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==Plot==
==Plot==
Five years have passed since the [[Armored Core 4|LYNX War]]. Earth is now governed by the League of Ruling Companies, an international council composed of the corporations that survived the war, which ostensibly seeks to preserve global peace and corporate prosperity. Since much of the world's surface was polluted to inhospitable levels by hazardous Kojima Particles dispersed during the LYNX War, the League built perpetually-airborne habitats known as Cradles, which are dependent on ground-based power plants called Arteria that generate even more Kojima Particles. Over half of the human population now lives in the Cradles, while the surface is a battlefield where corporate armies and mercenaries wage the interminable Economic War.
Five years have passed since the [[Armored Core 4|LYNX War]]. Earth is now governed by the League of Ruling Companies, an international council composed of the corporations that survived the war, which ostensibly seeks to preserve global peace and corporate prosperity. Since much of the world's surface was polluted to inhospitable levels by hazardous Kojima Particles dispersed during the LYNX War, the League built perpetually-airborne habitats known as Cradles, which are dependent on ground-based power plants called Arteria that generate even more Kojima Particles as waste. Over half of the human population now lives in the Cradles, while the surface is a battlefield where corporate armies and mercenaries wage the interminable Economic War.


During the League's rise to power, it relied on the capabilities of LYNX, the pilots of the combat mechs known as NEXTs, and then abandoned the LYNX on the surface in favor of utilizing Arms Forts, mobile super weapons that could bring tremendous amounts of firepower to bear. While most LYNX are forced to eke out a living as mercenaries for Collared, a League-controlled intermediary organization, a handful of LYNX discovered the corporations' dark secrets and formed a resistance group called ORCA to overthrow the League.
During the League's rise to power, it relied on the capabilities of LYNX, the pilots of the combat mechs known as NEXTs, and then abandoned the LYNX on the surface in favor of utilizing Arms Forts, mobile super weapons that could bring tremendous amounts of firepower to bear. While most LYNX are forced to eke out a living as mercenaries for Collared, a League-controlled intermediary organization, a handful of LYNX discovered the corporations' dark secrets and formed a resistance group called ORCA to overthrow the League.


The player takes on the role of a LYNX working for Collared. As they take on more missions, the player is faced with the choice of siding with the League or ORCA, culminating in different endings. In the League ending, the player prevents ORCA from seizing the Arteria and destroying the Cradles, but Kojima Particle radiation persists and will one day rise to the Cradles anyway. In the ORCA ending, the player helps ORCA take control of the Arteria; this causes the Cradles to descend to the surface and many people die from Kojima Particle exposure, but the energy from the Arteria is redirected to destroy an array of autonomous weaponized satellites that had been preventing all attempts to leave Earth. With the satellites gone, it becomes possible for humanity to travel to space and build its civilization anew on other planets.
The player takes on the role of a LYNX working for Collared who eventually becomes a pivotal figure in the escalating conflict between the League and ORCA. Three ending routes can be unlocked sequentially over three playthroughs. In the first ending, the player is tasked by the League with stopping ORCA from seizing the Arteria; the player succeeds, ensuring the Cradles stay aloft, but Kojima Particle radiation remains an unsolvable problem and will one day rise to the Cradles' altitude. In the second ending, the player helps ORCA take control of the Arteria; as a result, the Cradles lose power and make an emergency descent to the surface, causing many civilians to die from Kojima Particle exposure. However, the energy from the Arteria is redirected to destroy an array of autonomous weaponized satellites that had been preventing all attempts to leave Earth, and with the satellites gone, it becomes possible for humanity to travel to space and build its civilization anew on other planets.


Once the player has experienced both endings, a subsequent playthrough can achieve a third ending, in which a psychotic ORCA-affiliated LYNX with the callsign "Old King" asks the player to help him destroy a fleet of five Cradle airships to kill their 100 million inhabitants. Following this act of mass murder on an unprecedented scale, Collared deploys its best LYNX to hunt down the perpetrators. Old King dies in the battle, but the player emerges victorious and goes on to destroy all of the other Cradles.
Once the player has experienced the first two endings, the third ending route becomes available. A psychotic ORCA-affiliated LYNX with the callsign "Old King" reaches out to the player and asks for their help in destroying Cradle 03, a fleet of five Cradle airships with 100 million inhabitants between them. After the player and Old King carry out this unprecedented atrocity, Collared deploys a team of its best LYNX to hunt them down. Old King dies in the battle, but the player emerges victorious and goes on to destroy all of the other Cradles, becoming the single most prolific killer in history.


==Reception==
==Reception==

Revision as of 13:12, 2 July 2023

Armored Core: For Answer
North American Xbox 360 cover art
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
  • JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)Hidetaka Miyazaki
Producer(s)Toshifumi Nabeshima
Composer(s)Kota Hoshino
SeriesArmored Core
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release
  • JP: March 19, 2008
  • NA: September 16, 2008
  • AU: November 27, 2008
  • EU: November 28, 2008
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Armored Core: For Answer is a 2008 vehicular combat game developed by FromSoftware and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the 13th installment in the mecha-based Armored Core series, the game is the direct sequel to Armored Core 4.

