Page 14 of 35 FirstFirst ... 48910111213141516171819202434 ... LastLast
Results 196 to 210 of 518

Thread: WK's Top something or other... let's just say "games" and call it good list.

  1. #196
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nowhere and Everywhere
    Posts
    19,544
    Articles
    60
    Blog Entries
    27
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    And deny your offspring to learn the horrors of why we went wireless? For shame Del Murder, kids need to know these things.

    We're halfway through the list now. I know a few of you have started a few games I mentioned on this list, anybody else feeling that tinge of nostalgia or gaming curiosity?

    Any entry surprise you yet?

    I'll give a hint about the next few entries:

    One was inspired by a child finding a cave in the countryside.
    One involves Mars
    One involves smoking jaguars
    One involves ice skaters.

  2. #197
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Falling on your head
    Posts
    16,902
    Articles
    119
    Blog Entries
    133

    FFXIV Character

    Pumpkin Contrary (Sargatanas)
    Contributions
    • Former Editor
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
    One was inspired by a child finding a cave in the countryside.
    One involves Mars
    One involves smoking jaguars
    One involves ice skaters.
    Style Savvy!

  3. #198
    Trial by Wombat Bubba's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Shmocation
    Posts
    10,370
    Articles
    2
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    First one has to be Zelda! The original, by the sounds of it.

  4. #199
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nowhere and Everywhere
    Posts
    19,544
    Articles
    60
    Blog Entries
    27
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    49.Man, we're jumping into the top 50 and I'm starting with a serious classic. Like SMB3 before it, it's difficult to really write something about such an iconic game that most people know. This was my first Zelda game, the first I played, owned, and beat. Thus it stands to reckon that it holds a very warm place in my heart. It still boggles my mind that it took me close to a year to beat this game, whereas my last two playthroughs have taken me only an evening.The first entry is the beginning of the long feuding love triangle between Legoals cosplaying as Peter Pan , Link; always a damsel in distress, never a bride Princess Zelda; and sexy thief who really let himself go to the dark side Ganon.The game's design was inspired by Miyamoto's childhood days of exploring his family's country getaway and all the cool things he uncovered. He wanted to really invoke that feeling and thus Zelda's open world set-up was conceived. What's interesting to me about the original Zelda, was how ahead of it's time it really was. Nowadays, people throw around buzz worlds like "open world" and "non-linear design" as the mediums go to buzz words of the 21st century, but Zelda achieved all this stuff back in the toddler years of video games. It just goes to show how quickly we forget things it seems, as well as how exciting and interesting games were back in the day.
    Set in the Fallen Hero timeline, Ganon has returned once again and is trying to collect the Triforce to regain his power. In order to slow his pursuit, Princess Zelda shattered the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and had them hidden away in various dungeons throughout Hyrule. This caused Ganon to capture her in order to discover their location. Her servant Impa, went to find help but was attacked on the way, when she was rescued by a young boy named Link. Feeling this boy would be the hero she was looking for, Impa tasks Link to recover the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, and then rescue Zelda From Ganon. Thus my favorite Nintendo franchise was born.

