOooOo 1mp0rTinG fRom jAp4n in t3h sUmMeR!

  • special_move #8 5 years ago

    Q1 is going to be so busy on 360 GRAW2, Bioshock, Crackdown (and Halo 3 beta), Mass Effect (hopes) and now stompy robots.....GET IN!

  • kissthestick #9 5 years ago

    the 360 trolls are disgusting

  • Steroyd #10 5 years ago

    An 8 from From Software and Sega... is 2006 really over?

  • morriss #11 5 years ago

    Bioshock is touted as Spring. That makes it Q2 in my book.

  • HazyUK #12 5 years ago

    My copy arrived in the post today. I quickly put it on and I think it was trying to do some kind of update, but I don't understand Japanese so it could of been doing anything.
    Anyway I gave up in the end as it was taking ages.

  • special_move #13 5 years ago

    wasn't trolling really, just looking forward to some quality games, chill!
    (and for the sake of balance I'm looking forward to Lair and Motorstorm on the PS3)

    As for Bioshock I didn't realise it had gone back, damn that's going to be a tough wait....

    Edited by special_move at 24/01/07 @ 12:00

  • mkreku #14 5 years ago

    Uhm.. Either that's a well-written review or I'm getting soft. I've never liked a mech game in my life, but still this game sounds pretty neat.

    Stop writing good reviews and help us boycott that damn Playstation 3 instead! :|

  • Steroyd #15 5 years ago

    Thanks for that Kato for the life of me i couldn't remember where i originally said i'd post it the layout of EG is different on the PSP. :/

    http://uk.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_en...
    Edited by Steroyd at 24/01/07 @ 12:00

  • kissthestick #16 5 years ago

    here come the derailers

  • Xerx3s #17 5 years ago

    the 360 trolls are disgusting

    Lol. Other threads can get trolled to shit and nobody can say anything about it and someone just poses one question and you reply with that?

    lol.

    As for the game, looks nice. Might buy it, see if the Japanese are any good at making mech games.

    Light amplification...online.

  • mkreku #18 5 years ago

    Oohh, nice to see Kato getting "pwned" (or whatever the hell he himself calls it).

    Yeah, one retailer having a promotion is exactly the same as the Playstation 3 in general having its prices slashed. In your bizarro world.

  • special_move #19 5 years ago

    how's the multiplayer? If your going to spend all that time tweaking the AC's then online where I want to show it off.....

  • Steroyd #20 5 years ago

    Kato it just proves that it isn't anecdoctal evidence across the whole of Japan like you implied, you know... like i have a 3 cousins who have had no problems with PS2's since they bought it, so all PS2's must be 100% fully functional with no problems right?

  • mkreku #21 5 years ago

    Backtracking when faced with facts is a pathetic way of avoiding defeat.

    You've been taunting Steroyd in every f-cking thread on these boards since he mentioned that link, and trying to shrug it off now is just lame. You just didn't expect him to provide it and then he did. I can just imagine your sweaty geek face going even paler when the claim about a link turned out to be true.

    Just take the blow and move on.

  • DraculaAD1972 #22 5 years ago

    Nice review Dave, will definitely have to order this now.

  • mkreku #23 5 years ago

    It's fun watching Kato getting smaller and smaller by the minute.

    Is it possible to have a negative persona, I wonder?

  • Rambaldi #24 5 years ago

    I never really liked Mech games until halfway through Lost Planet I realised I'd spent the last half hour in one and enjoyed it! Cheers Capcoom! Might give this a look on the 360 when it's released.

    On the subjet of price slashes in Japan: one retailer offer does not constitute doom for the PS3, although it is VERY strange IF the demand remains high. Why loose money on a product people are desperate to get hold of? Isn't the PS3 selling at a much lower price in Japan to begin with anyway?
    Edited by Rambaldi at 24/01/07 @ 12:31

  • Steroyd #25 5 years ago

    Kato said in thread I couldn't be arsed looking for previously:

    Well it's bad enough to make japanese retailers slash the price by 20% it would seem.

