facing_w0rlds
2021
I wasn't expecting a lot from this since Suda's name has't been attached to anything good for a while, but this was such a disappointment.
The actual core combat system is reworked and improved a whole lot, but literally everything else around it is worse. The open world was manageable in the first game but here it's a downright nuisance and is somehow even less fun to navigate, not helped in part by the areas clearly being cobbled together with Unreal Engine 4's built-in tools. The in-house engine looked nice before, I didn't need the game to look this foul and perform this poorly yet a lot of developers have taken up the improved workflow and easy access to modern shaders that the current gamer apparently craves.
The story was written by Suda himself this time, yet takes what was bad about NMH2 and makes it significantly worse. There is basically no heart to this one (especially surprising after Travis Strikes Again), characters are brought back as a complete shadow of their former selves just for laughs, the plot is completely nonsensical even for a No More Heroes game and it harbored absolutely no attachment to anything that was happening. It wasn't even funny enough to make up for the lunacy - shouting 'Father!' over and over isn't funny, nor is a funny epic Final Fantasy battle lol!!!! turn based games aren't like real life!!!!!!
This just sucked to be honest, I really really tried my absolute hardest to get into it but it just kept getting in it's own way to do something else random for the sake of it, not caring to tie anything together in both story or in structure (fight the same 5 aliens in the same 3 arenas, then boss time). This is definitely not the same team of developers as the original, and I doubt this Suda has much in common with the man who directed the original at this point.
Banging OST though!
The actual core combat system is reworked and improved a whole lot, but literally everything else around it is worse. The open world was manageable in the first game but here it's a downright nuisance and is somehow even less fun to navigate, not helped in part by the areas clearly being cobbled together with Unreal Engine 4's built-in tools. The in-house engine looked nice before, I didn't need the game to look this foul and perform this poorly yet a lot of developers have taken up the improved workflow and easy access to modern shaders that the current gamer apparently craves.
The story was written by Suda himself this time, yet takes what was bad about NMH2 and makes it significantly worse. There is basically no heart to this one (especially surprising after Travis Strikes Again), characters are brought back as a complete shadow of their former selves just for laughs, the plot is completely nonsensical even for a No More Heroes game and it harbored absolutely no attachment to anything that was happening. It wasn't even funny enough to make up for the lunacy - shouting 'Father!' over and over isn't funny, nor is a funny epic Final Fantasy battle lol!!!! turn based games aren't like real life!!!!!!
This just sucked to be honest, I really really tried my absolute hardest to get into it but it just kept getting in it's own way to do something else random for the sake of it, not caring to tie anything together in both story or in structure (fight the same 5 aliens in the same 3 arenas, then boss time). This is definitely not the same team of developers as the original, and I doubt this Suda has much in common with the man who directed the original at this point.
Banging OST though!
Good fun with more of the wacky bullshit you've come to expect from the series. Unfortunately it's also a step down in nearly every other way and replaces a lot of the charm and grit with being over-the-top for the sake of it - not a lot of it carries much weight. Well, the combat is more weighty but loses the responsiveness of the original in the proccess.
Still absolutely worth a go, though.
Still absolutely worth a go, though.
2007
This has so many problems but I find it hard to care in the face of a story with as many one-shot and reoccurring characters as compelling as these. It's also just ridiculously fun to hack people to bits. The minigames are a bit shit but still give you room to find the most efficient way of doing them.
Best experienced not knowing what you're in for, just play it if you haven't already.
Best experienced not knowing what you're in for, just play it if you haven't already.
2007
Not the ideal way to play but still has most of what made the original so damn good, with a couple of extra conveniences thrown in. The Rachel levels aren't as bad as everyone says but they aren't great either. The new graphics are also a bit of a downgrade, shame when the artstyle already wasn't the strongest aspect to begin with. Still a valid way to play if you don't have any of the Xbox consoles whatsoever.
Mission design is generally more varied and fun this time around, but having 100 of them with very little plot throughline to keep you hooked means this one wears thin before you've even reached the halfway point. At least you don't get penalised for failure this time because constantly saving/loading so many times would get tiring after a certain point. Has a few subtle improvements over 2 that would thankfully be carried over into Armroed Core 3.
2000
Made some great improvements to the formula but the mission design is frequently annoying, especially in the last third of the game. Otherwise a great transition to the PS2 and the mechs look better than ever.
Ayyyyyyy! It's another cool mission pack and a great sendoff to the 1st Gen AC games.
Has more ambition than Project Phantasma, especially with regards to the story. Has a very cool climax that I unfortunately had to look up a good build for.
Has more ambition than Project Phantasma, especially with regards to the story. Has a very cool climax that I unfortunately had to look up a good build for.
