Need to get this and finish it. PvP was cool.
Ayyyyyy! It's a cool mission pack for AC with some improvements. Story isn't as intriguing but everyone else has got at least a small upgrade. The introduction of the Arena ended up becoming one of the most compelling parts of the franchise and it helps from a gameplay level too since there's no penalty for failure.
Easy recommend if you liked the original.
Easy recommend if you liked the original.
Neat improvements over the first one, but mostly just the same game. Love the arena in concept but after rank 25 it just kinda feels like a slog. Hope they improve this in later games because the arena mode could easily become my favorite thing about these games if it gets better
8/10
8/10
Really good shorter game. The plot is engaging and Stinger is a good main villain.
Definitely an improvement over the first game. Story was a bit more intersting and the characters were good too. The game was shorter yeah but for the better imo. The 50 ranks in the arena was also fun to do (although the AI became stupid unfair more than half way up). The controls are still horrible but I had a bit of a better time than the first game. It's good but still needs so much more polish.
Aunque se siente que iba a ser el auténtico primer paso de la saga, salió el segundo.
Se agradece una historia como tal pero el gameplay es 1:1 al primero con algunos cambios. Debería haber jugado primero este. Una pena.
Se agradece una historia como tal pero el gameplay es 1:1 al primero con algunos cambios. Debería haber jugado primero este. Una pena.
An expansion game to the first Armored Core. Overall it was just ok.
Music and gameplay itself, along with the customization were all still excellent. Having more dialogue and story scenes was also cool.
However, the missions were overall not that fun. Either they had weird structures, or were just gauntlets with framerate dipping down below 5fps, which the original game hardly ever did.
If this came out nowadays it would be a somewhat forgettable $20 DLC.
Music and gameplay itself, along with the customization were all still excellent. Having more dialogue and story scenes was also cool.
However, the missions were overall not that fun. Either they had weird structures, or were just gauntlets with framerate dipping down below 5fps, which the original game hardly ever did.
If this came out nowadays it would be a somewhat forgettable $20 DLC.
A great, sort of, "DLC" for the first game. The story itself throughout main missions was kind of dull, and you aren't really acting like a mercenary doing others' bidding to get by in this game (which I didn't mind that much since doing missions with a companion is kickass) but it isn't necessarily Armored Core. Most of my time in this game was actually spent in the "Arena Mode" which is a brilliant game mode where you battle against higher ranking ACs to become number one. Really made me change my build and actually think about the parts I'm using.
You know this game is actually much better than the original just because of the arena. Too bad the story and writing were a massive downgrade
mejor que el 1 solo por el arena mode
it's more armored core 1 but shorter (especially if you import your save)
i didn't really touch on the arena apart from like a couple fights to try it out, it's a neat concept but the base gameplay isn't fun enough for me to really care about it
that last boss got hand but unlike in Armored Core it doesn't happen in a really long and hard stage so it's way easier overall
i didn't really touch on the arena apart from like a couple fights to try it out, it's a neat concept but the base gameplay isn't fun enough for me to really care about it
that last boss got hand but unlike in Armored Core it doesn't happen in a really long and hard stage so it's way easier overall
my head hurts
realistically not a big upgrade from AC1 but the level design, story, and fights are generally a lot more fun. its harder to get stunlocked, the arena fights are satisfying and really do scale with how far up the ladder u go
sumika is an interesting character somewhat, the VA was pretty aight.. stinger went offffffff
good game :D
sumika is an interesting character somewhat, the VA was pretty aight.. stinger went offffffff
good game :D
’Armored Core: Project Phantasma’ is one of the best expansions to a game I’ve seen. It takes almost all the issues of the base game and improves on them making it overall a smoother and more enjoyable experience. If you are expecting something a bit more innovative and unique you may be let down, but if you play it with the expectations of something more akin to a story dlc then I think there’s a lot to get out of it.
The first thing I really wanted to talk about was how much better the missions are in this title. In the base game, it struggled a lot due to the inconsistency of quality between the levels, but ’Project Phantasma’ has no mission I disliked which I was quite surprised by. The levels here are a lot more challenging, but feel a lot more fair and well crafted. There’s more of an emphasis on boss fights which makes things really interesting at times since then you have to manage how much ammo you use as well as how much damage you take before the major fight. The areas these missions take place in as well are much better than the base game with a lot of them being much more memorable and again consistent with its quality.
