 So as an armored core veteran I can tell you right now if this trailer was your first and only experience with armored core consider yourself caught up because this trailer captures exactly what it was like to play the earlier games growing up. We start out on the radio call. Now in the past generation one pilots were called Ravens, which are basically mercenaries who would work for the highest bidder. Ravens all eventually died out though and were replaced with second generation pilots called Lynx, so it looks like this new generation is called Hounds. The combat zone in armored core is where the mission of operations takes place. Once you are in the combat zone you do not leave until the mission is complete or you're dead. As soon as they enter the combat zone the amount of hostile fire dramatically increases. And something else to notice here is we have a strike team of three pilots and each pilot has a different set of weapons. One long range specialist with missiles, one mid range specialist carrying the firepower and one close quarter specialist with double rifles. We know their rifles because of the tempo and the firing speed of the weapon. Now in this formation the traditional strategy is for the long range guy to attack first and soften up the targets with a barrage of missiles. Then the close range specialist acts as the front line offender to draw away most of the fire in order for the guy with the firepower to drop the payload on the target. In this case it looks like the target is that giant laser weapon in the back. So that was probably the plan going into the mission, but in armored core things never go as planned. Long range guy launches his missile barrage to start the offense. Unfortunately launching the missiles also gives away his position making him the easiest target and the laser into his career immediately. Despite dying really early on he did do his job. The missile barrage continues without him and decimates the facility's front turrets and guns. Which allows his teammates to hop right over the gate without taking constant fire. And once they're in the inner area they trigger a kill zone designed to ambush anyone who makes it through the first line of defenses. So that's when the energy shield gets deployed. It takes as many shots as it can, but he can't avoid everything and he ends up losing his arm before breaking through. Now one question that I got asked was why is he the only one with an energy shield? How come both AC's don't have one? And the answer is because the close range specialist is carrying close range weapons. Close range weapons are very light. The minigun guy on the other hand is carrying a minigun. That's a heavy ass weapon. He literally is heavier and can't move as fast. The pilot probably knew this was one of his AC's weaknesses and that's why he carries a shield. But the close range guy probably knows that he has enough speed to dodge whatever comes his way. Basically he's confident in his piloting abilities to avoid oncoming fire so he doesn't weigh his machine down with an extra shield. Now as this happens he essentially lost his best close range weapon, which was most likely a laser blade. No doubt his original plan was to destroy the main target with his laser blade because that is always one of the most powerful weapons in armored core. The blast knocks him back and slows him down a bit, causing him to fall behind his comrades. But they do not have time to slow down so he activates his over boost to catch up with his team. The mission target is straight ahead and looks like it should be a clear shot and then a massive MT just shows up out of nowhere. This part right here, after you've lost a guy, after you've lost your shields and your fucking arm, this right here is armored core. This is the most armored core experience you could possibly have because this is exactly what happens in the game. Right when you're almost dead barely hanging on from software decides hey this is a great time to just throw a boss at you. And of course you're like wait what the fuck are you serious I don't even have weapons for this but that's what it's like to be a raven. It's never fair, it's never going to be fair and that's your job. The client doesn't care, the client hired you to destroy that laser and you said you would do it so that's what you're going to do or you're going to die trying. Because you can't afford not to get paid and ruin your career because that's all you have. The main pilot barely dodges the massive tank but he loses his back weapons in the process leaving him with only his main weapon left and with no options he immediately retaliates by unloading his payload on the giant new foe. His teammate however upon seeing this immediately knows the minigun guy needs to save his ammo for the main target because he himself as a close range specialist is not equipped with any weapons that can penetrate heavy armor. He knows that if they lose the minigun they lose the mission. And here is where the dynamic of armored core gameplay combat really shows. Close range guy knows the minigun guy has to get to the target and save his ammo. So as soon as the minigun guy starts unloading on the wrong target close range guy boosts straight in front of minigun guy cutting him off and forcing him to stop firing. After getting the minigun guy to stop close range guy immediately starts trying to get the big tanks attention off of the minigun so he gets right in front and jumps directly in the line of sight which does successfully get the tanks attention. The minigun guy upon seeing this takes the opportunity to flank the tank from the blind side and you can see them form a pincer formation from the operators view on the radar. Now this formation probably would have worked but unfortunately the tank was equipped with an energy shotgun. Which is exactly the kind of weapon you would want to have against an AC that is really fast and constantly in your face. Unfortunately because the close range guy willing to put himself in the line of fire at this point there was essentially no way for him to come out of this situation alive. There are some fancy glide maneuvers in order to barely dodge the first shotgun blast but it catches his arm and kills his momentum and with no speed to get away from the second blast which takes out his legs the third shotgun blast comes in and wipes away what's left and he's gone. Now from here the minigun guy still in the tanks blind spot takes the opportunity to close the distance and get too close for the tank to use its weapons. This would have been exactly where the laser blade would have been useful but alas in typical armored core fashion you work with what you got and all he has are his gun and boosters. The tank tries to push him back outside the combat zone or back far enough away for it to use its weapons but the pilot doesn't back down and says f*** it I'm using my gun I don't care what it takes you are going to die and shoves an active burning minigun straight into the cockpit of the tank. And now with all his teammates dead and the tank destroyed he is finally face to face with the objective and with no options and no hesitation he activates his last resort switching his primal armor to assault mode and kamikaze is himself into the target and just like that the mission is over and just like in game there is no celebration no thank you no appreciation. If the pilot didn't die when he wakes up he's going to be in debt and the paycheck he gets will barely cover the cost of the ammunition he used in the mission. If he's lucky he'll have enough for a small order of McDonald's before the rest of his paycheck gets spent on repairs for his machine so he can accept his next mission. This is the life of an AC pilot. Back then when the graphics for the playstation 1 and 2 weren't really up to par this is what it looked like in our heads. So if you are new here and this is your first armored core experience you have come at the right time. From everything I've seen on this trailer you are going to have full armored core experience that all of us had when we were kids except you are going to see it in glorious HD on your first time which I think is amazing so welcome aboard you're one of us now. Hope you guys enjoyed that analysis it was a lot of fun for me and as always hope you have a fantastic day and I'll see you around.