    Anectodal evidence?
    Edited by Steroyd at 24/01/07 @ 12:31

  • Rambaldi #26 5 years ago

    /grabs Mkreku and Kato, bangs their heads against the blackboard and makes them write lines whilst everyone else plays outside in the sandpit

  • penhalion #27 5 years ago

    @Kato

    Sony can't afford to ask retailers to slash the price of the PS3 so this isn't a sony led initative. Saying that. This is not a good thing as the price cut is taken out of sony's hands when retailers do such things. It may simply be that the japanese retailers can't sell the 20gb hobbled version of the PS3 and so simply want to get rid of them and keep only 60gb models from now on. This would seem to be what is happening.

    The US ratailers are having similar problems shifting 20gb models so it's not isolated and the UK isn't actually getting ANY 20gb units at launch. This tells me that sony got the two model thing wrong. Which was expected as all they tried to do was copy the 360 core/premium system split while not actually grasping the idea that both 360 systems are essentially identical and can be upgraded to be identical - a chrome dvd tray cover.

    Now please get back on subject! I.e. when the british PS3 version of AC is out and when to expect the 360 version.

  • Rambaldi #28 5 years ago

    Penhalion speaks wisdom: no-one wants 20GB PS3s is all. Deal with it.

  • cyacomini #29 5 years ago

    Better than Chromehounds then?

    Hope the 360 version has the fabled 'clan' support on Live!

  • SeesThroughAll #30 5 years ago

    This tells me that sony got the two model thing wrong. Which was expected as all they tried to do was copy the 360 core/premium system split while not actually grasping the idea that both 360 systems are essentially identical and can be upgraded to be identical - a chrome dvd tray cover.

    Spot on. The biggest problem of the 20Gb version, for me at least, is the lack of built-in WiFi. Which, I suspect, is turning many others away from it as well.
    Edited by SeesThroughAll at 24/01/07 @ 13:08

  • Schiraman #31 5 years ago

    Hmm... this sounds much like all the previous AC titles. I really enjoyed Armoured Core, but all the sequels I've tried have been very samey and suffered badly from difficulty spikes.

  • LeD #32 5 years ago

    Brilliant. A good PS3 game gets a good review, and all the comments are "Hmm I might get this when it's out on 360 then". Lol.

  • Dizzy #33 5 years ago

    Played this a bit in Japan.... too much slowdown for me sadly. Not worth an 8. The textures are also pretty weak... I expected more. The missions seem indeed to be pretty good and the tweaking options on your "mech" are pretty cool. 8? I would go for a 7.

  • Xerx3s #34 5 years ago

    Might get this when it comes out on the Xbox 360. Looks interesting.

    And you where saying something about JMM?

  • Dizzy #35 5 years ago

    Hu? Who is this Mkreku ??? Did I miss anything?

    /looks in ignored list

    Haaaaa!!!

  • Cacophanus #36 5 years ago

    Including Armored Core 4, their are 19 games in the series now (not twelve). Plus, analogue control has been available since Armored Core Nexus. There was also no mention of Primal Armor or Stabilisers in the review, both of which are major features in the game.
    Edited by Cacophanus at 24/01/07 @ 14:18

  • peterfll #37 5 years ago

    @Kato

    I wouldn't be surprised if you see your account banned from this site thanks to that little triade. Regardless of your beef, there's a line you know.

  • The-Bodybuilder #38 5 years ago

    Virtual On > Armoured Core.

    And that's coming from a previous fan (until I playes VO: Oratio Tangram for the DC).

  • Dizzy #39 5 years ago

    "Virtual On > Armoured Core. "

    Well yes in multiplayer VO > all, but VO doesn't really have single player does it?

  • Cacophanus #40 5 years ago

    It's Oratorio Tangram and Virtual On is all about working within a vectored combat mechanic. Armored Core has always been more freeform in that department. Bear in mind that I own an arcade cabinet of the original Virtual On, so it's not as though I prefer one over the other. Both approaches have their merits.

  • The-Bodybuilder #41 5 years ago

    >"Well yes in multiplayer VO > all, but VO doesn't really have single player does it? "

    Tru

  • Rambaldi #42 5 years ago

    @Kato

    That's pretty base dude. Hang thy head in shame.

  • JediMasterMalik #43 5 years ago

    I was not expecting this to be any good. I may well pick it up if I have anough cash/time left over after launch. :)

    It seems alot like ZOE with extreme customisation. Which can only be a good thing.

