Armored Core 2: Another Age Preview
Armored Core 2 presents a series of new missions.
There are a number of different styles of execution when it comes to creating a mech-warfare game. The ultradetailed control mechanisms behind MechWarrior appeal to a wide audience, as do the simplified arcade controls of Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram. Somewhere between these two extremes lies From Software's Armored Core games--the latest of which is the revamped Armored Core 2: Another Age for the PlayStation 2. The key feature behind Armored Core 2: Another Age's playability is the incredibly intense level of customization allowed when creating and modifying your mechanical fighting machine, or core. With Another Age, the long hours of core development and rigorous field testing will pay off with competitive online multiplayer matches, accessible through use of the approaching PlayStation 2 network adapter. While we obviously haven't had the chance to examine the online capabilities of Another Age, we were able to recently play through many of the single- and multiplayer missions and get a good look at what's in store.
The story takes place five years after the events of Armored Core 2, after the coup led by the rebel Leos Klain on Mars. The government on Earth, wary of further action against the martian community, has been concentrating on rebuilding the cities that were leveled by the Great Destruction. With Earth's population so greatly reduced, science and technology have taken a sharp turn for the worse. The government's response to this situation? A stepped-up program of rapid armament, with the objective of retaking the red planet. The military regime has inspired several dissenting factions to take up arms and organize the rest of the underground. The role of the Ravens, the hired gun mercenary pilots of the powerful Armored Cores, is to take action in the conflict on behalf of the highest bidder. When not participating in the nearest melee, Ravens do battle in the arenas, in publicly attended events. The highest-ranking Ravens have great sway over the public and can become the decisive force in the battle for supremacy over Earth. Your role is to rise through the ranks of the Raven hierarchy and become an integral factor in the new age.
The original Armored Core 2 featured a moderately involved single-player mode, with 30 different branching missions to embark upon. Another Age has more than 100 different missions--the most ever in an Armored Core game--making for a much more satisfying and lengthy solo experience. The incentives for completing these missions vary but can range from strictly financial rewards to story-driving battles that are meant to sway the balance of the conflict one way or the other. The single-player missions also let pilots discover hidden, powerful core parts that are only available upon completion of varying objectives. When mission areas are unlocked, hidden missions may appear to challenge the Raven bold enough to undertake them. After completing a handful of missions, rated on a difficulty scale for reference, our Raven was rich enough to give his core a complete overhaul and tackle missions of the highest complexity and challenge. While completing every mission isn't necessary for a successful single-player campaign, you will find that the need to build your core to its fullest potential for competition can be easily fulfilled.
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- Agetec Inc.
- From Software
- Mech Sim
- Release: Aug 20, 2001 »
- ESRB: Teen
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