    While Zelda has grown to be one of Nintendo's biggest properties, especially in the Western world, it does still surprise me to meet Zelda fans who never touched the game that started it all. Even more baffling when I hear some of these same fans complain about the difficulty of the game compared to later installments. Zelda 2 is a tough as nails game, but the first Zelda is actually pretty easy, it just doesn't ever hold your hand and it's primary gameplay advice is always "try everything" in order to proceed, something the later Zelda games ultimately fazed out from the series. I still remember trying to take this game down in an era where the internet gaming community was still in it's infancy and finding back issue guides for Nintendo Power at the library could be a serious challenge. So for me, the satisfaction of eventually figuring out most of the game's puzzles and the thrill of finding dungeon 8 when you've just barely finished dungeon 2 is still exhilarating. I still remember using the Candle to burn every shrub I came across only to discover too many times the "you destroyed my front door!" person and losing out on my rupees.
    In a lot of ways, and perhaps this is just the "old fogy" in me wearing my rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia as I wax on about the "good old days"; but I kind of feel like the information age has made us really lose out on the sense of discovery that older games once possessed. With every new generation of consoles, it feels to me that there is less to find and uncover in this happy medium of video games and more of just people whining about strategy guides, wiki's and how dare the devs put in a secret that is ridiculously easy to miss. The mindset has changed, but perhaps it's due to games like Zelda, that offered such a rewarding experience of finding secrets and figuring out it's various puzzles that leaves me wishing more games did such things. I still tend to play dry run through where I refuse to use faqs or ask help from other players, simply cause I want to recreate the at feeling. That to me, is the Zelda Experience.Bottom line, if you haven't played this game, do so, and don't get any help from a faq or walkthrough. If have played this game, then well when was the last time you did so? It's the Zelda title that has had one of the biggest impacts for me, though it is not my favorite as you'll find out eventually.




  5. #200
    Recognized Member Scotty_ffgamer's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Eizon
    Posts
    5,275
    Articles
    4
    Blog Entries
    4

    FFXIV Character

    Scotty Ffgamer (Sargatanas)
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    I finally beat this for the first time a few years ago. I never could get very far as a kid because I sucked at these kinds of games, but I still played it all the time.

    I just wish I knew other people playing this stuff when I was a kid. I could have seen myself loving having friends swapping secrets we'd find and giving each other hints. Unfortunately, things had moved on to the snes/genesis and even ps1 era when I was able to talk games on the playground and such.

  6. #201
    Edge7's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    874
    Articles
    1
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default

    One day I'll play the original Zelda. I actually quite enjoyed Adventure of Link, so I'm not afraid of it being too "Old School"
    Returners Represent!

  7. #202
    Pinkasaurus Rex Pumpkin's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Falling on your head
    Posts
    16,902
    Articles
    119
    Blog Entries
    133

    FFXIV Character

    Pumpkin Contrary (Sargatanas)
    Contributions
    • Former Editor
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    My son likes OG Zelda too!

    Also we beat Catherine and we saw Dragon Quarter for cheap at a video game thingy we went to so we got it!

  8. #203
    Trial by Wombat Bubba's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Shmocation
    Posts
    10,370
    Articles
    2
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    It pains me to say that I've never actually completed this. I've started it countless times and even completed many of the dungeons. I just found it really easy to get lost in... and not in a good way. I think I was a bit spoiled as my first Zelda was ALTTP where it was a lot easier to navigate around. I will complete this at some point though as it is the starting point for a truly incredible gaming franchise.

  9. #204
    Ghost of Christmas' past Recognized Member theundeadhero's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    In Jojee's pants x_~
    Posts
    15,557

    FFXIV Character

    Villania Valski (Adamantoise)
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Former Senior Site Staff

    Default

    Zelda was my first game. It was the game that got me into gaming. My dad brought an NES home when I was five, with Zelda. I would watch my dad play the game when he came home from work until he beat it. Then, I began to play it. I beat it when I was five. Not like a my dad helped me fight the bosses or find the dungeons, I legitimately played through the game myself. I could still pop the game in and beat it in an afternoon with no need for any kind of guide. Twenty years ago, when I was in my prime, I could do it in an hour. Its been about three years since I've last played through it, but that original Zelda cartridge is still the one I have, and the battery is still going strong.
    ...

  10. #205
    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oakland, California
    Posts
    41,604
    Articles
    6
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Former Administrator
    • Hosted the Ciddies

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Pumpkin View Post
    My son likes OG Zelda too!
    That's a good boy.

    Legend of Zelda has got to be the inflation-adjusted best game of all time. It is so far beyond what was available at that time and is still pretty great even today.

