This game needs an honest review after 2 days of play... no major site has a REAL review up so here's mine.
TLDNR Entry - Should be at the bottom but I'm putting it up here. The game is pretty fun. It's not stellar and I can't see being involved with it longer than a few weeks. I like the Armored Core series and I do like previous installments of this series. There really isn't anything LASTING about it though. Ultimately, the story isn't worth it and the characters all feel kinda hollow. If they would just point me in the direction of the next thing to explode it would be better/faster/more appealing. Some of the stuff feels tacked on and I get it. To be honest, I expected more from a Square-Enix game.
Plot Overview - You're a pilot of a wanzer (mech) in the future. Some bad dudes come and piss your side off so you go and hit back. Some very cliche things happen and wam bam your in a war. Chaos ensues. Unlike the older games this is more combat/action based and MUCH less strategy.
Graphics - 7/10 . Human characters leave a bit to be desired. Wanzer combat looks really good, until too much gets onto the screen. Then the game gets choppy.
Audio - 8/10 . Audio dialog is ok. It's not stellar but it gets the point across. Only one character in particular bothers me because the character is OBVIOUSLY much older than the voice is. It's like a reverse 90210 thing where the 20 some year olds pretend to be in high school.
Gameplay - 6/10 . I WISH the game would have stayed purely mech combat. The couple of times I was forced to run FPS style seemed extremely forced. There's no real challenge. The enemies have blue visors or red visors. Aim the cross hair remotely close and pull the trigger. Even on hard these levels just seemed drawn out. Mech combat is fun and fast. Many different types of customizations allow for a plethora of options for all play styles. I find that with 2 missile launchers and a snipe rifle the game is pretty easy.
Online - Basically online consists of a handful of different games. Through leveling up you gain access to more prominent gear. Only played a handful of games where my lowly mech was hopelessly out-everything'd by the guys I was playing against. That being said should be rectified with a few games in.