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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
  • JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)Masaru Yamamura
Producer(s)Yasunori Ogura
Programmer(s)Toshimitsu Koyachi
Artist(s)Kozo Maeda
Writer(s)
  • Kazuhiro Hamatani
  • Masaru Yamamura
Composer(s)
SeriesArmored Core
Platform(s)
Release25 August 2023
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon[a] is a mecha-based vehicular combat game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, and part of the Armored Core series. It was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on August 25, 2023. A reboot of the series, the game is set in the distant future on the remote planet Rubicon 3. There, a war erupts between corporations, the government and the remnants of the planet's colonists for control of Coral, a rare and incredibly powerful energy source unique to Rubicon once thought to have been destroyed in a cataclysm. The main character, C4-621, is a cyborg mercenary pilot who, after meeting a Rubiconian named Ayre, influences through their actions what will become of the Coral and Rubicon itself.

The game marked the end of a decade-long series hiatus following the previous game, Armored Core: Verdict Day. It received generally positive reviews from critics and is the highest-selling entry in the series, selling three million copies by July 2024.

Gameplay

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The gameplay in Armored Core VI emphasizes mecha-based vehicular combat. Players in this game take on the role of expert pilots in control of strong mechs known as Armored Cores. The huge flexibility for modification of these mechs with the use of various parts allows players to enhance and sharpen their capabilities.

The option for players to arm their mechs with a range of weaponry is a standout aspect of the game. One on each hand and one on each of the mech's shoulders are available slots for these weapons. The players' broad arsenals grant users strategic freedom as they participate in combat.

The arena concept from the game's predecessors remains in place and appears through a "combat aptitude evaluation program." Players engage notable NPC mechs in a combat simulation, and earn "OS Tuning" chips which allow for certain abilities and upgrades to be unlocked. Additionally, players may engage each other through online play in 1-v-1 or 3-v-3 matches; initially, only private lobbies were available, but ranked matchmaking was added in a later update.

The in-game currency, credits, is awarded to players that complete missions successfully. The amount of credits earned for these missions is influenced by the several factors, which include bonuses for completing additional objectives as well as expenditures for repairs and ammunition costs.

Armored Core VI did away the debt system from earlier games in the series, which caused players to lose money as tasks fail. This time, players have the ability to attempt missions as many times as they want with no concern for lost currency.

Plot

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Setting

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Armored Core VI is set in a future where humanity has developed an interstellar civilization. On the frontier planet of Rubicon 3, a substance called Coral was discovered that could be used as both an energy source and a data conduit. Coral was hailed as the key to humanity's technological advancement, but instead it caused a cataclysmic event known as the Fires of Ibis, which engulfed the planet and the surrounding star system in flames and left behind a lethal contaminant. All Coral in existence was thought to have been consumed by the disaster. Fifty years later, however, signs of Coral are once again detected on Rubicon 3. Corporations flock to exploit the planet and control the Coral, heedless of the cost and harm to the inhabitants, and mercenaries follow to profit from the conflict. The player is an augmented human designated "C4-621" who is in servitude to an infamous handler named Walter, and fights as an Armored Core pilot on the promise of earning a new life by taking on mercenary jobs.[1]

Story

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After illegally landing on Rubicon 3, C4-621 steals the license of a deceased mercenary and assumes their call sign: "Raven". With the new identity, Raven inserts themselves into the war raging on Rubicon's surface between the megacorporations Balam Industries and Arquebus Corp, the anti-corporation Rubicon Liberation Front (RLF), and the Planetary Closure Administration (PCA), who are all racing to find or protect the Coral. During numerous battles, Raven ends up befriending V.IV Rusty, an elite AC pilot working for Arquebus's Vespers unit; "Cinder" Carla, leader of RaD, an organization of black-market arms dealers; and G1 Michigan, the leader of Balam's Redgun unit, who treats Raven as an honorary member. They occasionally provide assistance directly or through comms. In addition, Raven encounters G5 Iguazu, a Redgun AC pilot who envies Raven's exploits and develops a one-sided rivalry with them; and V.II Snail, the leader of Arquebus's Vespers, who looks down on Raven due to Raven's supposed inferior augmentations.

At Walter's bidding, Raven destroys a PCA "Watchpoint" used to monitor Coral, but is unexpectedly caught in a Coral surge. This causes them to make telepathic "Contact" with a Rubiconian named Ayre, who helps Raven escape alive. In the wake of the surge, Walter detects Coral converging on the Central Ice Field, suggesting a massive deposit hidden there. Raven heads there to investigate, followed by Balam and Arquebus, but they are stymied by the PCA, who send their military forces and recovered Coral superweapons known as "C-Weapons" to suppress the corporations. Faced with the threat of the PCA, Balam and Arquebus form an impromptu alliance, and direct Raven to weaken the PCA by attacking them directly. The PCA's trump card, the Ice Worm, goes out of control and is destroyed by the corporate alliance. Soon after, Ayre reveals to Raven that she is actually an extraterrestrial rather than a human colonist, one of many formless, wave-based beings created by mutations in the Coral flow.

