It’s been 20 years since the Earth Government and the Corporations duked it out in AC2. An AI unit known as ‘The Controller’ now runs every aspect of the world. The company Global Cortex has hired all the Ravens (ACs for hire) to carry out missions – 50 in all. Missions range from destroying all enemies, to defending and disarming. Global Cortex has very specific objectives, and you aren’t really sure why the company wants these certain tasks done. The story is slowly revealed after each complete mission through emails received in the mailbox.

New to AC3 is the option to buy a wingman for each mission. Better wingman cost more but can help you out on crucial missions. If the heat is too hot you can even hire two wingmen. Wingman AI is pretty good. There are times when enemies use a pincer strategy and the consort usually gets things done. You can even drop pieces of the AC if you think it’s holding you down in combat. There’s a cool new 4-player versus mode where you and three friends can share the screen to battle it out with loaded, customized ACs. The iLink link-up feature is still available, but the split screen is much more practical.

The AC3 interface is fantastic. Each sector – garage, mission, arena, mail, system – are accessed in a ring-style. Each subsequent sub-menu is very easy to navigate through and makes doing exactly what you want a breeze. The only complaint is that upgrade parts don’t have the best descriptions.

You can make the same customizations in AC3 that you could in AC2. Aside from the usual mech upgrades – head, core, legs, arms, booster, etc., players can change the color of their visual display, change the AI voice gender in your AC, add emblems, edit AC color, and more. For technical freaks the actual upgrade parts are varied, but perform the same functions.

Play is almost exactly like AC2. The mech can be controlled by Dual Shock analog this time, but it still isn’t true analog, i.e. even if you nudge forward you still walk at full speed. Turning is a bit faster and gets better if you upgrade boosters right away. The mech still feels a bit clunkier than it should. The use of the right analog to look around would make it much more intuitive to tag enemies at all sides.

The visuals remain largely the same in AC3. There is a bit more detail in environments (in a tunnel you can see the city through sky windows). ACs look every bit as detailed as before. The lack in visual upgrades isn’t a big deal since AC2 looked great to begin with at 60fps. Action can get pretty hectic and there hasn’t been a hint of slowdown. There are more organic environments – forest, wasteland, snow – that are all pretty to look at, though the draw distance isn’t too far.

Armored Core 3 is an upgrade sequel. The wingman and 4-players versus are great new additions. There’s more of everything that you’ve come to expect from the series, but nothing revolutionary.