The world is far worse place than it was years ago. I can't begin to imagine how easy it is to get displaced in a bad situation, and not be able to get out, yet I've heard stories. In times like these that challenges our morals, our sense of survival, and need to overcome them, we draw the silver lining.
Fires of Rubicon sure sounds like a Gundam story, but it's also an Armored Core one as well. It's dilapidated, rustic, cruel, darker game, that echoes the past of the sins of mankind and where it led us to. A new kind of hunger that is insatiable, and the ones only tasked for the job are the sorts like me. That plunges our instruments into the filth, so they can keep theirs clean.
There are similarities to the prior titles, but is a more highly evolved killing machine simulator. A power trip of a game, that requires a lot of precision, sense of depth, adapting, knowledge, and good survival instincts. I mean, it's a video game alright, but it had ways of overwhelming me.
A far cry from the original game's premise, but carrying similar sentiments about war and humanity's inability to do better. It takes place in a planet called Rubicon 3, set in a future where civilization has reached the stars. But this isn't that kind of title, because at the end of the day, I am a hired gun.
Like the previous titles, I go by the Raven moniker, with my mission handler, Walker giving me my first job to clear out a base filled with rebel groups fighting against major corporate entities, but also wanting the same thing as them; the Coral. A rich but highly toxic substance that is used as fuel and reliable as a data conduit. They probably needed it to survive.
As the rebels grit their teeth at me in vain, as I easily dispatch them, I am also tasked at finding the tags of my lost mercenary buddies. As I get to the last one, a helicopter approaches and tests my will to fight. The mission being a success was my victory towards the dance of death, for Walker, it was a test to see how far I can really go.
Most of the contracted jobs would be from multiple corporations, there are no sides and jobs exist only to work for the highest bidder. The Rubiconians that have lived on the planet, have formed a Liberation Front to stop the corporations having any foothold in the planet.
There was a cataclysmic event 50 years ago called the Fires of Ibis, which was caused by the heavy use of Coral, creating a firestorm that has engulfed the planet and neighbor stars. The planet till now was mostly abandoned, with a few survivors taking control of what's left. After it resurfaced, is where my story has begun.
Most of these corporations don't care who you work for, long as they use you to their end. That includes combat data. In fact, doing these missions are incentivized because having more currency means being able to buy parts and save up build schematics for experimentation.
And even more so when the gameplay itself is super addictive, the controls being fluid, and there's always a consistent threat level even against weaker enemies, because they have weapons that are full of surprises. This isn't a feel good power fantasy, it is a fight for survival, constantly, even if I've managed to get the best parts for the right build.
From Soft learned a lot from the Souls games, creating combat situations and environment around them that makes someone like me highly active and engaged. So it also says a lot when certain missions I do should deservedly should give me more pay, but at the end of the day, I survived. Even if it's business, the cost it comes with marching against the fire constantly.
Certain missions where I team up with the corp that contracted me, as I watch easily the helpless Rubiconians easily swatted like flies and I partake on the massacre. There was even a recon mission where I encountered an enemy A.C. but piloted by a trainee. He wanted to be just like me, giving everything he got. But it was me, a 4th gen augmented human, vs him. Victor was already decided.
In order to be the best mech combat, one has to realize how to evolve the genre. So why not the developers who made the old games, even the bad eggs, before shifting to an entirely different genre. Then learning the basis of great combat design with a lot of verticality and fluidity, ever present challenging encounters, you get this.
The missions structure changes later to lean more towards the story, some of them you learn about other company's secret project like finding water by building deep underground facilities, while camouflage sniping bots are targeting me for termination.
Earning credits can be earned through even repeating the missions, as well as selling parts at the same price they're bought. But I've seen mission favor certain builds in the situational sense. There are a lot of stats to manage. Putting emphasis on what works, while sacrificing in other areas. Like building, a lighter unit is good for close combat and fast dodging. Yet I can build a tank that is made to withstand damage, and dish out heavy amounts of firepower, but at mobility costs.
A tutorial section exists to help familiarize what anyone can do. I dismissed this at first, but it taught a lot, and also hand out additional parts after completion. Arenas exist to fight other ACs, and in return earn OS Chips as well. These give additional, useful benefits. I learned to do a boost kick, have an assault EMP that negates damage and stuns enemies in proximity, and heal more in battle.
Of course, there's no linearity in unlocking parts, some of them are given when I have spotted AC units during missions and have taken them out before completion. Based on a Loghunt system. There's never an end to this hunger, the need to satiate, become better, and stronger.
And the other big driving force of it are the boss battles. These make the regular missions very tame, because of how varied and ruthless they are. The BALTEUS fight after having contact with the coral has been one of the most agonizing fights I've gone through. Dying more than a dozen times, trying out different builds restarting the mission over and over.
Shooting a huge barrage of missiles, that obscures vision before he torpedoes, shotguns me, even more frustrating is constantly taking his shield down, goes up after a short period. Took that many tries till I got it right. And then I started to pay more attention to where I got it wrong.
Alas, I got another handler, a coral entity named Ayre who was born from the organic collective of the coral. The cataclysmic event that nearly destroyed them, also made them mutate. Which creates a junction to the plan and main story, where Walter is not aware of her being till later on.
If you're planning on playing a mech game for your power trip fantasy, this would most likely it. But it also has a clear message within that works as an antiphesis for the very reason to engage with it. From Dark fantasy to Dark Sci-Fi, Nietzche, and Noam Chomsky's worse nightmare.
It's safe to say they ante up in almost every department. Especially the story, not that all AC games are bad, as a whole package, it does most things really well. As well as the Gundam inspirations here and there. But set in a world with little to no flora and fauna. Around near the end, there are choices that pave way for multiple endings.
And ah, nothing to fret about the difficulty. There's training mode, which helps anyone to familiarize playing it and test their build against combat dummies. The difficulty of each mission increases as the story progresses, even the tasks of interacting with doors become stressful because of the hostility present while it being hacked to open.
Man, what a great time to be alive. And play the insanest of video games out there now. I can't say much about the multiplayer, since I didn't check that one out.
Apologies that it took me 2 weeks to do this. I was busy treating my health and also dealing with the passing of a close relative's spouse. I hope the read was still worth it
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