The graphics in Armored Core: Master of Arena were wonderful... back when the first Armored Core came out. I stared in disbelief when I realized that the graphics engine practically hadn’t changed (as I never played Project Phantasma). I even dug out my copy of the original game and compared them. Yup, they’re the same. Sure, the menus are a little slicker, and when you go on a sortie, there’s a description of where you’re going now instead of the old throbbing ‘Now Loading,’ but we’re not talking vast improvements. Seams are visible in many of the floors and ceilings of the game. The graphics hurt.

The sound is identical to the first game as well. The Raven’s Nest music is the exact same, and the combat music itself is very similar. Luckily, this isn’t a bad thing -- A.C. had good, groovin’ tunes. The weapon sound effects are still as tinny as ever, although they’re not all that terrible.

AC: MOA looks like the early-generation game that the original one is. This could spell disaster...

Fortunately, it plays just like the first one, and that’s a definite Good Thing(tm). Sure, there’re a few more parts for your Armored Core (what the mecha in this game are called), but only real completists will notice that. What you will find in Master of Arena are a whole lot of new missions for you to go on, and a few spiffy additions to the Arena that make the game even more fun.

For those that haven’t played either of the first two games (shame!), in Armored Core, you pilot an extremely-customizable robot and get hired to go on missions with various goals, from killing all the enemies to protecting things and more. Much of the plot (such that it is) is revealed in these missions and through mail that you receive as the game progresses. At the Raven’s Nest, you can equip you’re A.C. with any parts you have, buy new ones -- everything from heads to bodies to legs are customizable, and you can basically style your A.C. just how you like it -- sign up for missions, and now go to the Extra Arena and make your own Arena ladders.

These two additions are the main change in the game, but since they require a disk swap, I have a feeling that not many people will really use them. The Ex Arena is basically a way to do arena battles without having them affect the plot, so you can just blow up other A.C.s to your heart’s content. They’re based on what sort of legs the A.C.s have. In Ranker Mk, you can create your own arena ladders with A.C.s you’ve made or saved, adjust their A.I., and then fight them. These are really more for the fans of the original games that are looking for a little something extra than those who just want to play the game. They’re not necessary, but they are pretty fun.

Armored Core: Master of Arena is a fun game, don’t get me wrong. But it’s been done before, with the same name and engine.

The missions start out pretty simple (although the first one is almost painfully long, especially when you’ve forgotten how to open doors), but they get fiendishly difficult later in the game. You’ll have to stay on top of upgrades, and since every time you get hit in battle you end up having to pay for the repairs, you’ll find yourself playing a very defensive game at times. Some of the Arena battles are insanely difficult, but most of the ones that are have nothing to do with the plot.

Yes, it has vibrate functionality. But where’s my analog pad!? Agetec/From have this thing about using shoulder buttons to look up and down instead of the analog pads (see the entire King’s Field series and Shadow Tower, along with the other Armored Cores), and it gets really frustrating. Moving with one and looking around with the other would be a vast control improvement. But we toughed through the sometimes pissy controls in the first game, and Master of Arena is the same. The game itself is great, once you stop grumbling about the control scheme.

Like I said before, Armored Core: Master of Arena is a great game. If you’ve never played the Armored Core series before, by all means, pick it up. True fans of the series will want to pick it up too, for the Arena battles and the continuation of the plot. But those who just ‘liked’ the first game may want to stay away -- there’s nothing too original here.