ACE really needs to have a balancing system for player vs player battles, because a lot of the mecha in the game are just so freaking horribly broken. There's no point in having the Layzner go up against the Wing Gundam Zero, for example. That's essentially the complaint I have with A.C.E. (which I've played only as player versus player). Sure, it lets you play your favorite mecha, but often the mecha aren't even in the same league with each other.
Plus, I really get ticked off when someone uses A.C.E. as a reason NOT to watch an Anime. The way friends of mine go: "Oh, Layzner sucks in A.C.E.2, the anime must be crap too." really cheeses me off.
If they put Code Geass in there, I would EXPECT them to put in Gasaraki and Votoms as well, seeing that they're the two series whose mecha would be in the same general class as Geass' Knightmare Frames (Oh, and I'd LOVE to try using a ScopeDog against the Lancelot and win, for bragging rights).
Fixes needed for a new A.C.E.:
1.) Make it for the PS3 or X360, at least so that more sprites can be handled with better quality. A.C.E. 3 on PS2 had dissapointing lack of detail with the environments due to the limitations of it's hardware. The Urban fights felt like something out of that old mecha game Tsunami (i.e. cardboard cutout, didn't feel like a city). I'd like city fights to feel like city fights, forest fights to feel like such, etc. etc. And obviously in a way that it feels different if you go in the stage as a small mecha (like a Knightmare Frame) or as a bigger, Mobile Suit sized machine.
2.) Brand-New Engine. The Armored Core Engine is good, but trying to make it emulate pretty much any kind of robot in Anime is a little bit iffy. I think half of the game imbalance comes from this.
3.) Work harder on the Banpresto Originals. I mean, seriously, make us actually LIKE playing as them, don't make them overpowered or underpowered, make them unique, and for God's sake don't give them something stupid like Giant Drills for finishing weapons.
4.) If they're going to reboot the franchise, as much as fans love SRW/ACE mashing up the stories of a dozen different mecha shows into one, I think that it's better for the writers to come up with a completely original, different story. So that it doesn't feel like the story's something tacked together just to make the gameplay. At risk of being stoned to death, they could probably take a page from Kamen Rider DeCaDe and involve different dimensions for each.
5.) Player VS Player game balance, like I mentioned at the start. This is solely for the concern of people playing against each other. Implementing a system like the Gundam VS games (i.e. you have a cost meter that determines how many times you can respawn--both start with equal cost but different mecha) woudl work. At least so that fighting an obviously superior mecha isn't hopelessly and sadistically pointless.