Now the game does have one unique aspect to it which is probably the biggest reason I would recommend the game. The introduction to arena mode which I ended up loving a lot in this title. Arena mode is basically a huge leaderboard of ACs which you start at the bottom of. You work your way up by just beating the AC one spot above you and this is an incredibly fun time killer honestly. AC to AC fights are some of the highlights for the campaign of both the base game and ’Project Phantasma’ so a mode dedicated to it is great. It is also super cool because you can choose whichever map you want for any of the fights which you can use against the other AC you’re fighting. For example, if you are fighting an AC who likes to fly around a lot, you can choose a map that has a really low roof so they don't really get anywhere. This was really fun to mess with and that made learning some of the battles really memorable. They do get really difficult though. I think I made it to 27 on the leaderboard after stopping because they are very challenging. The other thing about arena mode that’s helpful is you can use it to get a whole lot of credits and new parts for your mech. You’d think this would come with a catch if you lose a fight, but there’s no punishment. Now this does remove some of the challenge of not going into debt that was apparent in the base game, but it then encourages you to use more parts and weapons which I ended up really enjoying. The new arena mode is a fantastic addition and was a wonderful start to the game mode.
The story of ’Project Phantasma’, like the base game, is super silly and fun. This time around though, there is a much stronger focus on characters and although they aren’t the most unique, they are still really enjoyable. Stinger especially, I loved him a lot as a villain. He was insanely over the top in the best way possible. The voice acting (at least the english dialogue) wasn’t terrible either. I mean it’s not good or anything, but for a PS1 title, the voice acting is decent. I enjoyed the story quite a bit.
If you’re looking for a new game entirely, then you won’t really find that here, but if you’re like me and thought ’Armored Core’ had more potential it didn’t fully capture and you were curious to see it reach that point than this is really close to that. I am intrigued to see where ’Master Of Arena’ goes from this and hope I get the same amount of enjoyment from it that I did here.
The first thing I really wanted to talk about was how much better the missions are in this title. In the base game, it struggled a lot due to the inconsistency of quality between the levels, but ’Project Phantasma’ has no mission I disliked which I was quite surprised by. The levels here are a lot more challenging, but feel a lot more fair and well crafted. There’s more of an emphasis on boss fights which makes things really interesting at times since then you have to manage how much ammo you use as well as how much damage you take before the major fight. The areas these missions take place in as well are much better than the base game with a lot of them being much more memorable and again consistent with its quality.
Now the game does have one unique aspect to it which is probably the biggest reason I would recommend the game. The introduction to arena mode which I ended up loving a lot in this title. Arena mode is basically a huge leaderboard of ACs which you start at the bottom of. You work your way up by just beating the AC one spot above you and this is an incredibly fun time killer honestly. AC to AC fights are some of the highlights for the campaign of both the base game and ’Project Phantasma’ so a mode dedicated to it is great. It is also super cool because you can choose whichever map you want for any of the fights which you can use against the other AC you’re fighting. For example, if you are fighting an AC who likes to fly around a lot, you can choose a map that has a really low roof so they don't really get anywhere. This was really fun to mess with and that made learning some of the battles really memorable. They do get really difficult though. I think I made it to 27 on the leaderboard after stopping because they are very challenging. The other thing about arena mode that’s helpful is you can use it to get a whole lot of credits and new parts for your mech. You’d think this would come with a catch if you lose a fight, but there’s no punishment. Now this does remove some of the challenge of not going into debt that was apparent in the base game, but it then encourages you to use more parts and weapons which I ended up really enjoying. The new arena mode is a fantastic addition and was a wonderful start to the game mode.
The story of ’Project Phantasma’, like the base game, is super silly and fun. This time around though, there is a much stronger focus on characters and although they aren’t the most unique, they are still really enjoyable. Stinger especially, I loved him a lot as a villain. He was insanely over the top in the best way possible. The voice acting (at least the english dialogue) wasn’t terrible either. I mean it’s not good or anything, but for a PS1 title, the voice acting is decent. I enjoyed the story quite a bit.
If you’re looking for a new game entirely, then you won’t really find that here, but if you’re like me and thought ’Armored Core’ had more potential it didn’t fully capture and you were curious to see it reach that point than this is really close to that. I am intrigued to see where ’Master Of Arena’ goes from this and hope I get the same amount of enjoyment from it that I did here.
I completed the expansion with a 99% build of the game and an absurd optional taken from it. That's all it offered me and what this disappointing expansion has to say: just an optional. The levels are ridiculous, there are cutscenes and a rival that does nothing but get beaten from the beginning to the end of the game. It set out to be more cinematic, but in the end it just comes off as awkward.
