Armored Core 5 Shifts Focus to Online Multiplayer
"We've implemented online modes up to now, but for this game, there's no 'mode'," said producer Toshifumi Nabeshima. "Instead, the system lets you smoothly join online play at any time." Teams will battle over territories and try to gain footholds.
It will be necessary to lay out defensive units on your land when team members aren't logged on to protect it. "So the stronger teams are going to need both people who're good at action games and members with a decent grasp of the game's strategic elements."
Teams can reportedly scale to any size, but online matches take place with five members on each side. Four will pilot the robots, and one will serve as the "operator" with a strategic map and the ability to send voice commands. The game has also kept the other features from its original announcement, like Over Weapons, but is emphasizing them less.
Nabeshima says he hopes this re-envisioning will serve as a treat to fans and a way to expand the Armored Core audience. Joystiq reports that Namco Bandai will be bringing the game out in the US and Europe in early 2012.
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Prinny God
replyGlad to see they're trying something different. Hopefully the online play won't be so barren this time around.
I don't really see the point of limiting voice chat to the commander though.-
It sounds like they're attempting to meld some of what made Chromehounds so good into their more successful Armored Core series. I don't think that limiting voice communication to only the commander really makes sense to me, though. In Chromehounds, control of strategic communication points affected your ability to use voice chat, and it made for a really neat and authentic feeling battle experience. The commander type extended communication (if I remember correctly), but this doesn't sound as good. Although I'll wait optimistically, because if it really doesn't work, hopefully they'll figure that out before release and tweak it.
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