I've been a long-time fan of the Armored Core franchise, and have played Armored Core V off and on for quite some time, in spite of many problems which hold it back from greatness.
Because of my enjoyment of the game, and in spite of its obvious flaws, I've been following Verdict Day closely. There are still some grey areas and unanswered questions (most importantly, will there be region restrictions-), but the majority of serious problems with ACV look like they're being fixed this time around.
Graphically, it doesn't seem to be stepping things up – or at least not by much. But in the grand scheme of things, you can custom design 128-layer emblems and plaster them all over your custom-built and custom-painted mech, and fight with or against up to 10 players in a battle, 8 of whom will also be piloting their own machines with their own unique paint and emblem/decal customisations, as well as their own unique selection of parts, many of which can also be uniquely customised. The extra 2 players are “Operators” who play a more RTS-like role, and while they can have their own AC design, all that other players will see of an Operator is their emblem.
One major complaint that's been leveled against Armore Core V is the matchmaking, with particular focus on the Conquest game mode. From Software have taken cues from one of their own older titles in resolving the problems here. Much like their classic Chromehounds, the online component of Verdict Day will revolve around a 3-faction war, with players creating our own teams and aligning ourselves with one of these factions. The matchmaking itself has been revamped, although few details are available about this, and there's no confirmation of whether there will still be the same strict region lock that's in place for ACV.
Gameplay-wise, there will be – as with every Armored Core sequel – some rebalancing of weapons, but the core gameplay should stay mostly the same. While it isn't the same kind of fast pacing as most shooters and twitch-based action games, Armored Core offers a tactical approach to combat that very few other games can provide. ACV doesn't reach the slow-and-steady pace of the MechWarrior games, but it's closer to that end of the spectrum than it is to Zone of the Enders.
The series has always emphasised customisation, and ACV and Verdict Day follow this rule. It's possible to build an objectively bad AC, but at the same time, there are MANY ways to build one that's great, and there are a wide range of not only viable, but highly effective playstyles. There are heavy tanks built to simply soak up damage, light bipedal designs tht can speed through the map and spin 180 degrees at a moment's notice, as well as reverse-jointed ACs that can leap into the air and stay above their enemies while bouncing from wall to wall.
I've read a lot of reviews that claimed Armored Core V had “clunky” controls. In almost every case, this boils down to one of 3 factors:
- Terrible piloting and an unwillingness to read instructions and learn to play.
- Terrible AC design (understandable when you get handed a piece of junk to start with, but not so much when you've been playing for any length of time).
- Failure to take advantage of the excellent control remapping. Seriously, you can reassign anything to almost anywhere.
Every one of these “problems” can be solved by reading information provided within the game, or by actually having the patience to play it for more than 5 minutes before giving up.