14 DAY TRIAL // From Software, the company best known for creating the hardcore role playing and action mixes of Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, is now working on Armored Core V and the mech combat titles is set to benefit from the developer’s newfound fame.
Peter Oliver, who is the United Kingdom public relations representative for Namco Bandai, told VG247, that, “Certainly, fame in recent years has risen with Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls and has pushed it into the consciousness of the mainstream much more so than any of its previous titles, especially in the UK.
“I’d hope some of those people might approach Armored Core because of this.”
He added, “There probably hasn’t been a really great, all-round mech title on this generation of hardware. Chromehounds had a really great multiplayer and I think a lot of people hoped that Front Mission Evolved might fill the void, but it didn’t really.
“Armored Core V may well get extra attention because it’s by FromSoftware, but I think it’ll be recognized as just being a really great game.”
It many ways the mech combat genre is ready for an experience that borrows something from Dark Souls, a certain inclination towards a hardcore crowd and mechanics that reveal themselves gradually.
Armored Core V will apparently abandon the story told in the fourth game in the series and its expansion and will try to return to the roots of the series.
Players will need to rely on the layout of the battlefield in order to succeed in battles, both single player and multiplayer, and buildings as cover will be more important than ever.
Armored Core V will be launched in North America on March 20 and three days later in Europe on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.
From Software has recently said that a PC port of Dark Souls will happen only if Namco Bandai decides the decision makes commercial sense.