    Proud to be the Unofficial Secret Illegal Enforcer of Eyes on Final Fantasy!
    When I grow up, I want to go to Bovine Trump University! - Ralph Wiggum

  11. #206
    *permanent smite* Spuuky's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Hell, eventually.
    Posts
    3,653

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Del Murder View Post
    Legend of Zelda has got to be the inflation-adjusted best game of all time. It is so far beyond what was available at that time and is still pretty great even today.
    Hmm, well, if you don't count the games that came before it (like the first 4 Ultima games) because they weren't on a popular console, that's probably true.

  12. #207
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nowhere and Everywhere
    Posts
    19,544
    Articles
    60
    Blog Entries
    27
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    48.Okay, so moving past a classic, we're back to giant robots, and after another one coming up soonish, you won't have to listen to me talk about giant robots beyond an occasional Metal Gear for quite a while. MechCommander is also the only RTS on this list, so I'm sorry if that is one of your favorite genres, and this will also be my second to last PC exclusive title on the list since this is technically the last PC game I was really into until maybe a few years ago when I started taking advantage of Steam.If you actually bothered to read my entry on BattleTech (#76) on this list, you have a basic rundown of the early franchise. Remember when I mentioned that the former commander of the Star League basically gave the warring houses the middle finger and then left the galaxy to make his own Star League with hookers, gambling, and booze? Well ended up instead creating a new society of soldiers built around competition and an extreme honor system. While the group fractured into various clans, they are all honor-bound to that commander's dream of returning to the Inner Sphere and recreating the old Star League, by basically wiping out the various Houses and conquering all of it. Guess who showed up after the fourth succession war? To make matters worse for the Inner Sphere, the Clans not only still retain the knowledge of the technology from the Star League days, they've actually improved it. So when the Clans initially show up, they pretty much tear the Inner Sphere a new one and conquered large swaths of territory. Ignoring the large amount of politics and historical battles that take place, the Clan failed to succeed in their goals. They failed to take back Terra where the manipulative ComStar controlled the Inner Sphere behind the scenes, but their frightening battle prowess and major victories were enough to actually force the various Houses of the Inner Sphere to forget their grudges and band together to form the Second Star League. Their first act was Operation BULLDOG, which was a major force built from various houses and mercenary groups to take back all the territory the Smoke Jaguars Clan had taken during the Clan Invasion. This is the setting of MechCommander and specifically details the battle to take back the planet Port Arthur. You play the titular Mech Commander, in charge of a small force doing operations in the war effort to take back the planet. While you only start with four pilots and some pansy ass Light Mechs, you can eventually earn or salvage enough materials to build a powerful platoon of veteran fighters with mechs from both the Inner Sphere and the Clans. In addition to guiding the unit to complete the mission objectives, you're also in charge of using military funds to keep their battlemechs in top condition, change their payload, hire new pilots, and purchase new weapons and mechs to help make missions easier.The game is a mission base RTS with different objectives for your unit to complete that range from taking out enemy bases, assassinating a powerful enemy mech, escort missions, saving prisoners of war, or reconnaissance. The mission variety is quite nice and keeps you on your toes, often forcing you to think carefully about which pilots to send and what mechs to outfit them with. Many of the missions have secret objectives that can also be completed that usually nets you both new gear to outfit your unit with, and extra money for repairs and buying new mechs. Most pilots start out Green, except for two you are given in the early game. They move up in rank as they survive