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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nexus is great., April 2, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Nexus is the latest installment of the Armored Core series, and instead of being an expansion as some AC sequels are, this game has a whole different feel than previous AC games.
Basically in Armored Core, players are pilots of mechanized robots who take mercenary jobs from corporations and governments. In order to succeed in these missions, players must first design their Armored Cores to fit both the mission and their piloting preferences, and Nexus offers a robust lineup, with hundreds of parts from which to make a core.
In addition to simply making a balanced mech, Nexus offers a new "tune-up" feature that allows players to add stats to certain parts(ie more armor for arm parts, or more weight capacity for legs) that adds another dimension to building the perfect mech.
While players can spend hours simply building a mech(and some of us do spend quite a bit of time tweaking), the main part of Nexus is the actual missions. The missions are where players actually pilot their mech and do a specific task that usually involves attacking and destroying rival mechs.
Fortunately, the biggest gripe over the AC series: it's "awkward" controls (though the fan would tend to scoff, it was a valid complaint), is fixed in Nexus. Nexus solves this problem by fully utilizing the analog controls of the Duel Shock and makes controls accessible to both fans and interested players through simple controller options. Personally I love the delicate controls the AC series has, and the tight control Nexus continues when selecting the default controls, but some of my friends who disliked previous AC games because of the controls actually liked playing with the newer controls.
The only two problems I had personally with Nexus was the inability to sell off the original parts. Normally I would start customizing my mech immediately by selling most of the stock weapons, but that was not allowed in this game. The second problem I, and many other fans, have is the inability to replay any mission once I have "beaten" the game; instead once the game is beaten, the missions start over, and players have to perform certain ways on specific missions to get to a different branch of missions.
Sound is great as usual, and graphics are polished. Many of the parts look similar to previous AC games, but you should note the stats and try them out in the training mode before assuming they are the same parts.
Granted there is only one difficulty, and it might be a bit too easy for some of us, the balance of the game, as well as the newest feature of Hanger weapons(allowing players to have small backup weapons when they drop their primary weapons) which makes the game much more strategic and in my mind the best improvement in Nexus, and the fact that Nexus has two disks(one being a remake of missions from previous ACs) makes Nexus a great game for both veteran Ravens and interested players who are finally catered to in this release.
A great game.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb..., June 22, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
First off, I must say I've never played an Armored Core game before Nexus. I've never even heard of the series. Luckily, a friend of mine told me about it and convinced me to buy it. I hoped it would be worth the money, but I was skeptical. I mean, I've never even heard about this series before.
But man, am I glad I bought this. Upon completion I realize what a gem this game really is, and one that, unfortunately, is not even known by the majority of the gaming community.
First of all, the part that appeals to me the most is all the customization. I'm a geek about these kinds of things, but ACN does it quite well. You can customize everything about your Armored Core (as the robots are called), from basic things such as arms, legs, body, and head to very minor things like a radiator. All parts are equally essential to your AC, and finding a balance of weight, heat, and energy consumption is fantastic. But the best part is, every part looks different, and equipping them to your AC changes the appearance of the AC itself. You can even edit colors! Sometimes, though, the customization can get a little confusing, but I didn't have much trouble with it.
Armored Core: Nexus would fall apart if the gameplay itself were no good. Luckily, it is very good. There are over 150 missions, but this number is misleading because most missions are 5 minutes or less in length. Some can be completed in less than a minute. Despite missions being a little short, the game usually gives you the option of choosing between 2 or 3 missions available. When you are in the missions, the action starts right away, and the fun begins. The control is similar to a standard third person shooter, but the weapons are all fun to play around with. And of course you have the booster, which either propels you on the ground or up into the air.
The graphics aren't outstanding, but they work quite well. Although detail is not abundant besides the incredible detail on your AC, a near rock-solid 60 FPS framerate helps. I love a smooth framerate, and this game did not disappoint in that regard.
So overall, this is a definite buy for anyone who this would sound remotely appealing to. Any MechWarrior fans who don't have an Xbox (which is myself) should definitely pick this up. Its a buried treasure, for sure.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
They finally managed to break AC, June 29, 2006
Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars
I've been a fan of the Armored Core series since the first one for PS1 and have played all except for Masters of the Arena and the latest installment, Last Raven. While I am a fan of the old school ACs, I did like AC3 and its expansion, Silent Line, though I wasn't sure I liked the overall direction the series was heading. Then came Nexus.
I'll start with the good points about this game. The first being the graphics, which aren't (and shouldn't be) the end-all be-all for a game but they are a significant improvement over all the previous armored cores. I also really liked the part customization, from being able to paint the parts to better match the AC to actually tweaking some of the stats. Hangar units were also a unique addition to the game and it is one of the new ideas I applaud. I also like the return to the old school ranking system from the first AC.
Unfortunately, these are the only improvements to the game, which are in turn offset by everything the developers changed for the worst. Right off the bat, as has been mentioned before, one cannot sell the original parts in this game. I suppose this shouldn't be too much of a concern, as there is no way to lose money in the game. I went through this game three times, once losing nearly every mission (you only have to beat 3 to beat the game) on purpose and I still wound up with a positive balance of money (as well as beating the game). While I don't have a problem with being able to fail at certain things and still progress in a game, it is a pretty sorry state of affairs if you only really have to beat 3 out of 40 or so missions to beat a game.
With that in mind, one would believe that the game isn't challenging. Well, it is in certain respects. There is no more human plus/OP-Intensify, which, if you're old school, is like a junkie being cut off from crack. However, even in AC3 when you didn't get it until the end, the game was still enjoyable. Nexus managed to change that. Not only will you never get human plus, you hardly get to boost at all, with overboost being taken out the equation entirely, unless, of course, you're a big fan of dying. Heat is such a factor in this game that it not only drains your AP, but it takes energy to cool down so you get to boost even less. That means that an opponent with high heat damage weapons and a reasonable amount of accuracy will annihilate their opponents. I, for one, like being able to make different kinds of ACs, with each having strengths and weaknesses but still being able to match an opponent well. I mentioned earlier that I really enjoyed modifying parts but if one doesn't want to worry about heat, all the mods go into cooling in the hopes that you when you take heat damage, you won't feel like you're moving through mud.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this game to long-time fans or people without a lot of patience. To newcomers to the series, this may be a game to begin with but I would strongly recommend looking at previous ACs. Last Raven looks promising, though I'm not about to hold my breath. I, as well as others I have spoken with, have been very disappointed with this game.
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