Good For Now

I finished my first playthrough of Armored Core VI and I’m starting the New Game +, with the intention of going for the special ending of the New Game ++ (unless the game becomes unsurmountable hard). Meanwhile, Spider-Man 2 came out this week, the sequel to a game that I absolutely adored when it came out five (!) years ago. I really wanna dive into the new Spider-Man game, especially because the larger map now includes my old neighborhood in Queens, but first: Armored Core.

Over the couple of weeks I’ve been playing it, I’ve found Armored Core to be a game that needs a measure of technical finesse. I’ve gotten better at the game not just through practice, but also by really getting a handle on my main builds (One’s based on the LEGO Stealth Hunter, the other BIONICLE’s Nidhiki. I have a brand). I’m getting better at aiming and working with the way the game handles, to the point where, hey, I think I’m actually pretty good at it. It also means that I’m worried that if I take a big pause and get sucked into Spider-Man 2 (which I absolutely know I will), I’m worried I’ll lose that skill I’ve developed.

Part of playing a video game is learning the way the game works. Part of it are the controls sure, but it’s also very much how things interact. I’m good at Civilization VI because I know how to place districts for maximum yield, I’m good(ish) at Destiny since I know which perks work well with my loadout. But for Armored Core, a lot of comes down to muscle memory and such. Putting it down and coming back to it isn’t like riding a bike, and I get the feeling that picking the game back up in the middle of a playthrough is gonna be a real steep learning curve — and I’ll never get that special ending.

In any case, I’m really enjoying Armored Core, even if sometimes I spend the better part of an hour failing against a boss until I finally beat them. It scratches a good itch and it’s the main thing I’ve been doing in my free time (if the endless posts about it didn’t clue you in). Because, y’know, giant robots, and if I’m only going to be good at this game once, I’m gonna enjoy it for all its worth.