Gameplay

AC customization has been changed from the previous Armored Core title, with a new interface and many new parts not found in Armored Core 4. Online mode returns with a new co-operative mode alongside the player versus mode. Gameplay enhancements included a power increase for both Quick Boost and Over Boost, as well as an auxiliary high-speed booster, which is known as the Vanguard Over Booster (VOB). Another new feature in the game is the Assault Armor attack that becomes available by equipping certain Over boost parts. This attack uses up all available Primal Armor (PA) that the AC has and generates a huge blast consisting of Kojima particles (highly reactive particles) that destroys or damages all objects surrounding the AC. However, this also leaves the AC vulnerable because not only will the AC lose its PA, it will also not regenerate for a few seconds. Laser blades are deadlier because of the revamped laser blade attack. Once the blade has acquired a lock-on, the AC will instantly rush to the target, traveling a great distance to use the laser blade. All parts carried over from the previous game have had their parameters altered, much like the transition between previous series installments Silent Line and Nexus. The on-screen HUD can now be changed to any of 20 colors. There are now 442 FRS tuning points available to unlock, which is an increase from the 300 (PS3) and 337 (Xbox 360) FRS points available in AC4. Maps are much larger and more detailed including environmental damage such as collapsing buildings. The game is also the second in the series (after Last Raven) to feature multiple endings, with three different possible plot branches available depending on your actions and decisions in the game.

Plot

Five years have passed since the LYNX War. Earth is now governed by the League of Ruling Companies, an international council composed of the corporations that survived the war, which ostensibly seeks to preserve global peace and corporate prosperity. Since much of the world's surface was polluted to inhospitable levels by hazardous Kojima Particles dispersed during the LYNX War, the League built perpetually-airborne habitats known as Cradles, which are dependent on ground-based power plants called Arteria that generate even more Kojima Particles as waste. Over half of the human population now lives in the Cradles, while the surface is a battlefield where corporate armies and mercenaries wage the interminable Economic War.

During the League's rise to power, it relied on the capabilities of LYNX, the pilots of the combat mechs known as NEXTs, and then abandoned the LYNX on the surface in favor of utilizing Arms Forts, mobile super weapons that could bring tremendous amounts of firepower to bear. While most LYNX are forced to eke out a living as mercenaries for Collared, a League-controlled intermediary organization, a handful of LYNX discovered the corporations' dark secrets and formed a resistance group called ORCA to overthrow the League.

The player takes on the role of a LYNX working for Collared who eventually becomes a pivotal figure in the escalating conflict between the League and ORCA. Three ending routes can be unlocked sequentially over three playthroughs. In the first ending, the player is tasked by the League with stopping ORCA from seizing the Arteria; the player succeeds, ensuring the Cradles stay aloft, but Kojima Particle radiation remains an unsolvable problem and will one day rise to the Cradles' altitude. In the second ending, the player helps ORCA take control of the Arteria; as a result, the Cradles lose power and make an emergency descent to the surface, causing many civilians to die from Kojima Particle exposure. However, the energy from the Arteria is redirected to destroy an array of autonomous weaponized satellites that had been preventing all attempts to leave Earth, and with the satellites gone, it becomes possible for humanity to travel to space and build its civilization anew on other planets.

Once the player has experienced the first two endings, the third ending route becomes available. A psychotic ORCA-affiliated LYNX with the callsign "Old King" reaches out to the player and asks for their help in destroying Cradle 03, a fleet of five Cradle airships with 100 million inhabitants between them. After the player and Old King carry out this unprecedented atrocity, Collared deploys a team of its best LYNX to hunt them down. Old King dies in the battle, but the player emerges victorious and goes on to destroy all of the other Cradles, becoming the single most prolific killer in history.

Reception

Armored Core: For Answer received "mixed or average" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.[15][16] One of the most consistent complaints among reviewers seemed to be the lack of any sort of online community. Kevin Van Ord of GameSpot stated in his review that there were "fewer than a dozen [players on] Xbox Live" when he tried to playtest the game, and that similar attempts to find a game on PlayStation Network yielded "just a single opponent".[8] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40 for the PlayStation 3 version,[4] and one nine and three sevens for the Xbox 360 version,[6] while Famitsu Xbox 360 gave the latter console version 31 out of 40.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Quintero, Cesar (September 26, 2008). "Armored Core: For Answer Review". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Nicholson, Brad (October 21, 2008). "Destructoid review: Armored Core: For Answer (PS3)". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Edge staff (January 2009). "Armored Core: For Answer (X360)". Edge. No. 197. Future plc. p. 94.
  4. ^ a b "アーマード・コア フォーアンサー [PS3]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "アーマード・コア フォーアンサー [Xbox 360]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Ihtsham, Usman (March 26, 2008). "Famitsu For The Week". WhatIfGaming. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Reiner, Andrew (December 2008). "Armored Core: For Answer: This mech's broken. Eject! Eject!". Game Informer. No. 188. GameStop. p. 110. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c VanOrd, Kevin (October 1, 2008). "Armored Core: For Answer Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Bedigian, Louis (September 29, 2008). "Armored Core for Answer - PS3 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Folkers, Brandon (September 29, 2008). "Armored Core for Answer - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  11. ^ Clements, Ryan (September 22, 2008). "Armored Core for Answer Review (PS3)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Clements, Ryan (September 22, 2008). "Armored Core for Answer Review (X360)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  13. ^ "Armored Core: For Answer". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. January 2009. p. 103.
  14. ^ "Armored Core: For Answer". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. December 2008. p. 87.
  15. ^ a b "Armored Core: For Answer for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Armored Core: For Answer for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
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