if you can get through this series you are a more patient man than I am, honestly never understood what the appeal was (I played 1, 2, 3 and frame gride ages ago)

Yeah that's understandable. I played Armored Core 1 for about 5 hours thinking that it was hot garbage and then for some reason it started being fun. I think it's honestly impressive how From Soft managed to make a mech combat game that feels clunkier than Mechwarrior where the mechs are meant to feel like tanks.

I think for me it's just there's a certain appeal to customizing a mech and doing mercenary missions with a loose storyline (I loved Mechwarrior 4: Mercs, although admittedly it actually had branching paths.) We'll see how far I get, I wouldn't be surprised if I stop at Armored Core 2.