Everything it has that is enjoyable comes from AC1, and what it adds, excluding the arena, is to be discarded. It is forgettable, silly, a task without infamy or praise from a technical point of view. However, since I wanted to immerse myself in this experience because of the supposed references, I deserve to suffer this disappointment.
Everything it has that is enjoyable comes from AC1, and what it adds, excluding the arena, is to be discarded. It is forgettable, silly, a task without infamy or praise from a technical point of view. However, since I wanted to immerse myself in this experience because of the supposed references, I deserve to suffer this disappointment.
They finally get plotting and stage design right. 1st Gen is good, fuck the Analog stick. Nothing really changes other than the container but nothing really needed to change! Arenas are good, no more platforming.
The mediocre expansion. Attempt at narrative are mediocre, the missions are mediocre, the arena was the highlight until enemy behavior doesn't outright cheat against you in a insuffereable manner
Unless you really want to play every single game in the series skip this one. Trust me, not worth it. The original game is awesome, Master of Arena is better than this, and the PS2 games are solid. But this? Nothing to it.
way too short and the story is boring, may be the worst ac game
"Armored Core: Mehr vom Gleichen"
Project Phantasma lässt sich am ehesten mit dem vergleichen was bei einem PC Spiel ein Add-On gewesen wäre, nur eben Standalone.
Es nimmt die Engine, Assets und Struktur des Originalspiels und macht damit etwas gaaanz leicht anderes.
Das gute vorweg: Der Production Value wurde minimal erhöht. Level sehen allesamt etwas komplexer auf. Teil 1 hatte keinen Akira-Elevator? Project Phantasma hat einen Akira-Elevanter. Checkmate.
Auch die Missionen sind etwas komplexer. Während Teil 1 meist nur aus "Töte alles" oder "Finde Ziel" bestand, hast du hier auch mal Aufträge die sagen "Mach erst das, dann geh dahin und mach das" und das ist gut.
Außerdem gibt es tatsächlich eine durchgehende Story und sogar ganze zwei Charaktere mit Namen, statt nur dieser Lore-Fetzen des Originals.
Das Spiel gibt dir direkt etwas mehr Kohle um sofort mehr rumexperimentieren zu können, es gibt ein paar mehr Teile für deinen Core und die Arena ist ein ulkiger Modus in den man schon paar Runden stecken kann.
Bei diesem neuen Fokus auf eine durchgehende Handlung, ging für mich aber auch der größte Reiz des Originals flöten. Hier machst du nur noch Level nach Level nach Level bis der Endboss kommt. Gelegentlich kann man zwar mal zwischen zwei Aufträgen wählen, die meiste Zeit gehts aber immer nur voran.
Außerdem gibt es schon sehr früh, ich glaub in Mission 3, einen gigantischen Difficulty-Spike der erzwingt, dass du schon seeehr früh weißt was du tust und wie du deinen Core perfekt optimierst, um nicht direkt dein ganzes Geld zu verlieren.
Und genau das ist der Punkt. Da das Konzept sich Aufträge auszusuchen denen man auch gewachsen ist rausgeflogen ist, ist das Konzept für Niederlagen Geld zu verlieren für dieses Spiel absolut unpassend.
Schließlich kannst du Kämpfe in der Arena so oft neustarten wie du lustig bist, aber wenn du für eine Pflichtmission nicht ausgestattet bist, musst du halt tief in die Tasche greifen.
Und das alles für eine Story die... gar nicht mal gut ist.
Das Highlight hier ist tatsächlich die neue Arena. Ließ dir eine kurzbeschreibung vom Gegner durch, pass deinen AC darauf an, forder ihn im 1on1 heraus, steig die Leiter empor.
Eine Art Battlebots bei der Vorbereitung und die Wahl der Arena wichtiger sind als wie gut man draufhalten kann.
Tatsächlich hab ich nicht sooo viel Zeit hier reingesteckt, aber sagen wir's mal so, ich kann schon ahnen wieso der nächste Ableger "Masters of Arena" hieß.
Project Phantasma lässt sich am ehesten mit dem vergleichen was bei einem PC Spiel ein Add-On gewesen wäre, nur eben Standalone.
Es nimmt die Engine, Assets und Struktur des Originalspiels und macht damit etwas gaaanz leicht anderes.
Das gute vorweg: Der Production Value wurde minimal erhöht. Level sehen allesamt etwas komplexer auf. Teil 1 hatte keinen Akira-Elevator? Project Phantasma hat einen Akira-Elevanter. Checkmate.
