Armored Core 2: Another Age
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Agetec Developer: FromSoftware Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Action/ Simulation
Graphics & Sound: If there's one thing you can say about From Software, it's that they get mileage from their work. The same engine that powered Armored Core 2 is found in Armored Core 2: Another Age, which (unlike the original series) is actually a good thing. The graphics in Another Age are sharp, and even if the environments aren't as detailed as you'd like, you can't knock the absolutely brilliant mechs or cores or whatever their official name is. Every single customized piece is displayed on them, and it's displayed with nary a drop in framerate. Simply beautiful. There's something about watching your quadraped robot scurry around a corridor that's both unnerving and absolutely elegant. The soundwork is also solid in Another Age. The music has the same sort of thumping techno beats that we've been hearing in this series for many, many years now, which is nothing special, and the sound effects are much of the same--any fanboy can recognize the 'whizz' of a rocket--but the voice acting in the game is excellent as well, which I have to admit came as a surprise. All of the missions are briefed before you start, and the dialog is read surprisingly well throughout the game. I'm glad to see the trend of good voice acting extending further and further as time progresses.
Gameplay: All right, here's a simple question. What do you expect from Armored Core 2: Another Age? If you said, 'The same sort of stuff we've been seeing for years,' then you're right on the money. Right down to the lack of analog support (damn you, From, damn you!), Another Age is yet another entry in the longstanding Armored Core series. Whether that's good or bad depends on your personal tastes, and the AC games are a series that tend to polarize people. Either they hate 'em or they love 'em, and there's not much in-between. For those of you that have been sitting under the proverbial rock for the past five years or so, Armored Core is all about robots. You can build them and set them up just about every way that you like. The PlayStation sported three different games in the series, all using the same engine but all standing along as separate products if you so choose; Armored Core 2: Another Age is the second game in the PS2's series line, and as such does a lot of the same things that the other 'stand-along expansions' did. One thing that Another Age definitely does for the better is adding missions. There are more missions in this game than you can shake a stick at, and it'll be many many hours before anyone completes them all. (One could say that part of the problem comes from the series' high level of difficulty, and that's certainly a part of it.) There are a number of different 'zones' that you can complete missions in, and you can do so when you like, switching between the areas to look for missions that suit your current monetary needs and combat abilities. As always, you can plan to spend many, many hours in the shop and the garage, tweaking your robot to its maximum potential. There are roughly a zillion different parts to buy in the game, and the list only grows as the game goes along. Sheesh. There are enough different parts and pieces to your mech to make your head spin, and tweak-fiends will find hours of enjoyment. Upon first boot, veterans may notice the lack of such longstanding traditions as the Mail and the Arena, but they're not really missed. There's the obligatory two-player modes, which are just as rocking as ever, and with the ever-larger levels of customization in the game you can expect to load out some crazy mechs and fight against your friends. It's a shame I can't import some of my mech designs from Master of Arena . . .
Difficulty: Armored Core 2: Another Age sports two selectable difficulties, 'Normal' and 'Hard'. It's good to see that the developers didn't have the gall to call them 'Easy' and 'Hard,' because easy is not a word you'd ever use to describe Another Age. Prepare to be destroyed, prepare to be humiliated, prepare to waste lots of money repairing your robot after a botched sortie. The game is unforgiving almost always, and painfully so a large amount of the time, which can be frustrating to newcomers. Taking the time to tweak your robot out is almost necessary for survival, as is learning the controls inside and out.
Game Mechanics: Here is my major sticking point with this game. Where the hell are my analog controls? I've played two different generations and five different Armored Core titles now, and all but one of them came out after the analog revolution. Please, From, hear the clarion call of your fans and add analog support to the game! Er. Other than that seriously glaring oversight, Armored Core 2: Another Age is pretty much impeccable control-wise. Yes, your robot turns like an ancient Roadster at first, but once you start to tweak it out and improve the components you'll notice considerably improved performance. There are a lot of buttons to learn, and no tutorial to teach them to you, but the first few missions are simple enough that you can learn them through those. It's a good idea to start the game over once youv'e gotten the hang of the scheme, though, because the money you lost while you were learning it can sometimes be necessary. The game has minimal load times, which is nice, and I never noticed any major glitches. If you've ever played Armored Core, Armored Core: Project Phantasma, Armored Core: Master of Arena or Armored Core 2 you have a pretty good idea of what to expect with Armored Core 2: Another Age. While it's jampacked with more missions than any normal human could ever expect to complete and a load of new equipment and tweaks to the engine, it's still the same game we've been playing for years. Addition of analog control would have made this a top-shelf classic, but as it stands it's merely very good. Any fan of the series probably already owns the game; those looking to get into the console world's equivalent of MechWarrior 2 would be wise to check out this game, as it offers more gameplay than any other title in the series.
-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications AKA Phil Bordelon
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