Armored Core 2 for PlayStation 2
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- ESRB Rating: T - (Teen)
- Publisher: Agetec
- Genre: Shooter / FPS
Similar in PlayStation 2 Games
Armored Core 2: Another Age
$69.98
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Armored Core 2: Big Robots, Bad Controls
Pros
Great core gameplay, variety of parts, depth of customization
Cons
Poor controls, graphics and sounds not what they could be, eclipsed by later releases
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Two robots enter
one leaves, this is digital
Thunderdome, with mechs
one leaves, this is digital
Thunderdome, with mechs
Overall: 6
Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 6
Sound: 6
Concept: 5
Replay Value:6
Armored Core 2 brings all the giant robot battle and customization action from the Armored Core series from its roots on the Playstation to the more advanced Playstation 2 hardware. With the exception of improved graphics, not much has changed, though this is both a good and bad thing. Good because the previous games were solid fun, but bad because AC2 doesn't take advantage of the PS2 as much as it could.
The basic premise is simple; you are a freelance pilot of an Armored Core, a giant customizable battle robot, on newly colonized Mars. To make money (which allows you to further customize your Core with advanced parts) you can take on missions with various Martian corporations and factions, or you can enter the arena as a Raven to battle your way to the top. This may feel familiar, and in fact the game plays almost exactly the same as Master of Arena. If you liked that game, AC2 is more of the same goodness, but there's not much new.
Thankfully, the missions are well done and there is a story that develops as the missions progress. There is also somewhat of a branching mission layout, where some missions become unavailable after others are completed. It's not that the various organizations that sponsor the missions necessarily change their attitude toward you as to complete them, but it almost feels that way. The Arena is very similar to that in Master of Arena, and gets fairly tough at the upper ranks. Again, like in the previous game, there are some cheesy tricks one can use to mop up many of the opponents, but if those aren't used the fights can be pretty good.
The real draw to the Armored Core series is of course the customization. AC2 expands on previous games with not only more parts but also new categories of parts altogether. There are new weapons, and the part choice is so large and varied that the possibilities are almost endless. The best part of building a Core is that selling parts doesn't lose any money; they sell at the same price they were purchased. This means there are no mistakes, and experimentation is encouraged.
That's all there really is to AC2, aside from versus play. With two players you can either play split screen or, providing you don't have one of the new slim PS2's, you can use a link cable to connect two systems. Unfortunately, no cooperative or other 2-player modes have been added.
While the graphics are much improved over the earlier games on weaker hardware, AC2 is an early PS2 game and it shows. The action can get choppy or slow down at times, and the other robots you fight against just don't look that good. The environments are fairly well done, but they're also very small, a big concern when leaving the area means you lose the mission.
The sound is fairly well done. Weapon sounds effects are good, with the exception of impacts; I would expect a volley of missiles hitting me to sound a lot more devastating than a tennis ball landing in a sandbox. There is lots of voiceover, most of which is done well, and where there's music it's fairly good as well.
Along with the basic game structure and play, another holdover from earlier AC games is the control scheme. I was a big fan of Master of Arena, but that was a few years and many other game ago. It wasn't until playing AC2 that I realized how terrible the controls were, especially with the shoulder buttons being used for strafing and tilting the view up and down. The PS2 uses the Dualshock controller as standard, and this game would benefit greatly from more of a first-person shooter style of control layout. In fact, AC2 barely uses the analog sticks at all, and you can't to map movement to them. I found my hand cramping up, and it's just impossible to move, look around, jump, and fire simultaneously (which opponents have no problem doing), unless your fingers are double-jointed.
Overall, Armored Core 2 is more of the same, sharing all of the good and bad points of its earlier brethren. Since there have been newer releases in the series for the PS2 with further improvements, It's wise to pass up this title for something more recent, like Armored Core 3. The price is right, though, and devotees of the series or those who want to see what it's all about without dropping too much change would still find many hours of enjoyment from Armored Core 2.
Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 6
Sound: 6
Concept: 5
Replay Value:6
Armored Core 2 brings all the giant robot battle and customization action from the Armored Core series from its roots on the Playstation to the more advanced Playstation 2 hardware. With the exception of improved graphics, not much has changed, though this is both a good and bad thing. Good because the previous games were solid fun, but bad because AC2 doesn't take advantage of the PS2 as much as it could.
The basic premise is simple; you are a freelance pilot of an Armored Core, a giant customizable battle robot, on newly colonized Mars. To make money (which allows you to further customize your Core with advanced parts) you can take on missions with various Martian corporations and factions, or you can enter the arena as a Raven to battle your way to the top. This may feel familiar, and in fact the game plays almost exactly the same as Master of Arena. If you liked that game, AC2 is more of the same goodness, but there's not much new.
Thankfully, the missions are well done and there is a story that develops as the missions progress. There is also somewhat of a branching mission layout, where some missions become unavailable after others are completed. It's not that the various organizations that sponsor the missions necessarily change their attitude toward you as to complete them, but it almost feels that way. The Arena is very similar to that in Master of Arena, and gets fairly tough at the upper ranks. Again, like in the previous game, there are some cheesy tricks one can use to mop up many of the opponents, but if those aren't used the fights can be pretty good.
The real draw to the Armored Core series is of course the customization. AC2 expands on previous games with not only more parts but also new categories of parts altogether. There are new weapons, and the part choice is so large and varied that the possibilities are almost endless. The best part of building a Core is that selling parts doesn't lose any money; they sell at the same price they were purchased. This means there are no mistakes, and experimentation is encouraged.
That's all there really is to AC2, aside from versus play. With two players you can either play split screen or, providing you don't have one of the new slim PS2's, you can use a link cable to connect two systems. Unfortunately, no cooperative or other 2-player modes have been added.
While the graphics are much improved over the earlier games on weaker hardware, AC2 is an early PS2 game and it shows. The action can get choppy or slow down at times, and the other robots you fight against just don't look that good. The environments are fairly well done, but they're also very small, a big concern when leaving the area means you lose the mission.
The sound is fairly well done. Weapon sounds effects are good, with the exception of impacts; I would expect a volley of missiles hitting me to sound a lot more devastating than a tennis ball landing in a sandbox. There is lots of voiceover, most of which is done well, and where there's music it's fairly good as well.
Along with the basic game structure and play, another holdover from earlier AC games is the control scheme. I was a big fan of Master of Arena, but that was a few years and many other game ago. It wasn't until playing AC2 that I realized how terrible the controls were, especially with the shoulder buttons being used for strafing and tilting the view up and down. The PS2 uses the Dualshock controller as standard, and this game would benefit greatly from more of a first-person shooter style of control layout. In fact, AC2 barely uses the analog sticks at all, and you can't to map movement to them. I found my hand cramping up, and it's just impossible to move, look around, jump, and fire simultaneously (which opponents have no problem doing), unless your fingers are double-jointed.
Overall, Armored Core 2 is more of the same, sharing all of the good and bad points of its earlier brethren. Since there have been newer releases in the series for the PS2 with further improvements, It's wise to pass up this title for something more recent, like Armored Core 3. The price is right, though, and devotees of the series or those who want to see what it's all about without dropping too much change would still find many hours of enjoyment from Armored Core 2.
