Armored Core 4 - Reception

Reception

Armored Core 4 received generally mixed reviews. Numerous critics (such as GameSpot and Eurogamer) scored the game significantly higher than the previous two Armored Core titles that were released for the PlayStation 2. The game received a 7.7 (out of 10) from GameSpot, 5.9 (out of 10) from IGN, 7.3 (out of 10) from Game Trailers, 4 (out of 10) from 1UP.com, 6.5 (out of 10)(with a second opinion of 6) from Game Informer, 6 (out of 10) from GameDaily, 8 (out of 10) from Eurogamer, and 6 (out of 10) from GamesRadar. It has average scores of 67.72%(PS3) and 65.53%(360) from GameRankings and 65% (for both versions) from Metacritic.

Tom Magrino of GameSpot praised the faster gameplay and commented that mech customization felt streamlined compared to previous entries, while still offering a considerable amount of depth for those who decided to dig deeper. Magrino also generally praised the new graphics, although he had reservations about the blandness of certain environments and clipping issues with mechs on hilly terrain. GameSpot concluded that the various changes and improvements made Armored Core 4 more accessible to new players while still being an excellent game for returning players to the series.

Bryan Vore of Game Informer opened his review by stating the "biggest surprises" found in Armored Core 4 are the multiplatform status of the title and the "next-gen graphical makeover". However, he felt that mech customization was still as inaccessible as it had been previously ("do we really need to worry about four separate booster classes?"), and that the online gameplay was disappointing. In his second opinion, Ben Reeves stated "I don't hate this game because it's really a collection of complicated, unintuitive menus, or that it has sparse next-gen graphics, or that the learning curve is steeper than the PS3's price...actually, it's all of these things." Both reviewers stated that they felt the game was more appropriate to be played by dedicated fans of the series.

Robert Workman of GameDaily felt that the faster pace of gameplay in missions was disappointing, commenting that battles that took "thirty to forty-five minutes in a previous Armored Core" now takes "just five to ten minutes". He also considered the multiplayer to be disappointing, with the maps being "too simple in design". His overall feeling was that it was "too user-friendly" and would be a turn-off to longtime fans.