missions and can eventually become elites that can will make even the toughest missions manageable. They are ranked by their skills, which give you an idea of the type of mech they should be piloting. A pilot with great Sensor skills and little gunnery skills should probably not be piloting a combat focused Hunchback AC2, while a combat expert shouldn't be piloting a reconnaissance focused Raven or lightly armed Commando with a Jump Jet build. While I don't know if this was programmed into the game or not, the pilots have personalities you can read on their bios, but my friends and I have noticed that certain pilots seem to show off funny traits. For instance, I've always found the pilot Beast to have incredibly dumb luck. If he's not the only unit that walks away from a mission virtually unscathed, then he's usually the one with a sliver of health that somehow manages to survive it. He also tends to be the guy who lands the most critical hits, for some reason, which made him an excellent pilot for the Hollander and Hunchback. Lynx on the other hand, and this happened with all of my friends, is the guy who has a bad habit of wandering off from the group. I don't know why he does this, but he's the one who forced me to restart a mission when he discovered a Mad Cat in Mission 3 to both his and my own misfortune. Perhaps it's just our imagination, but it really does bring an interesting human element to the gameplay as you start giving your pilots imaginary traits or notice odd quirks with them. Speaking of the mecha, you have a whole variety of options in the game. You start off with two simple Commandos and a Firestarter, but can eventually acquire things like a Hunchback, Atlas, or Centurion through the shop. More mechs unlock as you successfully complete missions. You're even able to customize them by buying different variants with their own strengths and weaknesses like the speedy but incredibly fragile Jump Jet versions, the more combat focused Weapon variation, and the defensive and great for escort mission Armor variety. The real challenge is salvaging enemy mechs from missions. If you can defeat the enemy mech units without totally destroying them, it's possible to salvage them and add them to your arsenal. This is incredibly invaluable as it is usually the only means of acquiring Clan mechs and weapons, which as I stated above, are incredibly powerful compared to the Inner Sphere equivalents. Unfortunately, whether you can salvage a mech largely comes down to luck, and so you may find yourself replaying the same mission over and over to finally get that one unique mech you want.Speaking of which, this game can be quite challenging, in fact, it's one of the few games on this list I have never actually beaten due to getting stuck on a particularly nasty mission that appears late in the game. Part of this can sometimes be that your intel is bad or just poorly focused. For instance, the second mission only gives you an idea of what is around the mission objective points, it does not talk about what else is on the map which includes a really nasty Medium class Hollander Mech sporting a Clan version Gauss Rifle which will pick apart your light weight mechs like wet tissue paper. The third mission is more infamous for having a goddamn Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) wandering by its lonesome self on the bottom of the map, and even if you somehow salvaged that Hollander from mission 2, the Mad Cat can easily destroy it by itself. One of my favorite memories of this game, is actually setting up a trap for that Mad Cat and eventually beating and salvaging it, so the next dozen or so missions become utter cakewalks in comparison. This game was a real treat for me in middle school and high school, due to playing it along with two other mecha fan friends I had, so we would share stories of our exploits and share secrets. It was probably the last time I ever really did this with anyone outside a forum, so this game gives a warm nostalgia to me about those times. Also, despite what you see in the video intro, while it is possible for that unit configuration to win a fight against the Mad Cat, it pretty much requires the enemy pilot to be both dumb, and the heroes incredibly lucky cause that mech should have wiped the floor with that whole unit. Additionally, hooray for campy live action videos from Western Strategy games. I really need to give Command and Conquer a try someday.


