Yet, more positive Armored Core For Answer reviews started coming in this week, with Worth Playing heading the pack with an above average 7.3 out of 10 review for Armored Core For Answer.

When you first boot up ACfA, you’re treated to a beautiful, stunning CGI cut scene depicting a colossal mech, an Arms Fort, launching a “Next” (the mechs you pilot in the game) and the subsequent destruction. The sequence was so beautiful that it really brought up my hopes for the title’s graphics, but hopes and dreams are fragile that way. While the in-game graphics are a noticeable improvement over the bland, barren environments in Armored Core 4 the game still doesn’t really look like anything special. The “Next” mechs look good, but the environments remain barren and uninteresting. While this makes sense in the context of the game, the environments aren’t anything special to look at. You can deform them a little bit, as rocket fire does seem to leave a dent in the sand (complete with an atrocious-looking explosion, which is sad if you remember how good the explosions looked in Chromehounds), but these dents vanish as you approach them and reappear as you move away. On the flip side, the environments are absolutely massive. There are a fair number of very small maps, but there are also a lot of maps that feel like they could easily be over a dozen square miles in size. The graphical highlight of the game is the Arms Fort, which is a gigantic mech that can range from over 1,000 feet tall to over a mile long. Several game missions require you to destroy these beasts, and approaching one of these things is visually striking and by far the most memorable visual aspect of the title.

I want to highlight our members that post their Armored Core fan art on the fan arts forums, and feature them on this blog.

Author: taurustrin, view his work on this thread.

Cannoneer

Armored Core Fan Art: Taurus Team

Nineball Seraph makes its appearance in this year’s Mugen I.A. tournament, this isn’t really news, but I was just glad to see more of Nineball Seraph these days. Since his last appearance on Armored Core 2 Another Age and more previously since his defeat on Master of the Arena, where we actually had to fight 3 Nineballs before reaching Seraph, we haven’t yet seen the return of this iconic Armored Core character. There have been some that claim to have seen Nineball on Armored Core 4, and more recently on Armored Core For Answer, but I seriously doubt their claim.

Here is the video of Nineball Seraph kicking and blading Gundam’s heavyarm’s ass on the Mugen A.I tournament.

As an added bonus, I found Stasis from Armored Core For Answer on a game you never heard about: Rakugaki-Oukoku 2

Armored Core Mobile 4 Intro

The first Armored Core Mobile was released in Japan back in early 2005, Armored Core Mobile 4 is the latest version of the Armored Core series to hit growing mobile gaming market of Japan. Unfortunately none of the previous mobile games has been released outside of Japan, and there is no evidence to point that this will change anytime soon.

Here is the final mission of the Armored Core Mobile 4:

Welcome back to the Armored Core For Answer Analysis series, the Armored Core For Answer Analysis series is a series of posts where we look in detail at different aspects of the game’s part and weapon statistics, impressions, vs. usability and much more. On this post we will look at the new head parts with analysis by Griffon.

XHD-SOBRERO

Description: Experimental part with stability problems. Experienced pilots only.

Analysis: I was surprised at how well the SOBRERO’s stats were, I was expecting them to be far more lacking than they were. This head has the best overall defense of all lightweight heads, factoring in PA capabilities. However this comes at the cost of its electronic capabilities, having the lowest stability, camera function, and system recovery. It’s pretty drainy too. Still, this head definitely has its niche.
Pros: Good defensive stats.
Cons: Bad electronic stats, high drain.

WHITE GLINT/HEAD

Description: Designed by a genius architect. Employs experimental new features.
Analysis: Often picked over the AALIYAH head, the WHITE-GLINT/HEAD fills the role of a more versatile AALIYAH, somewhere between AALIYAH and HOGIRE. Higher defense and slightly lower drain come at the cost of stability, recovery, and PA ability.
Pros: More versatile than the AALIYAH.
Cons: Still on the drainy side, low camera functionality.

SOLDNER-G8H

Description: A weight diffusion part. Simple design, very easy to use.
Analysis: This one also caught me off guard. The SOLDNER takes the TELLUS, and adds onto what the TELLUS lacked, AP and shell defense at the cost of a slight decrease in the other stats. But I was surprised at how slight a decrease it was. This head maintains rather respectable all-around heavyweight stats. Good for most any heavy design, or even a mid or light looking for a defense boost.
Pros: Good all around stats.
Cons: Can’t actually find any offhand.

Head Part HD-LANCER

Description: Rosenthal’s new standard part with a simple design for many applications.
Analysis: HOGIRE’s younger brother, this head is very much the same, being as versatile as the HOGIRE. The differences are simply that it trades some of the HOGIRE’s shell defense and AP for a slight stat boost in all other categories.
Pros: As versatile as the HOGIRE.
Cons: While again, not standing out in any one area.

H11-LATONA

Description: Interior’s state of the art part with low EN load.
Analysis: The TELLUS of lightweight heads, it has rather high AP for a lightweight, as well as good energy defense and low drain. However the rest of its stats seem a bit lacking.
Pros: Good EN defense and low drain.
Cons: Not much else.

EKHAZAR-HEAD

Description: Algebra’s latest part. Perfect for air or land combat, very stable.
Analysis: Another very popular head, for its high stability and decent all around stats. I hate to compare another head to HOGIRE, but this head does the opposite of LANCEL, and takes a slight hit to all stats in exchange for a boost in AP and stability. A good competitor to the 047AN02, as far as target market goes.
Pros: High stability, with low weight and drain.
Cons: Slight overall defense loss.

ARGYROS/H

Description: TORUS’ prototype frame with excellent system recovery and PA defense.
Analysis: A heavyweight head designed with PA in mind, and it does that pretty well. Mix that in with its decent defense stats, and you’ve got something that can take a hit or two. Low AP and high energy cost may make it a bit tricky though, if you’re planning on using a lot of EN weapons.
Pros: Good PA abilities on top of decent defensive stats.
Cons: Low AP and high drain.

063AN02

Description: BFF’s latest part designed for offense. Raises overall defense.
Analysis: Easily one of the most popular heads in for Answer as of reg 1.2. High stability, shell defense, and camera functionality for little cost. Great for nearly any design, especially longer range setups, the only real downside is its low AP and lack of EN defense.
Pros: VERY stable, and well-suited to many designs.
Cons: AP and EN defense are a bit lacking.

More detail analysis of all Armored Core For Answer head parts on the forums.