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.
1997
The start of the best mech franchise ever. It's only the first game but already they defined the course for the entire series.
Features god-tier customization even by today's standards. Less of a simulation than MechWarrior and more blasty-blasty action, but you still have to take your time going through the (fairly ugly) levels.
This game is BRUTAL. There is an invisible timer that ticks down for missions before they expire and each one you choose advances that, and in some cases picking certain missions cancels another. This happens regardless of whether you pass or fail the mission, and any money lost from ammo or mech repairs is permanent. It is extremely easy to fuck yourself over when starting out and constant saving/loading becomes the name of the game. Beating most missions made me sigh out loud in relief.
Despite the harsh design sometimes getting in the way and making things more cumbersome, and the lack of decent comparisons with current parts when buying new ones, this game absolutely rules and manages to somehow sneak in a compelling narrative that becomes more prevalent as it goes on.
A must-play if you have any interest in mechs, just be prepared for a learning curve. I haven't even mentioned the controls.
Features god-tier customization even by today's standards. Less of a simulation than MechWarrior and more blasty-blasty action, but you still have to take your time going through the (fairly ugly) levels.
This game is BRUTAL. There is an invisible timer that ticks down for missions before they expire and each one you choose advances that, and in some cases picking certain missions cancels another. This happens regardless of whether you pass or fail the mission, and any money lost from ammo or mech repairs is permanent. It is extremely easy to fuck yourself over when starting out and constant saving/loading becomes the name of the game. Beating most missions made me sigh out loud in relief.
Despite the harsh design sometimes getting in the way and making things more cumbersome, and the lack of decent comparisons with current parts when buying new ones, this game absolutely rules and manages to somehow sneak in a compelling narrative that becomes more prevalent as it goes on.
A must-play if you have any interest in mechs, just be prepared for a learning curve. I haven't even mentioned the controls.
2007
The start of a great little series with some cool ideas. The sci-fi universe feels sufficiently alien but with a lot of recognisable stuff too. Closer to Star Trek than Star Wars.
Story does a good enough job of building intrigue at these alien elements and the conversation wheel was revolutionary at the time, even though in reality it provides far less options than a list like classic CRPGs, it works well for a back-and-forth conversation.
Combat is a bit crap and some of the action levels are very barren. I do have a soft spot for these cobbled-together pieces of geometry but it's a big contrast between the Citadel which is clearly where most of the good design went.
Great game that also serves as a good intro to RPGs in general.
Story does a good enough job of building intrigue at these alien elements and the conversation wheel was revolutionary at the time, even though in reality it provides far less options than a list like classic CRPGs, it works well for a back-and-forth conversation.
Combat is a bit crap and some of the action levels are very barren. I do have a soft spot for these cobbled-together pieces of geometry but it's a big contrast between the Citadel which is clearly where most of the good design went.
Great game that also serves as a good intro to RPGs in general.
This was a chore to get through. It has some genuinely good ideas but graphically it looks boring, feels very slow to play compared to what game before, gameplay is made harder through poor means and the level design is sometimes infuriating, even compared to something like Blighttown from DS1 which at least sells the idea of it being a poorly put-together tower of planks. Everything here lacks vision and just moves the series a step closer to being like most traditional JRPGs instead of it's own thing. It's still Dark Souls so I managed to complete it, but there were a lot of times where I was on the verge of giving up completely.
2010
A good sequel that improves most things about the original, though loses some atmosphere and exploration in the process. More action and RPG but still a good time with some very memorable characters.
2013
I fully accept that this game is basically perfect but it was so stressful I didn't want to play it more than once. In that sense, mission success!
2010
One of the first games I fell in love with. Very 'pure' mechanically, controls refined to a point. Level design is frustrating in retrospect, which I guess is the point but this could have gone down smoother if you didn't have to do some time-delayed obstacles every time you wanted to try and make that one extremely tight jump at the very end of the levels. This would be unforgivable if it didn't control so well.
Humour doesn't hit like it once did and the bossfights vary from average to terrible but still a brilliant little game to play even if I don't love it as much as I used to. Soundtrack is excellent if you're playing on PC/360 and is the first album I ever bought with my own money.
Humour doesn't hit like it once did and the bossfights vary from average to terrible but still a brilliant little game to play even if I don't love it as much as I used to. Soundtrack is excellent if you're playing on PC/360 and is the first album I ever bought with my own money.
I really can't fault how well-done this game is. Definitely one of the smoothest gaming experiences ever made. Probably one of the easiest games to recommend to someone who doesn't play that many. I didn't find it special in any one particular area but it ties everything it does together extremely well. Just an extremely well-made piece of entertainment.