Armored Core 4: Does it satisfy the hard core mech fans?
So first we have Graphics. This game looks great. One of the first games on the 360 that I think really use the power of the system. What good is a next generation system if all of its games look the same as the pong my grandpa played. Anyway, the lighting effects, explosions, and just everthing is looking top notch in this game. So I'll be giving it a 9, (hey, nobody's perfect.)
Second is the Gameplay. What good is the most beautiful game in the world if it's not any fun to play. If I wanted a movie I would have bought one. With that said, this game is pretty fun. The missions are varied, but they are have one common theme: you get to blow stuff up with missiles and other cool guns. Plus, you get to customize your mech with all sorts of different parts, weapons, colors, and emblems. While this may sound like a lot of customization, it pales in comparison with the earlier Armored Core games. A.C. buffs will probably be dissapointed with the number of parts, but it will make building a mech much easier for the newbies. The one final bonus is the online play. Now you can go online with your friends and see who is the master of the mechs. Sounds cool right? Well... yeah, yeah it is. There aren't any "butts" here. Its just plain fun and there is some serious competition. Overall, gameplay gets an 8.
Next up is the Conrol Scheme/Camera. Now most people might overlook this rating category, but believe me, it can make or break a game. And for Armored Core 4, its kind of a double edged sword. There are a few different default button configurations, but they all have one thing in common: you will have to press a lot of different buttons fairly quickly and without taking your fingures off of any of them. You might not think it, but it actually takes a little while to get used to having a finger constantly on each of the four trigger buttons; and because this game is very fast paced, you will need to be able to make any and every movement or shot with out having to switch around your fingers. Now here is the thing, the button configurations are completely customizable. So, technically if you are having trouble with your configuration, its your own fault for not finding a better one. But, lets face it, its the company's job to find the best configurations, not ours. In AC4, I would give the controls a 7, not because the configuration is bad, but because it is just hard to control all of the different things that you will have to do (we only have 10 fingers...for now)
Replay value I will cover pretty quick, because it basically just depends on gameplay, which I already covered. The online play and the customization really help this game out, because there really aren't any sort of plot variations. There is one linear stroy, and thats it. So I'm going to give this one an 8.5. However, if you don't have internet access, maybe a 7.5.
As for the story line of this game, it isn't bad... but it isn't great either. Its pretty forgettable actually. But then agian, who ever said that you need to remember the story any longer than it takes to beat the game. As long as it compells you to go on another mission to see what happens next, then it has done its job. In some cases it only needs to give a vague idea of why you are doing what you're doing in the game. The story here gets a 7.5.
And finally, the difficulty. Its not really too bad. It isn't to hard, but its not something you could do with your eyes closed. Plus, you can go back through on a harder setting and try to get all "S" ratings, which is always fun... and hard. So this game recieves a 9 here, because there is a difficulty for everyone. (A low score would mean a game is either way too hard or way too easy.)
So, overall, we come to an average of about 8.1something. So we are gonna round to 8.5. This is a great game, that some people absolutely must have, some would like, and some should just rent (for a long time), but at least everyone should experience this game at least once.