The further your eye drifts from your AC, the worse the game looks. From Software applied a blur effect to the backgrounds that is simply awful and makes distances look entirely out of focus. Playing the game gave me the same sensation my nearsighted eyes experience every morning before I put my lenses in. The effect is not a pretty one and ruins what should have been a good graphical display. As another visual letdown, your kills will merely evaporate upon death, leaving you without a battlefield of carnage to survey after the fight. The terrain, structures and scenery look absolutely second rate and bland. What promised to be a visually stunning game through the intro movie and building phase entirely broke down once the game was put in motion.
The game’s soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired. The music is very boring and does not rise above basic video game fare, and the repetition can get tiresome very quickly. The combat sounds do a bit better than the music, and do not disappoint nor awe.
Armored Core 4 differentiates itself from most other mech games in its game play approach. A lot of mech style games operate under the logical assumption that large, heavy war machines, walking on two feet and fully loaded out with weapons and armor will have the tendency to move rather slowly. Armored Core 4’s mechs are equipped with a boost system that allows them to move swiftly and nimbly over terrain and into the sky. Holding the left trigger, you can deftly dodge incoming fire or race to meet an enemy without using up your energy gauge. As long as you don’t go vertical, you can boost as much as needed. Make no mistake; firepower is not lost as a trade off for speed and agility. Your AC will still pack plenty of punch. There are a bevy of weapons to choose from, with upgrades to be purchased. Each weapon type delivers pain in its own unique way.
Armored Core 4 features a single player campaign mode as well as multi player gaming via Xbox Live, split screen or system link. The campaign mode is very flimsy and unsatisfying. You are thrust into an apocalyptic world with seemingly no economy, other than a handful of corporations that exist by making war on one another. You’ll play progressively difficult scenarios that are held together by confusing and uninteresting plot developments, and a mission briefing specialist that seems to be a little too emotionally attached. The missions are brief and seldom approach the five-minute mark. As if the mission lengths were not restrictive enough, From Software decided to keep your AC tied to a short leash on most scenarios. On some missions you’ll simply stay in one spot and shoot down incoming missiles. Who can fathom why the developers would give the gamer an enhanced booster system but limit the AC’s movement to a very small area. On most missions, if you stray too far from your starting point, or fly above a very low ceiling, you will go out of bounds and risk losing the mission. You will have play through all the Chapter 1 and 2 missions before you are given some room to roam; yet this freedom will still be too infrequent.
