The creators of Dark Souls unleash their latest giant robot sim, with a multiplayer focus that also bears an uncanny similarity to Chromehounds…

Although Dark Souls has been their breakthrough title, Japanese developer From Software has been toiling away in relative obscurity for decades. As well as Dark Souls’ various spiritual predecessors they’ve worked on games as disparate as Otogi and Kuri Kuri Mix. But for much of the company’s life their bread and butter has been Armored Core, a series of ultra-serious mech simulators that they’ve consistently failed to get anyone but their hardcore fans interested in. And we fear they’re going to have particular trouble with Verdict Day.
As the game’s logo gives away this is little more than a standalone expansion for last year’s Armored Core V – to the point where you can even import data from the earlier game. We were quite impressed by the game at the time, and particularly by its seamless integration of online and offline play. Verdict Day though seeks to break this balance and focus almost solely on the multiplayer, in particular a persistent simulated war that harkens back to From’s other mech game Chromehounds.
That’s all fair enough, but a multiplayer-focused game either needs to be extremely user-friendly or already have a critical mass of dedicated players. But Armored Core has neither and so the complete lack of accessibility in the last game is amplified considerably, because instead of being dropped into an ultra-hard story mission where nobody tells you what to do you’re now dropped into an ultra-hard multiplayer mode where nobody tells you what to do and then shoots you before you have a chance of working it out on your own.
There is a story mode but you can tell just how important the game thinks it is by how well hidden it is behind a mountain of sub-menus. The frustrating thing is that the game isn’t nearly as complicated as it seems to want to pretend. Whether you’re controlling a giant robot or not the fact remains that it’s still a third person shooter, and one with much more agile movement than some of the earlier games in the series.
Missions do play out more tactically than more mainstream shooters though, since running into a horde of bad guys will turn you into a burnt-out toaster oven quicker than you can say Michael Bay. But that’s all to the good as it ensures the game isn’t just a reskin of something like Gears Of War, with the various weapons systems having a kind of rock-paper-scissors style interrelationship that adds another novel tactical edge to scuffles.
As long as you can point yourself in the right direction all the hilariously overcomplicated HUDs can be left to decipher another day. But if Armored Core were a driving game it’d be Gran Turismo rather than OutRun, and for some reason it’s obsessed with making the experience of playing it as nerdy and flavourless as possible.

Armored Core: Verdict Day (PS3) – no fun allowed
Everything from the bleak colour palette to the impenetrable storyline seems to be designed to pummel any sense of fun into sheet metal. You can see it as an extension of Dark Souls’ equally unwelcoming attitude but even Dark Souls has a sense of humour and that’s not at all evident here.
Still, if you are one of the committed then the comparison to Gran Tursimo continues with the famously comprehensive workshop that allows you to customise and upgrade your mech in minute detail – assuming you can work out what all the strange made-up-names for the parts actually relate to. There’s also some new multiplayer ideas at work, which are genuinely interesting in their own right.
The ability to create your own computer-controlled team of allies is an idea that Call Of Duty: Ghosts has already picked up on and it works very well here. Especially when combined with the overhead map view. The idea that the persistent wars end after a week and have a clear winner are also much more compelling than some daunting online war without end, and we’d be happy to see other online shooters pick up on the same idea.
If you’re one of the initiated then Verdict Day is an interesting new structure for Armored Core V’s combat, but for anyone else you really should begin with the earlier game. Just starting Verdict Day up for the first time involves so many confusing-looking option screens, progress bars, and help windows it’s as if the game is daring you to even turn it on.
If you accept its challenge there is a rewarding game to play here but it feels like one that From has got frustrated nobody else wants to play and is now adamant it’s only for them and their existing followers.
In Short: There are some compelling ideas at work here and probably the closest you’ll ever get to Chromehounds 2 – but only for those already intimately familiar with Armored Core V.
Pros: The combat and controls still work very well, while maintaining the illusion you’re piloting a giant robot. AI team-mates and week-long online wars are a great idea.
Cons: Even relatively simple ideas are made to seem as confusing as possible, with some seriously impenetrable interface design. Limited story mode and the usual weak mission design.
Score: 6/10
Formats: PlayStation 3 (reviewed) and Xbox 360

Price: £49.99
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: From Software
Release Date: 27th September 2013
Age Rating: 12
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Games Reviews, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
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