Review/Control Freak: Armored Core Verdict Day

I couldn't keep the review going for long. I'm done with this game. Welcome to a new entry into my Most-Hated Games List.

Armored Core premiered in 1997 on the original Playstation and with its combination of mech action, customization, and RPG-based credits reward system, it quickly became one of the best examples of mech simulation games to have ever been produced. The follow-up games being expansions took the game on a single-player quest and subsequently into the arenas. Fast forward 16 years later to 2013 where FROM SOFTWARE is still creating new Armored Core games and expansions. Verdict Day is not the initial release as it follows Armored Core V and even continues the story past the single-player campaign. But in these days of DLC add-ons and microtransactions, is it really worth it?

Earth is now a barren wasteland as three major corporations vie for control over territories that hold the remaining resources. The big three have worked out an uneasy truce among them but are still prepared for war with hired mechs and teams able to be dispatched at a moment's notice. The single player campaign puts you as a mech pilot working for a mercenary company when you're given the order to attack certain patrols in order to incite another war among the big three, just so they'll have reason to hire mercenaries again to do their dirty work, putting you back in a better paying job. Along the way you'll encounter other mercenary mech pilots who want to end you and the collect the bounty on your head, as you must do them also. You can form teams with AI-controlled mechs to help with completing the more difficult objectives, but it never really beefs up the difficulty enough until after about a dozen levels are completed.

If you find the single-player campaign to be too dull (and you probably will), you can open your game to the multiplayer section where you can hire other players to help you with your single player campaign missions, hire yourself out as a mercenary to help others, or have big team corporation battles (this all pending on whether the servers are up, of course, which is only half the time). And even then in the big team battles you'll come across a group of Koreans with the Windows logo who will completely obliterate whatever team is pieced together. Its this cross-cultural imbalance that makes this part of the multiplayer not even worth considering playing. They control most of the game and why servers aren't region separated is a painful reminder that FROM SOFTWARE only cares about its Far Eastern audience.

Inside the cockpit, you'll find that the action is just as chaotic and fast-paced as its ever been. Kinetic, Chemical, and Thermal Energy weapon types once again play a role in the game. Mech customization can prepare you for certain weapon types but leave you vulnerable to others. This same rule also applies for the one-on-one missions. After a short while they'll require careful planning and the right parts equipped to take down enemy mechs.

In order to advance in the story you need to defeat these other mercenaries, but when it becomes impossible to do so, it gives you no alternative to continue forward and brings the game to a grinding halt. Seasoned vets will find no fault in this and will find a way to work around it. All others will be turned off and will find no reason to continue playing. Its this exclusivity that the series has always had that prevents it from becoming something enjoyable by everyone.

The game engine is the same as 4 and 5, so you won't find much spectacle in the graphics. The whole thing is just as gritty as it was before and even though its a separate release, its already a tired view of things. With the exception of the new mech parts and the new maps, you'll find everything is the same.

The sounds of battle provide a very stark contrast to the calming nature of the menus, which features an operatic score backed by guitars. Guns in every form have different sounds and could shake the windows if turned up. The chaos of so many sounds happening on the battlefield is short-lived since some fights can take as little as two minutes.

CONTROL FREAK

Where the previous entries before Armored Core 4 were balanced between single and multiplayer, here most of the attention is on just the latter. It wants you to join a team, play through seasons, and play with others all online in order to get the better part of the experience. But what it boils down to is the same formula as the games before it: build a mech, defeat other mechs to unlock new parts, win until you have enough money to buy those new parts. It goes to show that FROM SOFTWARE has put the Armored Core series into a niche corner and shows no signs of advancing it with new ideas. Where creating teams and selling yourself as a mercenary are good ones, it seems they didn't bother to plan what to do for the rest of the game. If this is how the next few titles in the series go, with an ignorable story and a lot of repeated mech parts, then you should just ignore it. Armored Core Verdict Day is not a bad game, its a bad game to keep playing.

I looked up synonyms for the word "okay" because "okay" just sounded too dull. What I found was "acceptable," "permissible," "competent," and "satisfactory." I guess I could say that it is a competent game in that it knows what its doing but I just can't in good conscience use the others words to describe how much of a letdown Armored Core Verdict Day really is. There are other mech games that are taking the same ideas but in different and exciting directions; Hawken coming to mind first. But if this is what an old veteran of the genre has to offer then it should be put to rest for a few years.

If you have Armored Core V then you don't need Verdict Day. I understand that releasing expansions as separate games is what the series has always done but in the year of 2013 this is a tired practice. This idea of nickel-and-diming the players has already outlived its welcome. What could have been just a $20 DLC add-on was instead released as a $50 entry into the franchise. For that price the amount of content offered is simply not worth it. Companies need to understand that this will not get us to buy new games. You do not need Verdict Day. If the series continues along this path it will eventually do itself in. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get a mech game worthy of all of us playing.