After crippling losses, the PCA are forced to withdraw from Rubicon. Without a common enemy, Balam and Arquebus resume hostilities and the three-way war between them and the RLF continues, though Arquebus quickly gains the upper hand by reverse-engineering PCA technology. Meanwhile, Walter sends Raven to explore an underground facility, Watchpoint Alpha, and discovers the ruins of Institute City, the site of the Coral deposit and the Vascular Plant, a megastructure created to extract Coral and send it into space. G1 Michigan is killed by Arquebus forces while trying to capture the Watchpoint, causing Balam to withdraw from Rubicon. Their dominance solidified, Arquebus forces led by V.II Snail seize Institute City and capture Raven, with Walter's fate unknown. Carla helps Raven escape, explaining that she and Walter were part of a group called Overseer, dedicated to stopping a doomsday scenario where Coral expanded exponentially into space. Carla has Raven help her commandeer the Xylem, a massive colony ship, putting it on a collision course with the Vascular Plant to completely annihilate any surviving Coral.

Raven faces a moral choice that determines which of two alternate endings the player will obtain. If Raven chooses to side with Carla, Ayre breaks off relations with them. Raven breaks the Arquebus blockade around the Vascular Plant and is forced to kill Rusty, who is actually fighting for the RLF. Ayre then attempts to stop the Xylem by taking control of Rubicon's orbital defense satellites and an unmanned Institute mech. Raven is forced to confront Ayre directly, and destroys her. The Xylem successfully rams the Vascular Plant and ignites the Coral stored within, creating an apocalyptic firestorm later dubbed the "Fires of Raven". In the aftermath, Raven's survival is left uncertain, while the PCA and corporations abandon Rubicon, the planet having been completely scoured of all life. In a recording left by Walter, he congratulates Raven for fulfilling his last wishes.

If Raven chooses to side with Ayre, they attack Carla while her forces are distracted repelling Arquebus. Carla is killed, but this triggers a failsafe program to lock in the Xylem's course. Ayre then tasks Raven with sabotaging the Xylem to cause it to crash harmlessly in the ocean. She also sends a request for assistance to the RLF, who rise up en masse to overthrow Arquebus. Rusty joins forces with Raven, and they manage to disable the Xylem's generators and ramjet engines. Rusty destroys the Arquebus blockade, while Raven kills V.II Snail. Walter, now under Arquebus mind control, arrives in his own Institute AC, killing Rusty and attacking Raven. Raven defeats Walter and narrowly escapes the Xylem before it crashes. Ayre thanks Raven for protecting both the Coral and Rubicon, though exactly how humanity and Coral can coexist remains uncertain.

A third, secret ending is available only after both previous endings were unlocked. In it, the mercenary support AI ALLMIND recruits Raven into the Coral Release Project, which seeks to achieve symbiosis between Coral and humans and forcibly evolve humanity. To further it, ALLMIND directs Raven to sabotage the corporations. Raven also kills the RLF's founder, Thumb Dolmayan, who once plotted to enact Coral Release alongside the wave-mutation Seria, but now deeply fears its drastic, permanent effects on the human race and compares it to "casting the die". Preventing Raven's capture in Institute City, ALLMIND seizes control of the Institute's weapons to slaughter the corporate forces. Walter and Carla commandeer the Xylem in a last-ditch attempt, but are also eliminated with Raven's help. With Raven's role complete, it is revealed that the AC pilots that died were mentally uploaded into a gestalt intelligence as part of Coral Release. ALLMIND attempts to assimilate Raven and Ayre into itself by dispatching Iguazu, now merged with a powerful Institute AC. Iguazu usurps ALLMIND's control to kill Raven, but is defeated once and for all. ALLMIND surrenders control of Coral Release to Raven and Ayre, who initiate it themselves. Coral spreads throughout the universe, while a symbiotically linked Raven and Ayre wake up on a distant planet, activating their AC alongside numerous others.

Development

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In September 2016, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki mentioned that a new entry in the Armored Core series was in early development.[2] In January 2022, the development of a potential new installment of the Armored Core series was leaked due to a focus test.[3] The game was formally announced at The Game Awards 2022 in December.[1] Armored Core VI was directed by Masaru Yamamura, his debut in the role after being a lead game designer on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. He took over from Miyazaki, who led development initially.[1] Yasunori Ogura was the game's producer.[4][5] Many FromSoftware staff members wanted to develop a new entry in the series but had to wait in order to properly allocate resources into the project. In 2018, the game entered prototyping, with Yamamura taking over as director once the gameplay was set in stone.[6]

Kota Hoshino served as the lead composer of the game. During development, Hoshino was given keywords by Yamamura in order to set the game's tone and evoke a "sense of loneliness and nostalgia." Hoshino was given freedom when it came to composition based on the keywords, with tracks being adjusted according to the game's flow.[7] Additional music was composed by Takashi Onodera and Shoi Miyazawa.[8]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[9][10][11]

