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Clunky interface

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Because of what I consider to be a significant flaw, this is a somewhat superficial review of Armored Core2. Armored Core 2 has great graphics and even, nicely designed missions, although it often requires you to repeat completly unnecessary dialogs and setup sequences even for repeat attempts that only serve to waste time. Aside from that though, it has what to me is a major and disqualifying flaw. The PS2 has really great analog controls. Armored Core 2 doesnt use them. They say they use analog control, but they only use the 2 analog sticks as single push buttons. How can you build a cutting edge mech fighter and not bother to incorporate one of the most significant features of the PS2. This would be bad enough on its own, but the manual controls are extremely slow and ponderous. If something is shooting at you from behind, you can pretty well count on the fact that by the time you can get these hulking beasts turned around you are going to be toast or at least severely damaged. They also accelerate and decelerate with equal lack of alacrity. I might add, that the AI mechs that are attacking you actually appear to have higher performance than you can acheive in your own mech. It is a terrible shame that an otherwise really great game is so severely flawed by such inadequate control. The design it yourself mech feature is really excellent, and if it werent for the truly hobbling nature of the controls, this really would be a 5 star game. You will find my copy for sale online real soon now.

THIS GAME SUCKS

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: May 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I would of gave this game a zero star but the lowest is one. The game play is messed up, sounds mess up in the game, get close to the wall and u see through it, ang analog on controller. You are slow amd its hard to dodge shots. I can't believe i wasted my money on a game like this. Wait intill September and get the third one. Hopfully there is no bugs.

Wana waste some $ cash ????

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: April 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is horrible! If you enjoy wasting your money than this is the game for you. The graphics are the only thing that makes the game seem exiting. The missions enventually get extremely boring...
I personly recomend a game such as Final FantasyX or Capcom VS. SNK2. But.. if you fancy a waste of time and ...{money}, than ....HAVE FUN WITH ONE OF THE WORST GAMES OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!

Not Good Enough For Your PS2!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: July 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Armored core is a fun game, but I don’t think it’s a good game. I believe this was the first game I really really enjoyed on the PS2. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it was worth the hype and the expense of getting the machine. Honestly, I felt as if I could have played it on my N64 and saved [price]. It was disappointing because there was so much potential with the combination of the platform and the genre. Yet, it was the same as always. I enjoyed the game, but I think if you want a fun game that shows you the power of the machine spend your money on Twisted Metal: Black or wait for Metal Gear. I think Armored core is no better than what a lesser machine can run. As a result, spend your money elsewhere and find something that makes your PS2 sing.

Not Very Good, Obviously rushed out the door.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: October 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I was very disapointed in this game, especially having liked the original so much. This is an extremely buggy bit of coding. I have experienced, sounds locking up in the system, like a explosion during a battle and never clearing out and just keeps repeating -- even after going back to the menu system. Jumping up and getting vision through walls. Camera trailing that often results in a completely obstructed view. And then especially in the arena, after you win a victory, it will reload and then start a seemingly random number of seconds into a new bout before halting and then exiting out to the main menu system. But even given that, the graphics are not on par with other release titles such as SSX and Madden 2001. I would rate this as a skip it until AC3 comes out, that should be really good, since they have a lot of things to make up for here in my opinion.

Real dissapointment

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: November 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I expected more than just flashy graphics from the next generation of this sereis of which I'm a huge fan. Instead of making the missions more suited to a mech they've actually made them more difficult and taken away any chance of successful preparation and you almost always run out of ammo.

One on one combat is the good part of this game. But that's it. Not enough new parts, no improvements to the mission-based part of the game.

I also experience TREMENDOUS slowdown in multiple parts of this game....

good game , had a few flaws though

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: August 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Great game play. Missions hard and graphics superb. Only problems i had with it was the turning speed was too slow. by the time u did a 360 degree turn , ud be dead. another thing is u have to pay for damages and ammo u waste in a mission. I tend to enjoy far combat and machine guns. I would lose money on almost every mission cuz of my guns.

Umm...sorry to be downer.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: April 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was unimpressd with most aspects of AC2. The story is uninteresting, the controls are very rough, and the whole targeting sceme needs work. The one positive thing I can say is that the graphics are spectacular, watch the opening CS and you'll see what I mean. But unfortuneately that is the highlight of the game. Regardless of what kind of equipment you buy you still feel as though you are slower than mollassis on a cold day. The AI is really difficult to deal with, and the majority of the time you can't even see the enemy mech throwing a barrage of missles at you. I could overlook all of these things if there was somewhat of a story behind it but there is no such thing in this game. Rent it first and see what you think. You can customize your own mech(s) which skyrockets the replay value but in my opinion it's not worth it if you can't use those mechs efficiently.

Great for true Mech fans, a bit buggy for others

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 23 / 25
Date: November 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

When we got a Playstation 2, the first PS2 game we put into it was Armored Core 2, by Agetec. This game style is definitely one we enjoy a great deal. Unfortunately, it appears they rushed this game out the door a bit too quickly.