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A Second Look @ SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3

(Images are taken from Gamespot.com)

(Please note that I haven't been able to play the multiplayer for this game yet. I did buy my copy new but my home wifi security setup isn't compatible with the PSP.)

Fireteam Bravo is back in a black ops mission that has them running around the fictional country of Koratvia. A military regime has risen to take power and threatens the Russian government, their nuclear arsenal, and the world. The story is extremely weak and awfully cliche, often sounding like a rejected script for a Tom Clancy novel. Its best to be taken with a grain of salt and only to give you reason for shooting up rural areas. As Wraith, you are joined by former-team lead Sandman, team member Raven, and newcomer Toro. While a four-man team might seem to be overkill this time around its much needed as enemies are less forgiving, there are more blind corners, and open areas are just begging for your ambush.

Fireteam Bravo 3 was developed by Slant 6 Games, the ones responsible for the previous SOCOM Tactical Strike on the PSP, leaving Zipper Interactive to make mediocre games such as the Online Only SOCOM Confrontation. Throw in a few surprises such as former-SEAL-turned-merc-leader Lonestar making a major appearance, a nice variation in the environments, as well as a wide selection of weapons and you've got the second best in the FTB series. But with all of the improvements, FTB 3 is still lacking in certain areas that make it hard to appreciate.

 See this enemy in the background? Most of them will do this: stand out in the open.

A small amount of tactics can be used this time around with the four-man team, split between Able and Bravo, but nothing that resembles Tactical Strike's advanced, and initially puzzling, two four-man team tactics. Two people can cover a target or a door better than just one. However that's not really the case here as it rarely presents the opportunity to do so. There is very little need to cover targets, use bounding overwatch, or even split the team to open a door. Its more run-and-gun, less planning, and its so painfully obvious that it seems the developers intended it to be so.

The major flaws of the game are more pointed towards the enemies themselves. While there are a decent amount of them scattered throughout the levels, things such as some never needing to reload, the inability for some to find cover, and the way they can pinpoint your exact location after one misfire makes them less like soldiers and more like robots.

Another problem comes from level design. While they do vary nicely, they're just as linear as they've always been in SOCOM games: narrow ways opening into arenas where you're free to snipe and pick off opfors with ease.

The sound is one of the better aspects of this game, with the environmental effects being surrounding and clear. Rain water hitting the roof of a car in the level Grey Dawn is something unexpected and lends to the thought of just how much attention went into sound details. While guns lack powerful sound they do vary in tones. Explosions, however, do pack a punch. They are better placed and more defined than in the previous games.

The orchestral soundtrack is something that comes with the territory of a SOCOM game. Whatever effort has been put into it can be changed by simply adjusting the sound options. There's no reason to have it on since the only time you might notice it is at a scripted moment.

Voice acting can be described as sterile: its clean and clear at all moments. Very little emotion even after two events happen that split the team. There's no confusion, only determination. Sure, they're hardened military men, but I doubt real people stay as stern as these guys when facing odds like in this game.

BOOM goes the dynamite. While there is no TNT in this game, the explosions are loud and clear.

The graphics are definitely amped up for this title. Its a huge step from the first FTB game and as a latecomer in the PSP lifespan shows that the system was capable of graphics comparable, and maybe even surpassing, those of the PS2.

A gradient has been placed over the foreground to give a cold, dusty feeling on some levels  whereas sunny skies and in-doors are without. Cracks in the ground, rocks protruding, lights giving off rays, and even some water effects show that the PSP still has some beef to it. While most edges are squared, its to be expected. It shouldn't distract from the gameplay.

Cutscenes are in-game rendered and what's most noticeable is the mouth movement on the characters. The engine for this game does what it can and does it very well.

 Class photo: Raven, Wraith, Toro, Sandman, and Lonestar.

If you've played the other two FTB games, then you're sure to navigate through this with very few hangups. Its tuned so that it might be challenging only to newcomers. Veterans only need to learn the new button layout and they're good to go. The initial single-player game clocks in at a humiliating 3-4 hours and while there is a decent replayable factor to it you'll just wish more could have been done. With enough attention, you could sweep through with 100% completion on your first playthrough. The custom missions replace the non-campaign missions from the last game but give you very little reason to play them since some last less than 5 minutes.

There's just NOTHING memorable about this game.

Overall, Fireteam Bravo 3 should see our SEAL team retiring with an honorable discharge. Thanks boys, but I don't think we'll need you on the PS Vita.

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