Age of Armor Review: The Game Has Aged

Age of Armor Review: The Game Has Aged
By Vincent Haoson, OnRPG Journalist

Age of Armor is a client based MMORPG from Snail Games. The game follows the story of humanity going against its enhanced counterparts, the enhanced humans and neo humans. Your part in the game's grand scheme of things is to be an armor pilot, the game's version of a robot/mech pilot, of your chosen race and planet.

First Impressions

I am a big mech/robot fan and I was already experienced in playing Exteel so I expected things to be the same with Age of Armor. I was wrong. I expected the controls to be as smooth as that of Exteel's but what greeted me was a mech warrior type control system that turned me off instantly. I thought at first that this would be how the game is played until you reach the later stages but I was proven wrong yet again.

Character screen

Customization

What I liked about Age of Armor is that the game puts emphasison the capabilities of the pilot as much as how well equippedis the vehhicle is. Players can add points at 5 different areas of study which are namely drive, control, scout, defence and attack. Each study has a certain category that you can eventually put points to enhance how your pilot drives. The study system  is very detailed in terms on the things you can invest points in. As your pilot matures and learns, the capabilities of your armor also improves. You can improve how the boosers are used or even how the armor moves. As long as you allocate the proper knowledge points to the proper knowledge category then you're all set.

The study system is partnered with the equipment system of the game. You can in fact equip your mech with more than just the usual hand carried weapons. Your armor  can carry shoulder weapons which add more firepower for your armor. The game's armory is in fact filled with a lot of items you can equip to your armor with but the categories of weapon you can use is limited to the race you chose.

Character Armor

Attributes

Aside from skills and equipment, your pilot also has a stat system where you can allocate points. It follows the traditional stat points system you often find in other MMORPGs but you the allocation is somewhat different. Under normal conditions you can immediately allocate the stat points you have with a click of a mouse, in Age of Armor it literally takes time for your character to get one point.

I don't really know why this was made this way. Though I assume this is more for the benefit of having a "realistic" feel that your character is growing stats-wise due to training. While this kind of stat system is unconventional it is also inconvenient because it keeps the player from releasing the full potential of their character. This forces you to make do with an underpowered character making you reliant on skills and equipments that may seem too underpowered both for PVE and PVP.

Combat

Transformation

Age of Armor has one unique system that I can say is exclusive to AoA. Your armors can transform into a second form. Depending on which race you chose, you can turn your armor into a mechanized animal (enhanced humans), land vehicles (natural humans) and jets (neo humans).

The transformation provides a new set of skills for players to toy around with. They're the enhanced version of your armors and add a whole new way of bringing mechanized pain to the scene. What I liked about the transformation system is that it highlights the importance of choosing your race to how you decide on how to setup your character.

Mech Designs

I liked the armor designs they have on Age of Armor. The first unit I had reminded me of the Eva units of the Evangelion anime. While the armor designs are not really innovative or unique I like how they look even if they aren't as high def as I would've liked (well truth be told, there hasn't been any robot themed MMORPGs that has satisfied that need anyway).

Language Issues

If you have an eye for grammar I have to warn you that the game is full of grammatically incorrect statements both in the NPC texts and the quests. I wouldn't have noticed the sentences but there are times that I found questing really hard because I found it hard to understand where I need to go because the sentences were constructed wrong.

Conclusion

Age of Armor is a game that pales in comparison to the other mech based MMORPGS. In terms of looks the game does look good save for a few problems with the background. The default controls are really awkward specially when you're at the heat of battle and the game's overall theme is a drab and needs an overhaul.

However, the game saves itself with the transformation system because it adds the necessary excitement factor that you will never get in other games of the same genre. Once you get past the initial irritations brought by the above mentioned factors, Age of Armor is an enjoyable game to play. Plus I liked the fact that the quests provide you with buffed up weapons. This actually puts emphasis on players accomplishing quests.

If you're looking for a mecha themed game that's feels like you're piloting a real robot then Age of Armor is the game for you, however if you're the type who prefers to pilot smoothly run mechs then I suggest you go to another game.

Pros:
- The robot designs seem to be right off anime mechas
- Simple and easy to understand gameplay
- IT has a mix of MMORPG elements for both the out of cockpit and in-cockpit moments

Cons:
- Awkward controls
- The animation is choppy and sometimes does not sync with the game
- Dated graphics engine