On August 25, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon was released, a new part of a series of mecha action games from FromSoftware, the creators of the Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring series. This is the first game in the company’s great franchise in 11 years.
We spent 10 hours on the novelty and we are ready to share our first impressions of one of the best games of this year.
The video is available on the Bandai Namco Entertainment America YouTube channel. Video rights belong to Bandai Namco.
What is the armored core?
Armored Core is a series of games in which the player controls a giant combat robot and completes missions, destroying all opponents on his way. The first part was released in 1997, and since then this particular franchise has been closely associated with its developers, FromSoftware, until the release of Demon’s Souls in 2009.
Armored Core takes place in the distant future where humanity has mastered the colonization of other planets and the most powerful corporations are constantly fighting for power in the regions. This, in turn, creates a high demand for Crows, mercenaries capable of remotely controlling giant mechs and performing the most complex military operations.
Armored Core 6 takes the events to the planet Rubicon 3, completely new to the series. One day, humanity discovered there a new energy source called “coral”, which was supposed to be the next step in the development of technology. However, it was he who caused a natural cataclysm that turned the celestial object into a climate desert.
Giant energy explosion at Rubicon 3
Photo by: Bandai Namco
After 50 years, humanity once again races towards Rubicon 3 to gain control of the coral. The protagonist of Armored Core 6 is one of the Ravens, those same mercenaries who undertake the most dangerous exits for corporations for the sake of money and fame. His task is to carry out orders, while the moral side of the issue interests him little.
How Armored Core 6 turned out
It is important to note that with a funny story, the plot of the sixth part can hardly be called truly interesting. FromSoftware developers stick to their corporate style: a small amount of pretentious dialogue, a lot of gameplay.
Armored Core 6 looks like a game from another era. There is no open world here, just a set of missions, it takes 15-20 hours to complete, and graphically it was clearly not built for new consoles. However, as uncomfortable as the novelty may seem from the outside for neophytes, this is one of the main successes of 2023.
It is a hard and relentless action game in which the hand of the authors of Dark Souls is seen.
Although the game isn’t visually impressive, Armored Core 6’s art is beautiful.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
The basis of the Armored Core 6 combat system is generally simple: the player controls the mech, fires weapons at other mechs and robotic vehicles, dodges projectiles and uses maneuverability in every possible way to take a better position in relation to the enemy. .
Fires of Rubicon was directed by Masaru Yamamura, game designer on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and here his contribution is visible to the naked eye. So each robot has “integrity”, which accumulates due to hits on the armor. When the bar is full, an overload effect is applied to the robot, at which point it cannot move and takes increased damage from enemy attacks. Doesn’t it remind you of anything?
One of the main mechanics in Armored Core 6 is fur customization, which allows you to build the robot of your dreams. It works similarly to Dark Souls: the heavy robot moves slower and replenishes energy more slowly after dodging, but at the same time is capable of absorbing and dealing much more damage. The fast robot can easily dodge, take off and move around the battlefield, but its damage and armor are very limited.
The game has rich skin customization – you can create almost anyone.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
The developers wanted gamers to experiment with a wide variety of settings in Armored Core 6. To do this, the authors added a lot of conveniences to the game: from showing how weapons work and buying them to a separate menu item that allows you to test the Resulting Frankenstein in a virtual arena.
You can change weapons or mechanical parts immediately after a failed mission by continuing the game from the checkpoint. Very comfortably.
At the same time, changing settings on the fly at some levels seems like a necessity, not a convenient option. At the end of the first chapter, the boss Baltheus makes it perfectly clear that in order to defeat him, the player will have to experiment with the weapons and equipment equipped, until they find the right balance to destroy him.
Balteus has already become a stumbling block for many players in AC 6.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
After the first 10 hours, Armored Core 6 looks like an interesting fusion of ideas from FromSoftware between the previous parts of the series and the Souls titles. This is a moderately difficult (and on some bosses, very difficult) game that is interesting to play for hours on end.
Experimentation with buildings, responsive controls, explosive gameplay, overwhelming and incredible satisfaction after defeating bosses – that’s all Armored Core 6. And if FromSoftware can keep up by offering even more interesting game situations, diversifying level design and introducing even more unique things. bosses, the project can become one of the best in its genre.
However, this is already definitely one of the main games of 2023, and this is considering how busy the year has been with great successes (and there are still four months to go).
Some missions are incredibly epic.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
Tips for Beginners
Armored Core 6 will surely be the first installment in the series for many. Despite the fact that the game was developed by the authors of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, the action of the mechas is still very different. We would like to share with readers some tips to help them adjust and ease the passage of AC 6.
1. Experiment with weapons and mechanical equipment.
Perhaps the most important tip for Armored Core 6. There are so many different weapons and types of equipment in this game that the gameplay for different builds is drastically different. Therefore, if something doesn’t work for you, it might be worth rebuilding your mech, giving it different weapons and changing parts of the “body” of it.
We highly recommend taking a closer look at shields that block enemy projectiles and heavy weapons like grenade launchers and bazookas. The latter are the most suitable to fill the integrity bar of the enemy.
Mech ready for battle
Photo by: Bandai Namco
2. Look for solutions in the missions and take advantage of the environment.
Many tasks in Armored Core 6 involve the destruction of a single major object. This means that to complete the mission it is not necessary to completely clear the map; you can reach your goal carefully, without attracting too much attention.
And if the task still involves the elimination of all the targets, then use the environment in the levels. Many locations are built in such a way that the player can destroy the enemy by hiding behind some huge object. Take advantage of this so you don’t catch an extra projectile that came from somewhere on the other side.
The sandstorm mission will not be a big problem for resourceful players.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
3. Complete tutorial missions.
Armored Core 6 has standalone VR tutorial missions, detailing the main game mechanics.
But the most important thing is that during training you can try a variety of mechs: from the heaviest “tank”, which deals incredible damage, to a fast four-legged one that practically does not waste energy during flight.
There are only seven tasks in training with a variety of mounts.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
4. Be aggressive and very attentive
Armored Core 6 rewards aggressive play: the faster you damage an enemy, the sooner they’ll enter the stun phase and lose even more armor. This tactic is especially useful in boss battles, who can interrupt entire series of attacks by filling up their “integrity” scale in time.
But the most important thing: study your opponents and be ready for surprise attacks. During big battles in AC 6, it’s very easy to miss a powerful rocket shot – try to focus on the audible signals that warn of danger.
Photo by: Bandai Namco
5. If there are not enough credits, sell unnecessary parts, repeat quests and arena battles.
Armored Core 6 parts cost a lot of money – some parts cost millions of credits. Some of them you want to buy here and now, in order to finally complete the quest, which has not been given for several hours.
If there are not enough credits for the purchase, you can always sell the existing parts at the same price. And if there is no additional equipment, you can replay already completed quests or battles in the arena.
For some battles in the arena they pay a good sum
Photo by: Bandai Namco
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon will be released on August 25 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series and Xbox One. In Russia, the game is sold: on Steam it is available for 3599 rubles.
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