  • thinktank #44 5 years ago

    @Kato

    That was a bit harsh, but in the grand scheme of things its only bloody words on a screen.

    Also why is every one who posts on a forum a geek?

    I don't consider myself a geek.

  • The-Bodybuilder #45 5 years ago

    >"I don't consider myself a geek. "

    I'm too sexy to be a geek. :)

  • captainrentboy #46 5 years ago

    Why are people getting wound up by others saying ''Oooh this looks good,I might get it on the 360'' There's no real harm in that sentence is there?
    What would be strange is ''Oooh this looks good,but I wont get it on my 360 though,I'll spend out £425 to play it''
    Some of the Sony supporters on here seem to get worked up too easily :/
    Me?I wont get it cuz I can't friggin stand mech games.Well bar Lost Planet,but that was different..

  • Scimarad #47 5 years ago

    Sounds much, much better than most of the Armoured Core games - I suspect I will probably buy it.

    I WOULD like to know which version I should be getting, however...
    Edited by Scimarad at 24/01/07 @ 19:45

  • ilmaestro #48 5 years ago

    Cacophanus: When they say '12 games in the series' I'm fairly certain that 99% of people reading the review would take that to mean 'on home consoles', and I'm equally sure that's what they meant.

    If you're going to be so picky, take some time out to learn the difference between 'there' and 'their', especially as you've already editted the post once.

    Fair point on the new game systems though, it's the kind of thing which is unacceptable not to mention when you've introduced (and ended) the review with such an emphasis on the fact that the series is fairly long in the tooth.

  • Cacophanus #49 5 years ago

    Formula Front is on the PS2 as well and editing comments isn't exactly a big deal. Writing factually bogus reviews is though.

  • ilmaestro #50 5 years ago

    Okay then, list all the home console games in the series.

    "factually bogus reviews" glol. I don't particularly love the reviews on EG myself, and I hate posting in the comments, but this is beyond ridiculous.

  • 3william56 #51 5 years ago

    Kato, all you've proved is that mkreku is a slightly iffy looking dude who somehow is playing way above his league with a stunning girlfriend (if that's what she is). More power to him (though what he is doing wasting his time here and not with her, I am mystified).

    Whereas you, sonny, are a vitriolic sad case w*nker who takes games forum posts as personal slights, and (going out on a limb here) has no girlfriend of any sort or quantity, and based on this showing, will be w*nking over other blokes' girls for a long, long time.

    Well done. Probably the most spectacular piece of self pwnage I have ever witnessed.


    /back to subject at hand

    Nice to see the most important issue in the first para. Proper controls FTW! Only took them 19 iterations to get that right. :/

    Is there an online multiplayer? AC + decent controls + decent visuals + less overheating + online could be a real treat. Can't think of any other game that allows so many options for building your weapon, which could make online really interesting.

  • krudster #52 5 years ago

    Playground stuff!

  • Rambaldi #53 5 years ago

    Indeed

    /is ashamed of classmates

  • jynxce #54 5 years ago

    I find it slightly amusing that EG would pick apart a game such as Chromehounds (same devs, no doubt) issuing a measly 4, and completely fall in love with this game without expressing half the bitterness (apart from the fact that it's on the PlayStation 3)

  • Scimarad #55 5 years ago

    Maybe it is just *gasp* a better offline game than Chromehounds.

    Personally I though CH was crap but that was based on the offline game - The fans of CH are the first to admit that CH is crap offline but great online.

    From what I gather this seems like a fairly traditional AC game - All of which have been offline AFAIK. Oh and it's on the 360 as well so you can shove that 'biased' argument up your arse!
    Edited by Scimarad at 26/01/07 @ 09:09

  • deafwing #56 5 years ago

    Glad to see this game ... can't wait to play online finally.

  • Dafridge #57 5 years ago

    I think Chromehounds was a good effort that lacked polish. The problem with mech games that have so much customisability is that the 1 player game is impossible to design to be equally balanced against all types of mech. I think this is the reason why the difficulty spikes so badly because the easiest way to make a mission more challenging is to force the user to build mech types catered specifically for that mission.
    But then thats one of the features that I love about mech games plus AC4 is easy on the eyes. The screenshots look gorgeous but does anyone know if the frame rate holds up?

    will there be a sequel to Chromehounds???