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The New Coke moment at NAMCO: Take a winning formula and screw it up! Why take a risk with a winning formula? Why try to fix something that is not broken? If you have a new idea, why not produce a new game with that new idea and leave the winning stuff alone? Very elementary Mr. Watson!
First off, I was expecting Ace Combat.. the well known, true and tested success story. But bigger and better. With more aircrafts, with more missions, better online play, better graphics and sounds, better replay options... More aircraft carrier landings, more team work. more options of how to play the game ., solo or team work. a better and mature Ace Combat. I Got none of this..instead I got a new game that seems like a dumbed down version Hawk/Apache.
The impact Ace Combat for the PS2 had on me was amazing. I loved the AC in PS2 and then I went on to MS flight sim..and then got my Pvt Pilot license for real. I went on to get my Multi engine Rating and trained in Trail draggers (Citaberia and American decathlon). I even got to fly some old WW II aircrafts (Steerman) for real.. All because of Ace Combat on PS2 that started it all.
Then these blokes signed on to MS on Xbox and dumped us. Now, after all these, I was all excited about the AC series coming back to PS3.
Last night I played with it for a couple of hrs...and today I did the same for a couple of hrs and my initial impression is one of disappointment.
The initial mission and campaign was just drudgery of point shoot, turn, point shoot... turn point shoot. What about the thrill of flying an aircraft? Where is that? None. I felt like I was flying a giant air balloon or something. Yes. Yes, this was after maximizing the sensitivity to its max of 3 (Sensitivity level 1,2, 3..ooooh, how thrilling). There is no feel of flying an aircraft... it's like flying a lethargic bi plane.... this is a big booboo! It's totally unacceptable for something titled "Ace Combat". Anyway, after a while I was reading some blog on my laptop and totally tuned out of it.
The closeup, shoot out on rail mode (DFM Dog Fighting? Really) did not add anything.. It was basically, handing over the aircraft to an autopilot or an invisible gerbil in your pocket to fly the plane...sort off. IT doesn't exactly take over the flying 100%, you have to move the controls 30% by yourself..so not exactly sure who is in control...or who the Pilot in command is here. It's you and the gerbil in your pocket having the controls at the same time sometimes and then the movie mode where you have no control at all sometimes., while you also take over the guns... and then it was just a closeup of the enemy aircraft breakup. Why not put this as part of the replay like in the old AC on PS2. So by pressing L2 R2, it takes you away from what you are doing..that is flying. Then when the gerbil is flying the aircraft half and half,, on a whim it suddenly gets out of that DFM mode and lets go of the controls you are thinking the gerbil still has got the control... you then realize you now need to fly the plane again. Imagine doing this every few seconds while you have so many air crafts firing at you. Is is fun or what? The supposedly eye candy gets boring after the initial blast.. all other blasts seem the same with some oil stuck on your windshield.
I have seen the improvement of GT5 (Grand Turismo) on PS3 and its amazing online play ... so my expectation for AC on PS3 was high. GT5 is also constantly updating with new racing stuff and continues to delight us. The best game on PS3 by far is the GT5. Its a gift that keeps on giving. Now, imagine if Bob from Spec-B in GT5 is mixed in with Spec-A. Imagine, you are racing and when you get very close to the other car, you have to give control to Bob from Spec B, who would then do a bunch of maneuvers on his own so you can enjoy the alleged eye candy crash and then all off a sudden Spec-B Bob hands you the controls for you to continue, possibly at the worst moment when you are between two buildings or towers and then you are not exactly sure if the Bob/Gerbil has the control or you.... and this happens every few seconds. Oh the thrill of it all. Oh Lord! LOL Hee Hee... That's what this is like folks.
I then tried online. I was clueless as to what was going on. I just flew around a bit and get out of it. The whole Menu was amateurish... it was like the 80s Apple IIe game play menu. I have no idea, how far I am into the game. 1% or 25%? Where is the overall picture of this game? This is like a blind man walking around the room feeling each part as he moves around. I cannot know where everything is and choose and go where I want to. Someone in NAMCO Thought that would be part of the thrill of this game? Really?
The first chopper campaign,.., WTF? I am a gunner.. not flying the chopper.. just blowing stuff up. IF I wanted blowing stuff up, I would have bought a First person shooting game which I loathe.
NAMCO needs to give us a major update that would give us our AC and take back the first person shoot em up and the new cartoon storyboard that sucks!
This review is not based on finishing the entire game.. its based on very initial stage of it.
