The ‘Verdict’ Isn’t Good For This Franchise
By CHRIS CAMPBELL | Scripps Howard News Service
“Armored Core: Verdict Day”
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Publisher: Namco Bandai
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
Grade: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
Left unimpressed by the recent “Armored Core” games, I was prepared to ditch the series altogether and focus on other genres. Then I watched “Pacific Rim” and fell back in love with humans commanding giant machines of worldly destruction. I decided “Verdict Day” was a solid enough title for me to give the franchise one more run.
If only Namco Bandai had its mechs fighting gargantuan beasts from the sea rather than other mechs on bland, colorless environments, it could have had something worth getting excited about. “Verdict Day” takes positive steps forward in certain areas while backsliding horribly in others, particularly the visual aspect of the game.
On the positive side, the action ramps up quickly and rarely relents. Missions get repetitive fast, but those who like wide-open spaces with mechs running amok firing volleys of missiles nonstop will find plenty to love. The overcrowded HUD saps some of the energy by constantly streaming useless data and information all over the screen distracting you from the meat of the action.
Continuing the trend of visually confusion … why do gaming companies actively work to frustrate players by making the menu systems as difficult as possible to navigate? If I drove a racecar blindfolded I think I’d have greater success than getting around the menus and hidden submenus within “Verdict Day.” I even had a friend try to execute a few actions and he at one point put down the controller and walked away. When I asked him five minutes later when he was coming back he simply yelled to me: “No, no. I’m done with that thing. I’m not coming back.” So there you go.
The online multiplayer has some exciting modes to play, and the inclusion of AI-controlled teammates elevates the battles. Tinkering both offline and online with your mech provides a lot of satisfaction, since the amount of customization available to you is staggering in terms of weapons loadouts, jets, treads and watching how it affects your stats as you play with each module.
“Verdict Day” makes it harder for newcomers to find a foothold in the franchise with its difficulty and awful menus. Only true believers may persevere to spend time truly exploring the options and seeing the story mode to its conclusion. But even for those fans, more improvement is warranted for the “Armored Core” franchise for it to be a worthwhile investment.