Auch die Missionen sind etwas komplexer. Während Teil 1 meist nur aus "Töte alles" oder "Finde Ziel" bestand, hast du hier auch mal Aufträge die sagen "Mach erst das, dann geh dahin und mach das" und das ist gut.
Außerdem gibt es tatsächlich eine durchgehende Story und sogar ganze zwei Charaktere mit Namen, statt nur dieser Lore-Fetzen des Originals.
Das Spiel gibt dir direkt etwas mehr Kohle um sofort mehr rumexperimentieren zu können, es gibt ein paar mehr Teile für deinen Core und die Arena ist ein ulkiger Modus in den man schon paar Runden stecken kann.
Bei diesem neuen Fokus auf eine durchgehende Handlung, ging für mich aber auch der größte Reiz des Originals flöten. Hier machst du nur noch Level nach Level nach Level bis der Endboss kommt. Gelegentlich kann man zwar mal zwischen zwei Aufträgen wählen, die meiste Zeit gehts aber immer nur voran.
Außerdem gibt es schon sehr früh, ich glaub in Mission 3, einen gigantischen Difficulty-Spike der erzwingt, dass du schon seeehr früh weißt was du tust und wie du deinen Core perfekt optimierst, um nicht direkt dein ganzes Geld zu verlieren.
Und genau das ist der Punkt. Da das Konzept sich Aufträge auszusuchen denen man auch gewachsen ist rausgeflogen ist, ist das Konzept für Niederlagen Geld zu verlieren für dieses Spiel absolut unpassend.
Schließlich kannst du Kämpfe in der Arena so oft neustarten wie du lustig bist, aber wenn du für eine Pflichtmission nicht ausgestattet bist, musst du halt tief in die Tasche greifen.
Und das alles für eine Story die... gar nicht mal gut ist.
Das Highlight hier ist tatsächlich die neue Arena. Ließ dir eine kurzbeschreibung vom Gegner durch, pass deinen AC darauf an, forder ihn im 1on1 heraus, steig die Leiter empor.
Eine Art Battlebots bei der Vorbereitung und die Wahl der Arena wichtiger sind als wie gut man draufhalten kann.
Tatsächlich hab ich nicht sooo viel Zeit hier reingesteckt, aber sagen wir's mal so, ich kann schon ahnen wieso der nächste Ableger "Masters of Arena" hieß.
It's fun, you can tell the arena here was definitely still be working on it and it's probably the most insane skill jumps and decreases cuz of the ai builds and other shit to worry for. The story and missions are cool though, and of course the FINGER was so goated they literally had to nerf it for the next game over lmao.
more or less the same as AC1 which is to be expected because Project Phantasma is basically an expansion,but somehow it feels and plays worse?its crazy because the music and the customization is still good,it just everything else are not fun tbh.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
you want to bring a 100%'d file from the first game into this
good game
armored core 1 otra vez pero con mejor level design y modo arena
The story is the polar opposite of AC1: simple (it’s good vs. evil as opposed to evil corporation vs. evil corporation) and told in a straightforward way. It’s also super short. Even though the story feels like an abrupt 180 from what made the original so great, I still enjoyed developing a rivalry with the proto-Iguazu Stinger and having a Raven sidekick in Sumika. The biggest improvement Project Phantasma brings to the series formula is the arena. I love that you get to pick which map you duke it out on. I assumed it’d be like AC6 where each fight has a predetermined map. I always picked the space station level. The mission design felt like a big improvement, too. There’s a lot less missions so it makes sense that there’d be less stinkers, but the story campaign didn’t have any low-points at all for me, which I definitely can’t say for AC1. Overall, it’s a good expansion on the original but doesn’t match or surpass its greatness.
É pior que o primeiro mas adicionou umas coisas boas
This game tells you that there's an option to import your save from the first game, but that's a lie.... Isn't an option, it's a must 'cause is almost imposible to finish withouth it and you would get your ass wipe out of the existence at the new arena mode
Despite of that is a good experiment for what was going to be the next game and the story take a more personal approach... not sure how to feel about your Jerid Messa rival
Despite of that is a good experiment for what was going to be the next game and the story take a more personal approach... not sure how to feel about your Jerid Messa rival
More AC1 which isn't a bad thing but I do think it is a bit weaker than the first game. Arena mode is a great addition that gives you more options for progression. There is a more personal story but not like it's all that engaging or impactful. I prefer the mystery and moral ambiguity presented in the first game. It is also very linear with less mission variety.