  13. #208
    Feel the Bern Administrator Del Murder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oakland, California
    Posts
    41,604
    Articles
    6
    Blog Entries
    2
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight
    • Former Administrator
    • Hosted the Ciddies

    Default

    Gee, methinks you like giant robots.

    Proud to be the Unofficial Secret Illegal Enforcer of Eyes on Final Fantasy!
    When I grow up, I want to go to Bovine Trump University! - Ralph Wiggum

  14. #209
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nowhere and Everywhere
    Posts
    19,544
    Articles
    60
    Blog Entries
    27
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Del Murder View Post
    Gee, methinks you like giant robots.
    What can I say, I was a Transformers, Voltron, and Robotech fan as a kid.

    I'm also not going to imply that I may have been late with this entry due to reacquainting myself with it over the weekend...

    After the next entry, you won't really have to listen to me fanboy about them as much.

  15. #210
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Nowhere and Everywhere
    Posts
    19,544
    Articles
    60
    Blog Entries
    27
    Contributions
    • Former Cid's Knight

    Default

    47.
    Armored Core is one of those sleeper franchises that's been around longer than people remember, and before a certain series with Souls in the title appeared, it was FROM Software's bread and butter franchise that kept the lights on in their studio. Armored Core is a franchise that largely laid down the ground work for the style of game design that later franchises would benefit from, in fact Hidetaki Miyazaki, the creator of the Souls franchise, actually got his start directing games from this franchise. Armored Core 2 was a PlayStation 2 launch title and a surprise hit for the company.

    Armored Core is a franchise set in a bleak future where mankind nearly wiped themselves out due to an event known as the Great Destruction. Forced underground, mankind lost faith in their government and mega corporations slid in to fill the power vacuum in its stead. Now vying for power, the Mega Corps fight in both open and clandestine military operations of major corporate sabotage. Helping them in all this are Ravens, mercenaries organized under the merc company Raven's Nest which sell their services to anyone willing to pay. These soldiers pilot the series titular mecha, the Armored Core, to fight in missions and earn glory in the arena. In the PS1 trilogy (yes, technically AC2 is the fourth game in the franchise, AC numbering and generations can be confusing), it was discovered by several Ravens that the perpetual conflict between corporate interests, the ineffectiveness of the human government, and the forever proxy wars that humanity had been dealing with for a century was the work of an A.I. program that created and led the Raven's Nest. The A.I. was a survivor from the Great Destruction, tasked with keeping mankind safe and incapable of causing another Great Destruction, and in order to do so, created the modern cycle of conflict to keep mankind too occupied to cause real damage. This A.I. even created a physical avatar in the form of the mysterious No. 1 Raven of the nest known as Hustler One and his signature Red AC known as Nine Ball to keep society destabilized and stop other Ravens from uncovering the truth.



    Of course, once the cat is out of the bag, the A.I. is dismantled, and his small army of Nine Balls are also defeated, awarding a new title to one Raven known as Nine Breaker, for defeating the legendary Raven. With the A.I. gone, mankind could finally reclaim their rule of the planet. AC2 picks up 67 years later. Earth is still recuperating from the Great Destruction, but a new hope lies in the discovery that certain pre-Destruction Mega Corps had started projects to terraform Mars that had kept going during the Great Destruction and Nine Ball's rule. Mankind begins to immigrate to the red planet, where they bring their old conflicts and new Mega Corps as well. You play as one such Raven who has come to Mars to find profit. Your first mission to prove you're skilled enough to work for Nerves Concord to work as Raven. Though the planet is controlled by the Earth based LLC organization, they are ineffectual in containing the conflict between Emeraude, Zio Matrix, and Balena, the three Mega Corps that call Mars home. As a Raven, you take jobs from all four factions as they fight for control of the planet and the knowledge behind the mysterious Disorder units, insect like robots that may be of alien origin but native to Mars. Eventually, the LLC brings in a Black OPS unit from Earth known as the Frighteners, led by the Ninebreaker Leos Klein, who may or may not be the main character from Master of Arena.

    Armored Core is a mission-based mecha game where you play as a Raven and take on various jobs for any party willing to buy your services. These missions range from simple destroy enemy units, to scouting missions, rescue missions, bodyguard work, pest control of Disorder units, and even assassinations. Doing missions for the various corporations can earn their favor and they may reward you with special parts. Missions also don't stick around an you may lose jobs from competitors if you stick to one faction alone. Though completing all the missions for a specific faction does net you a rare part. Likewise, there are no do-overs, if you screw up in a mission, then you simply fail the mission and get charged for repairs and ammo costs. In fact, any damage or ammo used in missions will always be deducted from missions, so playing smart is always more ideal than going into a mission guns a blazing. Missions wind up being a balancing act of building efficient AC design with smart weapon load outs to minimize ammo and repair costs, while also making sure you stay neutral in your dealings with the various factions so you can keep getting work from all of them.

