THE HUB

OMG!!!

FEATURED GAME

FEATURED MEMBER

DoctorIrish

DoctorIrish

The Doctor is in.

QUICK POLL

Grand Theft Auto IV: does it live up to the hype?

ASK THE PROS

THE GAMEPROS

FREE NEWSLETTERS

Sign up now to receive weekly or daily updates on your favorite games, stories, and more!



PS2 | Action | Armored Core: Last Raven

Boxart for Armored Core: Last Raven
Armored Core: Last Raven 5 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.50
  • SOUND: 4.00
  • CONTROL: 3.50
  • FUN FACTOR 4.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 2.0
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.3

Review: Armored Core: Last Raven

Review by Rice Burner | 06/16/2006 | 08:59:10 AM PST

Armored Core series developers Agetec and From Software have upped the ante and released a true sequel that will give Armored Core fans an entirely new and engrossing mech piloting experience.

The Armored Core franchise is well renowned for its excellent mech designs, unfathomable amount of customization options, and unfortunately, unbalanced gameplay issues coupled with unforgiving mission objectives. For the past five years, the Armored Core series has produced sequel after sequel on the PlayStation 2 with little or no significant gameplay improvements, with each title seeming more like an expansion pack than real sequels. However, the Armored Core series developers Agetec and From Software have upped the ante and released a true sequel that will give Armored Core fans an entirely new and engrossing mech piloting experience.

For newbies, the Armored Core series takes place in the distant future where big corporations have assumed massive control over the world. These corporations primarily manufacture weapons, including giant robots mechs called Armored Cores (AC). The elite pilots of the AC mechs are referred to as Ravens and are employed by the numerous power mongering companies to conduct warfare against each other. The Ravens have organized a union called Ravens Ark which manages them and helps them maintain their individual freedom from the corporations.

My Core is Way Bigger than Yours

Armored Core: Last Raven picks up from the last Armored Core game, Armored Core: Nine Breaker. A vast force of unknown, unmanned mechs dubbed "Suicide Weapons" have devastated the forces of the top three competing corporations -- Crest, Kisaragi, and Mirage. Following the climatic battle, the three corporations merge into an organization known as the Alliance to suppress global armed conflicts and maintain peace. The Ravens Ark organization was disbanded after the Suicide Weapons incident and legions of the Ravens have splintered into warlord factions who compete with one another, and the Alliance, for dominance.

However, all is not well. A dominant armed faction of Ex-Ravens called Vertex emerges under the leadership of Jack-O. They've declared war on the Alliance and issued a statement declaring the "Ravens Order", a declaration stating their constitution to take control of the global peace keeping responsibilities from the Alliance. Jack-O has announced the time and date of his global attack against the Alliance. You assume control of your Raven character 24 hours before the allotted time of the attack.

Ravens, Go!

Veteran Armored Core gamers will notice a myriad of changes in the all too familiar Armored Core game engine. While the graphics have stayed the same since the last title, Last Raven has enhanced the speed of AC gameplay. AC mechs now move like they should. They're agile and allow players to dodge and feint at will. The augmented speed has also tweaked the way players will pilot and build their AC mechs. Ranged weapons are now less accurate, Exceed Orbits (remote weapons platforms launched from your AC mech) have been nerfed and their weapons are less accurate now, missiles are almost entirely useless, and there's a greater emphasis on close combat blading --which used to be suicide in the previous titles.

You'll also notice a new AC damage system which allows parts to take individual damage and eventually break. The AI has also been tuned up. Rival Ravens are now a force to contend with and completing assassination missions will prove extremely difficult. Minor AI controlled foes also act more intelligently. In addition to the new improvements, Last Raven also brings over the coveted minor additional improvements from previous Armored Core titles, such as LAN network and i.Link multiplayer functionality, the ability to convert save data from Armored Core: Nexus and Armored Core: Nine Breaker over to your new profile, and the option to have analog or digital controller configurations.

Snake, Snake! Whoops, Wrong Raven

Additional changes include free part tuning, a more forgiving and intuitive AC mech customization garage, which can store up to five different AC mechs, and over 500 AC parts to customize and trick out your walking death machine. Last Raven also is the first Armored Core game to have branching missions, a more detailed mission briefing, and multiple endings which depend on which allies and enemies you make during story mode.

Armored Core: Last Raven is the seventh and last Armored Core title for the PlayStation 2, and the best of the bunch. It has balanced gameplay, an intuitive control scheme, and really shows the maturity of this mech series on the PS2. If you're a fan of the Armored Core series, you definitely have to pick this title up. If you've played any of the Armored Core games before, but had a sour experience, give the series a second try and pick this one up, you won't regret it.


Related Articles