The Let's Play Archive

Armored Core 2

by ACES CURE PLANES

Part 4: Bonus Update - Human PLUS and Overweight


Bonus Update - Human PLUS and Overweight

So, Human PLUS, the gold standard for cheating AI and slightly cheating players. In the plot, Human PLUS is an operation performed on a subject (willingly or unwillingly) to improve their physical capabilities via cybernetic implants, or even physically making them a part of their ACs in some cases. Usually this comes at the expense of a degree of sanity, and it has a high chance of straight up killing the person. The technology was developed by some unknown party before the Great Destruction, and was eventually unearthed by Murakumo Millennium, one of the first game's corporations

On the gameplay front though, it's a strict improvement, with no worries about suddenly keeling over. (Or the need to be a small cyborg girl but we don't talk about Tower City Blade.) Go about 50k credits into debt and the game will dump you at the start of the game with no credits, all the parts you've had, and a new special ability. Keep going into debt, and you'll keep getting new abilities out of it. The upgrades you can get are:

-Always-active radar
-The ability to fire ranged energy blades when using swords
-Better cooling
-No need to kneel down when using cannon-type weapons
-Halved energy usage
-Doubled energy

And on a different front, there's the Overweight ability, granted by beating every mission in the game (not necessarily getting 100% completion). With it, the game will no longer yell at you for taking an AC out that is way too heavy for its legs or if it's arm joints are being torn out by the weight on them. Between the two, you have what's known as a PLUS Overweight, or PLOW, AC.

PLOW ACs are generally what the game will throw at you in the later arena fights or for bosses in the main game when their AI with a base loadout couldn't hope to stand up to the monstrous murder machine you've become. A means of 'evening the playing field' if you will, if just to throw you a small challenge. Of course, there are certain benefits that opponent ACs have that you'll never even begin to have but that's a different story.