    The Arena is the other gameplay mode, here, Ravens show off their skill and prowess through gladiatorial combat. You start at the bottom of the arena at Rank 50, but can work your way up, where you'll establish rivalries and earn prestige that is rewarded with extra parts and cash. The combatants also have fun bios about themselves and many sport some eccentric builds that open up your possibilities for your own designs. Even better, your costs for ammo and repairs are covered by the arena, so this is the best place to use as a test bed for your own builds. There are also several different types of arena's to fight from such as a cave with a low ceiling, an abandoned domed city, a crash site for a spaceship, and a few industrial complexes. Sometimes, beating an opponent can simply be a matter of fighting them in the right terrain. In an interesting point of story and gameplay integration, encountering and killing a Raven from the Arena during a mission will have them removed from the rankings. From there, new opponents will pop up in the lower ranking you can challenge.


    Of course the main dish of the gameplay experience is in the Garage where you can customize your AC from the parts you buy and earn through missions. AC2 expands the level of customization from Master of Arena with new categories such as Radiators, Extensions, and Inside parts in addition to all of the regular options. The amount of parts and customization options can almost feel daunting, and while the sting ammo/repair costs from missions can hurt your budget, the game does throw you a bone in the fact that selling and buying parts is a 1:1 deal, so buying a part that ends up not working for your build can be resolved by simply selling it back and using the cash to buy something new. So you're not punished for having buyer's remorse, which is very nice. Some tidbits is that your design is less influenced by your Core and more by your Legs. Bipedal are jack of all trades with light and heavy options. Reverse Joint Legs offer better walking speed at the cost of lower defense and weight, quad legs are the fastest walking legs which allow for heavier weight loads, but sacrifices the ability to dash and instead have minor hovering ability. Tank legs offer the best defense and weight load at the cost of terrible speed and turning ability. Hover legs are new and offer more aerial options for your unit, but suffer from low defense, weight, and easy knock back. You can also paint your mech with a generous color option mechanic as well as give it its own emblem that you can design and save to give to other players. Additionally, the game allows you to keep multiple designs of your AC so you can build a few different models depending on what you need. My favorite part is in NG+ where the player has their weight limiter removed. Normally, building an AC whose weight is too much for their Core or Legs can't go into missions. But once the game is beaten, this limiter is removed and you now have full creative control of how to build your AC. The model on the game's cover for example, is impossible to build before this limiter is removed as both its legs and core are closer to lightweight models than heavy ones, but all its weaponry are incredibly heavy. The Karasawa Pulse Rifle it's carrying alone would cost most of its weight load.

    The biggest drawback of AC2 is not it's high learning curve, of which save scumming or save states on an emulator can relieve you of those headaches, but rather the games awkward control setup. The PS1 entries had to make do with some wonky controls thanks to the OG PlayStation controller, which didn't have analog sticks. So the shoulder buttons were utilized for camera control of up and down, as well as strafing. Not great, but acceptable for its time. AC2, despite having a better controller to work with opted to keep the original control scheme. In fact , AC wouldn't give movement or camera control to the analog sticks until AC: Nexus, the technical eighth installment of the series. So playing for awhile is going to do a number on both your hands and your controller. On the other hand, AC2 does bring back the Human PLUS mechanic from the earlier games. So for players who are just really bad at the game and incur a debt of 50,000 credits will be treated to a special Game Over scene where the player character is forced to sell their body to science to get out of debt. This has the effect of starting your game completely over, but it eliminates your debt, allows you to keep any parts purchased before falling into debt, and you gain a special ability that makes the game easier. There are eight bonuses you can earn and they all stack too. In fact, most of the top ten ranked Arena opponents have these bonuses in addition to the overweight limiter removed. So failing the game can also make you more powerful.



