There are still some fundamental issues that we have with the series which remain in Armored Core for Answer. The player-controlled NEXTs, particularly in the early going, are far too sluggish in both their movement and their aiming speed. Granted, these traits can be approved by upgrading the unit, but that leads us to another problem.

The mech customization features are exceedingly complex, a morass of acronyms, abbreviations, numbers and charts which are difficult to make any sense of. While we have no problem seeing this level of complexity in a game, we do take issue with the lack of effort put into acclimating potential newcomers. Fans of Armored Core can dive right in with minimal learning time – and plenty of context – required for picking up the game’s new, more technical features. Newcomers on the other hand get a too-short manual and a control tutorial, but nothing in the form of advice on how to construct a battle-ready NEXT.