Armored Core: Last Raven coming to PS2s

According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Japanese developer From Software is developing its last Armored Core game for the PlayStation 2. Armored Core: Last Raven will be the tenth installment in the popular mech game series, and it's slated for release in Japan on August 4. It will be priced at 7,140 yen ($68).

Last Raven will be an action game, like previous installments in the Armored Core series, but it will have a new level structure and storyline. The setting of Last Raven sees three of the world's major mech manufacturers, Mirage, Kisaragi, and Crest, merged into one alliance. After the alliance takes control of the world, a new mercenary organization called Vertex, led by the game's lead character Jack O, rises to create a new world order. Jack O calls for all mechs to join his organization and declares that he will wage war on the alliance in 24 hours.

The objective of Last Raven hasn't been disclosed yet, but it's known the player will have to complete the game before the 24-hour time limit runs out. Last Raven features more than 70 missions, and its battlefields will change to reflect the time of day: morning, noon, evening, or night.

As usual, players can customize their mechs with a range of different equipment. Last Raven will feature more than 500 mechanical parts that can be used to power up the player's mech, of which more than 20 will be appearing for the first time. In a feature that's new to the series, each mechanical component will accumulate damage separately. Damaged components will function less effectively, and they can eventually break if they take too much punishment.

According to Famitsu, Armored Core: Last Raven is currently 90 percent complete.