'I'm Yuzuru Hanyu, an Olympic gold medallist with a missile launcher hooked over my shoulders and an engine for an elbow' It's all just logos with voices giving you boring orders over a radio and your character wordlessly agreeing with it all. To be frank with you, I couldn't give a monkeys about the story because - at least early on - it struck me as faceless. In 100% of cases, a handler named Walter will ask you to destroy a hunk of metal and then bid you adieu. You play as a mercenary who seemingly bounces between corporations and does their bidding.

They're actually fighting over a mysterious substance that'll grant them lots of power to alter humanity, yada yada yada. It seems colder at heart, where success lies in motoring through missions to pop the best new metal bits on your robot Souls is an adventure, Armored Core 6 is a chase.Ĭontrary to popular belief, the game's story doesn't revolve around corporations fighting over a terrifically hot can of Rubicon. Yes, there are obvious influences, but it's no tentative unpicking of a vast map with pit stops at warm bonfires to rest your legs.

It might be obvious to long-time Armored Core-likers, but if you're someone who's become a fan of FromSoftware thanks to Elden Ring and have since discovered their tremendous back catalogue of Souls corkers, consider this a warning: Armored Core 6 is not a Souls game. I want to buy new metal legs and attach gatling guns to my spine! But I'm apprehensive about the grind to get those parts and whether some of AC6's Souls influences clash with its rapid pace. It doesn't give you wings, but what it does give you is a mech as nimble as a Eurasian Blue Tit darting at a confetti of stale bread.Īs a historic mech-disliker, the game actually managed to instil a desire to become a skilled mech pilot. And rather like Red Bull's metallic fizz of aspartame and rocket fuel, I'd say the game shares a similar makeup.

With a trusty can of Red Bull coursing through my veins and my heart rate pounding like a jackhammer, I spent around three hours with Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon's first chapter.

Tank force - videogame by namco free