Armored Core has always set out to be
the MechWarrior of the console world, blending arcade-style
action with sim-level customization, and while there is certainly no
lack of “giant robot games” around, few if any have offered players
as much freedom to build the mech of their dreams as AC.
However, Armored Core has never truly moved forward as a
series. Pseudo-expansions precede every release while sequels ignore
long-standing criticisms. In that respect, Silent Line: Armored
Core is yet another example of the series’ arrested development;
a game that despite it’s many additions and visual facelift feels
closer to Armored Core 1. -Something than what should be
Armored Core 4. So what does this mean to you, the gamer? Well,
if you have every Armored Core to date sitting on your shelf
already, and hence, don’t expect much change out of the franchise,
you’ll probably be satisfied with Silent Line as well; if
you’ve been waiting on the sidelines for the right moment to entire
the series, now is as good a time as any; if you have been putting
off another Armored Core until something truly innovative
comes along, you’ve got to wait a little while longer; and if you’ve
never found anything terribly appealing about what Armored Core
had to offer, you still won’t. That’s not to say that Silent Line
isn’t good; it’s a solid, enjoyable mech sim once you get in to it,
but it’s steep learning curve, painfully slow start, cumbersome
controls, and often daunting difficultly level will put off all but
the most dedicated.
Silent Line begins like any other
Armored Core – all-powerful corporations fight tooth and nail
over the remnants of a scorched Earth while mercenaries, such as
you, make fortunes playing all sides of the battlefield, Man With No
Name style. Like any post-apocalyptic future worth it’s salt, combat
is primarily robót e robót; sure, it may not be the most
original of set-ups, but who needs and excuse to play around with
giant Gobots?
The majority of missions consist of the typical
search and destroy/escort/press the shiny button fair, but to the
game’s defense, a few break from the typical mold and offer gamers
some variety; not much variety, but every little counts.
Successfully completing missions earns you credits (and occasionally
special parts) that can then be used to upgrade your war-machines so
they can then handle tougher and tougher missions. This, however,
brings us to one of the first (and biggest) problems with this game,
and that’s that it’s just too damn difficult from the start.
If you have Armored Core 3, you have a
head start, as you can once again convert your old save file and
begin where you left off. Everyone else has to start from scratch,
and that is far tougher than you could ever imagine. In Silent
Line, the first few missions can be easily beaten with the stock
“Core”, as the mechs are referred to in this game, but after that
you are expected to make something out of nothing. Turn a hunk of
junk into a juggernaut like some sort of warmongering Martha
Stewart, or better yet, MacGyver? What, with the hundreds and
hundreds of available parts being well beyond your price range? It’s
impossible! You’ll have to save up from three or four missions just
to get a $24,000 weapon; one that is only negligibly better than
your old weapon, mind you. Don’t even ask me how they expect you to
save the dough for those $750,000 parts. Meanwhile that new mission
that just opened up is near unbeatable with your current Core,
particularly if it is one that doesn’t allow you to hire a wingman.
So you need to complete missions to earn money to buy better parts,
but you need better parts in order to complete these missions. See
the vicious cycle? Sure, you can earn some spending money in the
Arena, a Virtua On-style mech tournament against
CPU-controlled Cores or player created AI creations within the main
game, but you won’t gain much success there either without a
top-notch Core. In a game that is 99% about building a personalized,
ass-kicking robot, it’s frustrating that doing so seems such an
uphill battle.
The options available to you while constructing
your Core are impressive to say the least. You’ll have 428 parts to
choose from, including all the old parts from previous games in the
series, paint tools, and even a decal creator. You’ll be able to
tweak every aspect of your Core, from generator to radar, and that
is where the depth, fun, and replayability of Armored Core
lay. Striking the perfect balance between speed and strength while
keeping a constant eye on torso and leg weight capacity, output, and
cooling is key to building a mech in Armored Core. Master it,
and you’ll be unstoppable, earning bragging rights among those
within the fervent AC community, who swap Core designs and
exhibit their custom configurations with pride. Earn out-and-out
trash talking rights if your Core is a powerhouse in the Verse mode,
which allows up to four players to battle via i.Link across 21 maps
in team or free for all matches. Considering how devoted a following
this series has, though, it’s a shame that online play has once
again been overlooked, as it would not only add to the replayability
of Silent Line, but also to the “must have” factor of the
game.
Too bad many gamers will never see this side of
Silent Line, the “fun” side so to speak, as the limited funds
issue seriously puts a damper on anything enjoyable this game might
offer newcomers. Sure, there is a certain Gran Turismo feel
to it all; the steep learning curve, the complex mechanics, the
piece by piece transformation of a rust-bucket into a tour de force,
but even GT made it a little easier to buy new parts,
considering that you can revisit beaten Cups to earn more money.
Maybe if you were allowed to do the same here, replay completed
missions to earn quick cash, things wouldn’t be so bad. Instead you
are doomed to “window shop” expensive parts for what seems like an
eternity, which is exactly twice as long as most gamer’s threshold
for frustration is. I myself broke down and got an
Action Replay
because I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I have to say it did
the trick. It bumped the “fun factor” of this game up some notches
once I was able to spend like Michael Jackson on a sugar rush and
actually create some mechs I was proud of, then test it against the
computer and watch it perform.
Sure, some of you may shrink at the thought of
cheating on a game, but I blame From Software for practically
leaving me no choice. Not only is the gratification so delayed that
one looses all will to continue, but there was one boss battle early
on in the game that I am convinced can only be defeated by cheating,
as even with unlimited health it took me a good ten minutes (and
what would amount to well over seven “Game Overs” worth of damage
taken) to finish him. If it weren’t for the fact that I HAD
to play this game I would not have stuck around long enough to reach
any sort of fulfilling pay-off in Silent Line, especially
considering that the entire time I was wallowing in unhappiness I
had to put up with some of the most uncomfortable controls I’ve seen
since the 32-bit age.
Breaking from the standard set by just about
every 3Rd person game to be released in five years,
Silent Line, although analog compatible, does not allow you to
control the camera with the right analog stick. No, the kind people
at From Software decided to allocate the look up and down features
to the shoulder buttons while using R1 and L1 to strafe – even while
in the 1st person cockpit view! Now, considering how long
it took me to even get halfway comfortable with this set-up and the
fact that the right analog stick is completely functionless, you’d
think there’d be some way to reconfigure the controls. Well, there
is, but mapping anything to the right analog stick is not possible.
Compare this to the elegance of MechAssault’s controls and
you have what can only be described as a needlessly sadistic design
decision. Surprisingly, the developers did include USB mouse
compatibility, which alleviates some of the problem, but I’m sure
the only thing less likely to be owned by prospective Silent Line
shoppers than a USB mouse for their PS2 is an i.Link.
After all this negativity you may be asking
yourself, “why should I even consider buying this game?” Well, the
answer is if you aren’t a real fan of the Armored Core series
(or the often cumbersome, slow-paced, and difficult mech sim genre
in general) you probably shouldn’t; it will offer you little more
than headaches unless you are prepared to do some serious cheating.
With a little nudge in the right direction, however, the game can be
quite fun. The Verse and Arena modes are much more enjoyable than
you would think, and the thrill of designing and upgrading Cores
lasts well after the 34 missions have come and gone. Being able to
convert your old file once again makes continuing in the serious a
no-brainer for fans, and although serious progression is still
lacking, in respect to enhancements like online play or improved
controls, there is probably enough steady improvements to please
die-hards once again. However, I would encourage everyone else to
consider spending your money somewhere else.
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