When I was a kid I was for a short time addicted to this terrible Small Soldiers game (based on the hit movie). You created your own soldier (or whatever the animal/indigenous metaphor faction was called) and could accrue ingame money to buy custom parts.
The game ran at like 10 fps on my old 90s PC but it was an addicting loop. I would buy random parts and just watch my frankenstein's duke it out with the AI because it was easier than controlling it myself.
Armored Core would have absolutely OBSESSED my 8 y/o self. It would have leveled my conception of what games could be.
The robots are cool, they control stiffly at first but compared to most psx/n64 gen games Armored Core is very responsive. The missions are generally tight, and on a blind run you would have little idea what might happen since the mission briefings are very vague. Poor draw distance in the open air maps, and claustrophobic tunnels indoors keep you guessing even when the mission is unfolding. It also unfortunately incentivizes playing it safe with chunkier, slower AC's that can carry more ammo for missions that sometimes go longer than you might expect. Project Phantasm & Arena add those more focused PVAI pilot battles that make lightweight, nimble AC useful, but in AC1 they are a very risky bet.
8 y/o me would have just read everything on gamefaqs beforehand because that's just what I did back then, but that was also how I made game narratives explicable. AC never overestimates its storytelling capacity; it does not push the PSX to be a movie machine with wild, poorly rendered cutscenes. It's beautifully within its limits.
The game ran at like 10 fps on my old 90s PC but it was an addicting loop. I would buy random parts and just watch my frankenstein's duke it out with the AI because it was easier than controlling it myself.
Armored Core would have absolutely OBSESSED my 8 y/o self. It would have leveled my conception of what games could be.
The robots are cool, they control stiffly at first but compared to most psx/n64 gen games Armored Core is very responsive. The missions are generally tight, and on a blind run you would have little idea what might happen since the mission briefings are very vague. Poor draw distance in the open air maps, and claustrophobic tunnels indoors keep you guessing even when the mission is unfolding. It also unfortunately incentivizes playing it safe with chunkier, slower AC's that can carry more ammo for missions that sometimes go longer than you might expect. Project Phantasm & Arena add those more focused PVAI pilot battles that make lightweight, nimble AC useful, but in AC1 they are a very risky bet.
8 y/o me would have just read everything on gamefaqs beforehand because that's just what I did back then, but that was also how I made game narratives explicable. AC never overestimates its storytelling capacity; it does not push the PSX to be a movie machine with wild, poorly rendered cutscenes. It's beautifully within its limits.
chandler
7 months ago