Sales

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In Japan, the PlayStation 5 version of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon sold 115,393 physical copies, making it the best-selling retail game during its first week of release in the country. The PlayStation 4 version sold 47,949 physical copies, making it the second best-selling retail game in Japan throughout the same week.[28] The PC, PS4, and PS5 versions sold a total of 700,000 units in Japan.[29] By July 2024, the game had sold three million copies.[30]

Awards

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Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2023 Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated [31]
Best Storytelling Nominated
PlayStation Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2023 Best Action Game Won [32]
2024 13th New York Game Awards Big Apple Award for Game of the Year Nominated [33][34]
27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Action Game of the Year Nominated [35][36]
Japan Game Awards 2024 Award for Excellence Won [37]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: アーマード・コアVI ファイアーズオブルビコン, Hepburn: Āmādo Koa Shikkusu Faiāzu obu Rubikon

References

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  1. ^ a b c Romano, Sal (8 December 2022). "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  2. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (21 September 2016). "Miyazaki Gives Clear Answers On The Future Of Dark Souls, Armored Core". Kotaku. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  3. ^ Blake, Vikki (9 January 2022). "A new Armored Core game is reportedly in development". GamesRadar. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. ^ "【AC6】『アーマードコア6』 '台北ゲームショウ2023' で小倉プロデューサーのインタビュー映像を公開。" [[AC6] Armored Core 6 Interview video of producer Ogura released at 'Taipei Game Show 2023'.]. Famitsu (in Japanese). 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ^ Bailey, Kat (12 December 2022). "Exclusive: The First Armored Core 6 Details With Hidetaka Miyazaki and Masaru Yamamura". IGN. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  6. ^ "【AC6】『アーマードコア6』山村D＆小倉Pロングインタビュー。シリーズの新たな一歩を飾る最新作、スリリングな戦闘を実現するゲームシステムの詳細が明らかに！" [[AC6] Armored Core 6 Yamamura D. & Ogura P. Long Interview. The details of the game system that realizes thrilling battles, the latest work that marks a new step in the series, have been revealed!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). 27 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. ^ Fenlon, Wes (26 July 2023). "Despite the intense action, FromSoftware wants Armored Core 6 to have a 'dark old sci-fi feel' with a 'sense of loneliness and nostalgia'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  8. ^ FromSoftware (25 August 2023). Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Bandai Namco Entertainment. Scene: Credits.
  9. ^ a b "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  12. ^ Carter, Chris (23 August 2023). "Review: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon". Destructoid. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  13. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon review: FromSoftware's latest could use a tune-up". Digital Trends. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  14. ^ Ellis, Caelyn (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon review - a triumphant return for the venerable mecha series". Eurogamer. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  15. ^ ローリング内沢; ウワーマン; ジゴロ☆芦田; 本間ウララ (1 December 2023). "ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON（アーマード・コアVI ファイアーズオブルビコン". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 December 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Trinske, Connor (23 August 2023). "Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon Review - A Well-Oiled Machine". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  17. ^ Wakeling, Richard (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Review - Mechlike". GameSpot. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  18. ^ Wood, Austin (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6 review: "Left me wanting more even after beating it twice"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  19. ^ Saltzman, Mitchell (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Review". IGN. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  20. ^ Brown, Andy (23 August 2023). "'Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon' review: sparks fly in this sci-fi thrill". NME. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  21. ^ Fenlon, Wes (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  22. ^ Farrell, Andrew (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6 review – the ultimate mech game". PCGamesN. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  23. ^ Zamora, Gabriel (23 August 2023). "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon". PCMag. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  24. ^ Croft, Liam (23 August 2023). "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  25. ^ Denzer, TJ (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon review: Burns so good". Shacknews. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  26. ^ Broadwell, Josh (23 August 2023). "Armored Core 6 review: Wading in the Rubicon". VG247. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  27. ^ Cattanach, Finlay (24 August 2023). "Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon review – The fires of Armored Core burn bright again". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  28. ^ Romano, Sal (31 August 2023). "Famitsu Sales: 8/21/23 – 8/27/23 [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  29. ^ Kennedy, Victoria (2 November 2023). "Elden Ring DLC "proceeding smoothly", as FromSoftware looks to expand its publishing scope". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  30. ^ Romano, Sal (25 July 2024). "Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon shipments and digital sales top three million". Gematsu. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  31. ^ Loveridge, Sam (10 November 2023). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 winners". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  32. ^ Stewart, Marcus (27 October 2023). "Here Are The Nominees For The Game Awards 2023". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  33. ^ McEvoy, Sophie (5 January 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 leads New York Games Awards 2024 nominations". Gameindustry.biz. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  34. ^ McEvoy, Sophie (24 January 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 wins big at New York Game Awards 2024". Games Industry.biz.
  35. ^ "27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  36. ^ Chandler, Sam (15 February 2024). "The D.I.C.E. Awards 2024 winners & finalists". Shacknews. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  37. ^ "【日本ゲーム大賞2024】年間作品部門大賞は 「ゼルダの伝説　ティアーズ オブ ザ キングダム」 （任天堂株式会社）". PR Times (in Japanese). 26 September 2024.
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