Armored Core VI: How it Destroyed My Expectations
I’m a fan of mechs.
During my 2 years of community college, I spent most of my free time building Gundam models. I don’t build them much anymore, but my fondness for large robots with big guns has never been diminished.
I don’t know what it is that draws me to them, but I know that when I saw the Armored Core VI trailer I thought; “I don’t like those mechs’.
The reveal trailer showed several very cool mechs, but they were all slow-moving and a drab gray. I’m a big fan of fast-moving, brightly colored mechs waving beam sabers at each other. After that trailer, the only reason I was interested in the game was cause I love FromSoftware games.
The reveal trailer doesn’t do the game justice. While it does capture the tone and some of the moves the mechs make, it fails to capture the speed of the game.
Why I Fell In Love With Armored Core VI
For my entire first play-through (except for a couple of missions) I played with the same mech. A double trigger speed build with reverse bipedal legs. This made movement incredibly fast. Jumping and dodging with reverse bipedal legs increases the distance of the dodge/jump and they’re a blast to use!
For weapons, I would lay into my enemies with my dual welding Ludlows, hit them with my over-the-shoulder missile rack launcher, and then slam them with my songbird missile launcher when their stance would break.
This worked really well for most fights. The biggest issue with this build was ammo consumption. I beat two fights with no primary weapon ammo.
That leads me to one of my favorite things about Armored Core VI – Adaptability
Adaptability
Going into this game I was expecting to tinker around with mech builds until I found the one that would trivialize the fight. While the game can be played that way, I was happy to find that my build could take on (almost) every fight.
The EC-0804 smart cleaner fight taught me this. Three minutes into a nine-minute fight I ran out of ammunition on my DPS gun. But that didn’t stop me. I didn’t have to die and reset to win the fight. I had what I needed to get the job done.
Running out of ammo might be a death sentence in some games, but in Armored Core VI, you’re able to make it work by adapting to the situation.
Variability
A hallmark of this series is being able to customize your AC. That’s very present in this game, and after talking with other players about their builds, I’m confident that most players used a wide variety of builds.
A friend of mine used tank legs the whole game, another used tetrapod, and I prefer reverse bipedal. Yes, some missions are easier when you play with a specific build, especially leg type. For example, tetrapods are a great choice for missions that require you to defend a static asset. However, the majority of missions can be played anyway.
Replayability
When I finished the game I quickly started going through the missions again in NG+. It wasn’t long before I realized that my second play-through would be completely different than my first. This game isn’t just repayable, it should be replayed.
In NG+ there are more choices and additional missions that affect the end of the game.
That’s all I’ll talk about for the NG+ versions of the game. This is a review of my first playthrough. Just know I’m going in blind, and you should too.
Where Does Armored Core VI Lie on My Favorite Games of All Time List?
On September 1st, 2015, I drove to Hastings to rent MGSV: Phantom Pain. It was release day, but my preorder had gotten stuck due to weather. 7 days later I logged 24 hours in the game. That’s not a high number for some people, but for me, that was huge.
The game instantly slammed itself into my number-one rank. It felt like magic to me.
For me, my enjoyment of games revolves around what season of life I’m in. If I’m really busy, focused on something else, or going through a rough patch, chances are I won’t enjoy any game. However, there are a few games that intersect with a time in my life at the perfect time.
The Witcher 3: I bounced off this game but picked it up again while recovering from COVID-19 – 10/10
Animal Crossing New Horizon: Literally released the day before America shut down for COVID-19
Persona 5: Came out on the tail end of my time at community college and got to spend my summer between community college and university with it.
Dark Souls 3: I played this with coaching from a roommate while friends from the dorm watched me scream. Easily my favorite gaming experience.
Armored Core VI came out at a time when I didn’t have much time to devote to games. My wife is pregnant and there’s a lot I need to be doing, but the mission structure of ACVI lets me jump in, play a quick mission, then jump out.
Armored Core VI has blasted its way into my personal favorite top 10 games not just because it’s a great game, but it’s exactly what I needed from a game at this specific time.
