Anyone who’s played any previous Armored Core title already knows whether AC3 is right for them. This isn’t a reinvention of Agetec’s half-arcade/half-hardcore mech battlin’ series, it’s just another step…and a rather small one at that. For those unfamiliar with Armored Core, the series’ strength lies in its super-hyper-customizable hardcore math-intensive mech-building options—literally hundreds of thousands of different head attachment/cooling unit/back upgrade/leg style combinations are possible. The mechs you meticulously construct are then put to the test in a large series of action/arcadey arena battles and cold corporate escort-or-destroy style missions so you can earn money and upgrade your mech even more. Personality be damned, however—and anyone seeking a good story should definitely avert their eyes elsewhere. AC3’s revamped game engine seems like little more than a refinement of the old one, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The sensation that you’re playing a heavy robot is remarkable, though the control scheme is hardly welcoming to first-timers; developer From Software’s annoying distaste for dual analog control (see also the King’s Field titles) is still present in full force, and you’re forced to look up and down using the antiquated shoulder button method. The presentation seems more like a polish-job, too—the sounds are a little heavier (Dolby Surround is in effect) and more realistic, the graphic textures are more detailed than before, and the mechs somehow manage to look awesome no matter what sort of monstrosity you design. Levels, however, tend to be bland, big, and block-shaped, and lack the proportions necessary to give a real sense of scale. Features new to the series like four-player arena battles (via iLink—two players per PS2 system) and the ability to drop weapons in mid-battle will matter only to those who played AC2 (and its expansion pack, AC2: Another Age) to death. Like its predecessors, AC3 is a niche game that will definitely sate existing AC fans but prompt few new followers to enlist in the giant robotic cause.
