This may be the start of something good...

I found Armored Core: Project Phantasma recently & was gonna sell it but I thought I'd give it a try first. I've never been a big fan of mech games- I liked the Iron Soldier series on Jag/PS & tried a bit of PC Mechwarrior. I think the mission-based gameplay turned me off, & I HATE having to replay parts/sections in games, as well as the whole micro-mgmt thing (tweek this, change this, adjust that, etc etc). These, coupled w/ the extreme customization of AC games (so many options! ) made me ambivalent.

I wish I'd played sooner.

I'll spare you my review (it's over on gamefaqs!)- I'll just say WOW- I'm pleasantly surprised! It's challenging w/out being unfair, the customization options are insane, & except for its outdated graphics (which dont make a good game anyway), I cant really find anything wrong w/ it. The best part is I realize I havent even scratched the figurative surface of the game- I'm only 5 places up the Arena list & have just a few missions accomplished.

I guess if you dont like violence (but who's getting hurt?) or giant robo-battles, you wouldnt care for it, but creating & refining your own AC really is fun- so much so that I tracked down Armored Core 2 (PS2) last week!

So if you ever cross paths w/ a couple ACs named Phantasm or IceGhost, just smile & wave...it's me!


http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/review/R87716.html