    Overall, AC2 is a fun romp of cyberpunk/mecha dystopia that makes me all warm and giddy inside. The game also gained an expansion packed sequel in the form of Another Age, which drops the Arena but offer 103 missions for the player to have fun with. To put this in perspective, the base game has maybe 32 missions, and AC2:AA has more missions than any other game in the franchise. You can import your data from this game to start it off with your endgame build. Beating this game also nets you some special missions where you can have rematches with the bosses from the PSX entries, but now in the graphical style of the PS2 generation. The duology also ends the timeline of the original AC series that started back in AC1 on the PSX. ACIII is a soft reboot with a plot that is largely a retelling of AC1. Yet oddly, elements from the original timeline keep poking back in. My only regret is that I didn't stick to the series more as I got older because the back half of the PS2 generation entries are super rare and expensive now, and don't get me started on the hard reboot entries that are AC4-ACV. Still, if you have the chance, I highly recommend this franchise.




    Original Script I've always felt like the PS2 was a late bloomer. It was several years into it's lifespan before I finally felt the system actually had a good collection of games, and by the end, it probably has one of the best gaming library's of any console. The early years, not so much. Armored Core 2 was the only launch title I was remotely interested in, being a real sequel to the same series from the PS1. I also feel it may be the best entry.

    Set in a Blade Runner inspired future where mankind ruined the earth and lives underground while mega corporations rule the planet like governments. AC2 slightly bucks the trend by changing the setting to Mars, where humanity is hoping to start anew after smurfing up their starter planet. Of course the Mega Corps follow, and so do their proxy wars, which are played out by Ravens, mercenary's that pilot the so-called Armored Cores for money, and have no real loyalty to anyone. The main plot is typical backstabbing corporate shenanigans, with a subplot about lost alien technology being found on the planet. Frankly, the differences in AC plots are in the details, but that's not why you play these games.

    As a Raven, you start off with a cheap AC unit and have to prove your worth to the corporate masters and other Ravens by successfully completing missions and building your prestige in the AC Arena. The money you obtain can go towards outfitting your AC with better gear, and doing missions for the various CEOs will garner you special benefits like discounts on parts or access to exclusive weapons or missions. Likewise, many missions have powerful parts just hidden away for you to discover, like the infamous From Software weapon, the Moonlight Blade.

    In a lot of ways, AC is sort of a Sci-Fi centric early predecessor to another famous From Software title, Dark Souls. Both games feature a more lore based story with minimal, but still impactful characters, challenging battles and gameplay that will hone your skills, and an incredibly deep customization system that gives you multiple ways to tackle the various game challenges and give plenty of replay value. It lacks DS' quirky multi-player, but makes up for it with the Arena, where you test your unit against specially designed AC units. Additionally, the real joy of the series is building your own custom mech.

    Seriously the customization in this game is staggering, and it's more than just cosmetics and weapon load out, as you have to buy parts for radiators, engines, targeting systems, and much more which all offer unique changes and tweaks you can give your AC unit. My favorite part is that after beating the game and making a new completed save, you can restart the whole game with all the parts you bought in your old save, as well as the removal of the weight restriction which really opens up more customization options than before, and finally gives you a fair shot against the top Arena fighters who are all cheating bastards not held by the weight rule. Like, seriously, the unit on the cover is impossible to make in a normal play through. This is something the latter games kind of removed, sadly, or at least hid it behind more tedious challenges that I don't have time for.

    AC2 is a mecha heads dream game that combines the deep gameplay elements of something like Dark Souls with the insane customization options of a Gran Turismo title, and I absolutely love it. There were even a few gaming mags back in the day that would hold contests where fans submitted their own custom AC units, that I always found fun. With that, I'm done with giant robot games for a while. I have like one true robot game left on this list, and most of you probably know which one it is. We'll be going back to RPGs and classic games for a while after this.

    Attached Images Attached Images

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •