In this edition of Gaming Under the Rising Sun, we ll look at seven metal-crunching import PS2 titles and give you a rundown on each. AC2 puts you in the thirty-ton powered exoskeleton of a mercenary mech pilot. You start with a fairly unimpressive array of weapons, but completing jobs or defeating other pilots in arena combat earns you cash with which to upgrade your machine. There is a huge variety of weapons and parts with which players can customize their mechs. The TPS action is fast and fierce, making this a good choice for shooter fans as well as mech freaks.
Environments are big and well-designed.
The gameplay is pretty open ended allowing players to chose missions as they please from a pool of job offers. The ability to completely rebuild your mech from the ground up gives this title loads of replay value too. AC2 uses the d-pad for movement, and the shoulder buttons to look up and down. While the mechs respond pretty well, it s just hard to get accurate control with the d-pad and weapons that must be aimed manually are nearly worthless if the target is above or below you since aiming quickly with the shoulder buttons is impossible. Analog control would have added a lot to this title.