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I'm not a big fan of the series, but as far as I've been able to tell, the Armored Core series has always been about using big mechs to blow things up. The above screenshot for Ubisoft's just-announced Armored Core For Answer for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 seems to confirm my suspicions.

The From Software developed title with the curious name will be introducing gigantic boss battles for the first time in the series, allowing players to pilot their mechs into gigantic battle stations to destroy them from the inside out. From Answer will also feature more than 30 cooperative mission which can be played online, as well as an eight-player multiplayer game with more than 80 battlefields.

I've tried to play the games a few times, and always walked away scratching my head by what I felt were complicated controls; From Answer is said to feature two control schemes, one re-worked for beginners. I'm a bit slow, I suppose, and when the game ships this September, maybe it'll be the first Armored Core game I can wrap my tiny brain around.

Press release and more game details (including some story about a rebel resistance and a polluted planet) after the jump.

UBISOFT ANNOUNCES ARMORED CORE FOR ANSWER(TM) VIDEO GAME

SAN FRANCISCO – July 30, 2008 – Today Ubisoft announced it will publish Armored Core for Answer(TM), the newest addition to From Software's mech-based combat franchise, Armored Core. The thirteenth installment in the series, Armored Core for Answer is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system in September 2008.

About Armored Core for Answer
In the distant future, massive urban development and pollution have critically damaged the planet. There is widespread fear that the end of the world is approaching. The League corporations, a military superpower, control the planet's infrastructure and have forced most of the world's population to live in huge aerial communities, called Cradles, to avoid the contamination. The ORCA, a rebel resistance still residing on the surface of the polluted planet, have amassed a formidable arsenal and are mobilizing to attack The League's bases to put an end to their iron grip on the planet. As a mercenary armed with cutting-edge military robot technology, choose your side and defeat the other factions by harnessing the power of the deadliest and most gigantic weapons ever created by mankind. Armored Core for Answer is rated "T” for Teen with Mild Language, Violence.

Game features include:
  • EPIC BOSS BATTLES – For the first time in the series, cut your way inside colossal mobile battle stations and destroy them from their very core. Identify and exploit the weaknesses of 10 uniquely designed GIANT mobile battle stations to defeat them.
  • PLAY WITH A FRIEND IN SEAMLESS CO-OP MODE OR FACE SEVERAL FRIENDS IN MULTIPLAYER MODES - Cooperate online with a friend in more than 30 missions or face up to 7 other players online in more than 80 different battlefields.
  • CUSTOMIZE YOUR MECH WITH HUNDREDS OF PARTS AND WEAPONS - Find the right combination of weapons and armor that will help you take down colossal enemies. With more than 130 new parts and 400 parts total, enhance your mech to take on increasingly deadlier mobile battle stations. Create the perfect mech design to defeat a powerful enemy and share it with your friends online.
  • SWITCH FACTIONS AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT CHANGE BOTH THE STORYLINE AND YOUR COMBAT EXPERIENCE - Choose your side among different factions including The League, The ORCA and the independent city states, each one having their own sets of giant mobile battle stations, mechs and characteristics, allowing for unique battle experiences. The decisions you make during your adventures will result in one of 3 different possible endings to the war.
  • FIGHT GIGANTIC MILITARY VEHICLES IN BEAUTIFUL, EXPANSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - Experience high-velocity daylight combat or low-visibility night battles as changing weather and time modify the atmosphere of more than 40 battlefields including snow field, desert, ocean, underground and city. Fully destructible environments will bring even more sensational realism to your epic battles.
  • 2 DIFFERENT CONTROL SCHEMES FOR BEGINNERS AND VETERAN PLAYERS - New intuitive controls will allow beginners to skilfully operate your mech in no time. If you are a veteran player, enjoy the full range of controls available in previous Armored Core installments
LAUNCH GALLERY (5 IMAGES)
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16 comments | showing # 1 to 16
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protomark's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 12:30
protomark
Armored Core: Master of Arena totally rules. this is all i have to say.
nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 12:35
nilcam
In Japan, this game was called Armored Core 4 Answer because it's an update to Armored Core 4. Very clever, or something.
Trev's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 12:35
Trev
Well my day has been pretty much made here. Love this series. Been playing it since back in the PS1 days.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 12:38
HarassmentPanda
The first Armored Core game was pretty fun, but I kind of fell off after that. For my money, nothing scratched my pilot-around-and-shoot-stuff itch quite like Colony Wars!
Big Z's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:00
Big Z
I love Armored Core, though I've only ever played Last Raven. Is every single one as outrageously difficult as Last Raven? AI controlled foes in AC units are virtually impossible to defeat without cheesing your way through every encounter with them. The computer simply has stats that allow it to do impossible things, like fly continuously, and abilities I'm not sure a human player could do, like fly in a sharp arc very quickly.
Kia's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:01
Kia
Nick, you should try Armored Core 4. I agree, most of the games' controls are really difficult and complex, but AC4 simplified things a lot. It's much more fun and "arcade-y", in my opinion.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:11
pedrovay2003
The demo of 4 Answer was WAY better than the full game of 4. If you have a Japanese account, I highly recommend checking it out.
oepn's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:16
oepn
Make sure you switch AC4's controls to Type 2, though! They're FPS trigger-to-fire style.

For some reason the Type 1 controls use the face buttons to fire your weapons. That's right - you cannot look and fire at the same time with the default controls.
Trev's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:21
Trev
@big z
I actually thought the series took a turn for the worse at Nexus, and the following games (Ninebreaker and Last Raven) didn't do anything to repair the damage. They threw in too many limits like magazines for weapons, heat, part damage and so on and it really became annoying trying to manage all this crap that the AI opponents either innately knew and managed with crap like super-fast booster mashing or weren't effected by at all.

Silent Line was the best PS2 Armored Core game.

Check out AC4. The missions are kind of short, but that gives it a really objective-based feel. The parts are a lot more balanced. There are fewer of them, but 8/10 missile launchers aren't worthless. The AI cheats a little, but it doesn't completely break the rules.
oepn's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:24
oepn
Pedro, I agree. It's why I'm so excited for the American release! Also sweet is the fact the demo gave you access to both the White Glint's body and the Dozer (which seems to be the return of the old fist weapons, like that pile driver thing I can't remember the name of).
ParaParaKing's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:28
ParaParaKing
I really didn't enjoy the demo on the Japanese PSN. The controls were terrible and the graphics weren't really good.
But more robot in the west is always a good thing.
Cosades's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:30
Cosades
Nick, in the body of your post you refer to this game as "Armored Core From Answer", presumably mixing up "For Answer" and "From Software". It sounds like a Christmas present, doesn't it?
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 13:44
mix
I loved the one for the PS2 (can't remember the name) but I hated the PS3 one..
orao's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 14:02
orao
I have the Japanese version, brilliant. I won't be getting this one, however, as I have no faith in any translations, etc., they do.
Puppy Licks's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/30/2008 19:54
Puppy Licks
Armored Core 4 was pretty average, but I'm keen to see how much For Answer raises the bar. And Co-Op giant robot destruction for the fucking win.
The Bozz's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/31/2008 15:03
The Bozz
YES! I liked AC4 a lot, I was hoping Sony would change its stance about an american release (at first they weren't even cosidering it).
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