The game design is really neat. Like most mech games, you start out slowly, getting money to customize your mech as you go. There are 50 'ranked' robots for you to fight your way through, as well as 35 missions to undertake to earn fame and fortune. There are hundreds of parts to choose from to customize your bot.

You can also go head-to-head by linking your PS2 to a friend's with the cable. Unfortunately the PS2 doesn't currently support modem play, so someone has to carry the unit to someone else's house to do this.

The plots are interesting - with three factions trying to get control of Mars, the missions you choose help influence the fate of these companies. The customization is almost overwhelming. You can custom-design your own logo with their built in paint program, buy parts for a huge variety of systems on your mech, and then test it out in various arenas against various foes.

Why the disappointment, then? The learning curve on this is VERY steep - the screens and layout could have been done much more intuitively. The game also runs extremely slowly. Sounds lock up, visuals will stick on the screen, etc. If you've spent hours and hours (if not weeks and weeks) working on designing the perfect mech, the last thing you want is for system failures to cause you to lose missions and die in battles.

A true mech fan might overlook these problems and enjoy the game, but those out to test the true power of their PS2 might want to look at other options.

Lots of fun, but be prepared to earn it

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: February 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I was looking for a non-sports title for my PS2 and wanted something with a little more combat than SSX (excellent game - see reviews). I'm glad I read reviews of it before I bought it! Armored Core 2 is a very good game, but it does have its flaws, and there is a learning curve involved. Some people may not want to take the time to get past the initial phase of the game.

The premise is simple - you're on Mars and own a mech, a remote-controlled, armed robot. Mars is controlled by several corporations, each with their own agenda, and they're looking for hired help to help them get what they want. That means you. You provide help by way of accepting missions. From time to time, corporations will contact your advisor with opportunities. You can review the mission, see how much it pays (sometimes you get an advance), and choose to accept or decline. Upon completion of the mission, you'll get whatever portion of the reward you're owed, as well as any bonuses you may have earned, but you have to pay to repair any damage to your mech and you have to pay for ammunition that you've used.

You can also earn credits (money) and parts by beating other mechs in head-to-head combat in the Arena. The Arena is a ladder-based challenge system - as you beat each opponent, you move up one rung and receive a correspondingly larger bonus. You don't have to pay for damage or ammunition in the Arena.

Here's where the work comes in. At first, you've got a very basic mech. Especially if you're not familiar with mech combat, as I wasn't, you'll get beat in the Arena or fail to complete missions. The expense of failing a mission is usually enough to set you back too far to continue, so you'll want to restart the mission. Easy enough? Think again.

The game doesn't lend itself well to this kind of progress (intentionally so, I think). If you want to redo a mission, you have to load a saved game (save after EVERY mission!), accept the mission, and start over again. It's not a quick process. Then again, it can still be done. In Arena mode, you can simply choose to fight the battle again, and can do so over and over until you win, although the losses are kept in your record.

As you progress through the missions, you get more offers, your ranking improves (you have a completion percentage based on how far you've gone), and you learn more about Mars, the corporations, and other things that are happening. Eventually, you'll have a well-armed mech and will be more able to do what you want. Corporations will also make more parts available to you, especially if you've been working for them, so don't think you're limited to the weapons, legs, and other parts you see when you start.

After each mission and Arena battle, you can take your credits and spend them in the Shop. Here's where Agetec makes up for the missions - you sell parts back for 100% of the purchase price, so you can experiment to your heart's content (well, maybe your wallet's) when you upgrade your mech. However, you can't get everything you want. Your mech has an energy limit and weight limits for the legs and the core, and you can't spend more money than you have. If you're too heavy or can't afford required parts, you can't go into battle.

The control scheme is typical for mech games, which means if you were expecting to use the analog sticks for movement, you'll be disappointed. In their defense, this system is more realistic. After all, if your mech has legs, it's not going to be able to spin around very easily! It takes a bit of getting used to (and you need to know that the L3 and R3 buttons are the analog sticks - push in to use), but once you've got the controls down, you'll be ready for battle. You can even use a USB mouse to design your emblem (the logo for your mech), and if you've got skills, you can design a really cool emblem.

The gameplay itself is good, although if there are many missiles on the screen, you'll definitely see some slowdown. Aside from that, it's nice once you've become accustomed to the controls, and there's something satisfying about taking out a plane or a chopper with one well-aimed missile. It's not all brute force, though. You'd love to be able to lay waste to a facility, but when you finish the mission and get your bill for the ammo, you'll wish you were a little more conservative.

You can play head-to-head against a friend, either in split-screen mode if you've got one PS2, or if you have two PS2s, two TVs, you each have the game, and you have one i.Link cable, you can play on your own systems.

There are many different types of mechs you can build, and the missions that you accept, in theory, steer your progress through the game (I've not played more than one game, so I can't verify that). I think the replay value of the game is pretty good, if you're a mech player, and I'm looking forward to going back and replaying some missions.

I've had a lot of fun with this game, but I've also had to be patient with it. If you've got the time, and if you like mech combat, this is a good game for you. If you're considering this for a younger person, or if you're new to the mech arena, you may want to look for something else.

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