I suspect this is how the meeting went at NAMCO
1) The new team boss: Whelp! We have had success before. We raked in a lot of money for the customers who were very happy to give us their money for which, we gave them what they were looking for. However, this time, I have brought in some marketing consultant who is going to tell us, how to make even more money. So here is our Marketing dude ,,,,,
2) Marketing dude at NAMCO: Well, we have established credibility with our AC series... so no matter what we put out, they are going to get to the store on the first day and get the new AC just based on reputation. Our marketing research shows that First person shoot out is doing very well and makes lot more money than our AC series... so we are planning to do a Bait and switch. Give them a first person shootout instead of flying around which shooting folks don't care about. This way, we can fool the flying folks into buying this in the first week and rake in their share of the dough and then go on to bring in the Shoot em up folks as well.. This way, we can rake in a lot of money
3) The old AC team member: But But, can't we give them another game for the shoot em up and not call it Ace Combat? this way, we can have an updated Ace Combat + a new game for shoot em up.
4) Nah! that makes way too much sense for me. So we are going with our plan of Bait and Switch! Took out the flying and replaced it with first person shooting to please the ground-pounders.
5) The usual sycophant suckup in the office: I so agree with management here. Good decision sirs. In fact, I would suggest that you go one step further and try to bring the Pokemon crowd as well to make even more money. Lets add Pokemon to the flight crew as well in the next version!
So there you have it folks! Next version for the Pokemon crowd with PS "Move"..where you stretch both your arms and go weeeeeee around your living room.... and you can fly the aircraft this way. Pffffft!
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I've played every Ace Combat and this one is a waste of my time. The new Dogfight Mode (DFM) eliminates the need for skilled piloting. When you are close enough to the enemy, you can hit your controller bumpers and the plane goes into an autopilot dogfight on rails. During DFM you attempt to lock-on with a missile or shoot your opponent down with guns. I want to fly the plane, not ride it like a taxi. Also, the shift to the real world, oppose to the Eurasia Ace Combat universe added nothing to a fairly boring story. Also, the typical Ace Combat surreal super weapon (Jet Super Fortress, Island Attack Base, Death Star Run) was not there. You end up fighting something that we could actually have right now. The helicopter, AC-130 and Blackhawk gunner levels were unnecessary. All the imagination and surprise is gone from this iteration. I'm not into Online Multi-Player so I have no opinion on that. Buy every Ace Combat, but this one.Buy Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Now
This game tries too hard to be action packed.It forces you to follow invincible planes to through scripted paths so they can die in a dramatic fashion.
The 3rd person camera sucks (cockpit view is better)
The new attack chopper levels/on rails minigun levels are not fun at all.
I hear some people enjoy this game but I am just not having fun with it. Every mission feels like a chore.
Ace combat is one of my favorite series, and I am saddened that this is what will probably be the either last Ace Combat game on a home console, or the format of other Ace Combats to come.
Read Best Reviews of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Here
I played this game and actually really liked it. I wasn't planning on writing a review because I don't have too much experience with flight games, but I felt compelled to after seeing lots of hate online.I'll start off by saying that one of my favorite games as a kid was Air Combat on the PS1 which I beat countless times. Many years later, I played Ace Combat X (PSP) which I also greatly enjoyed despite it having a short and bizarre story. I also at some time played Flight Simulator X which I found boring after the first hour. I'm a fan of flying around, customizing my plane and weaponry based on the mission, and blowing enemies out of the air, not necessarily having the realism of accurately pressing every button in the cockpit. And that's exactly what you'll get from this game.
** Let me just say this flat-out: IF YOU GET THIS GAME, DONT EXPECT FLIGHT SIMULATOR X REALISM **
It seems like people online were expecting a further level of realism and that was the biggest complaint about the game. There is an option to turn on advanced controls, but the learning curve even for those isn't very long. The game is easily accessible, but that could be a con for seasoned Ace Combat vets.
This game has many fun dogfights and flying around is a blast. From doing loops in the air to get behind your opponent to trying to get a lock on a turning bogey, the game is great. It's really fun just to fly up into the air and then nose dive down toward the city to swoop in behind an enemy for the kill. And of course, I always have to DO A BARREL ROLL in every fight. Swerving around faster than the speed of sound to line up shots is the best part of the game.
The story is OK, but not more than what you would expect from a typical FPS game really it's just there to give you a reason (or excuse) to be shooting at something. Much of the fights take place in Africa a few years into the future, so the game feels very modern and real in that sense. The graphics are really impressive and filled with gorgeous 'splosions, especially in the cities. Everything from the audio department sounded fine too.
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CONCLUSION
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I think the best metaphor for the feel of this game is a contemporary FPS. This Call of Duty-esque aesthetic gives you fun gameplay and the framework for strong multiplayer for a wide audience. Unfortunately, this usually entails bringing in a weak story with an arcade style game that lacks realism. You'll most likely have loads of fun playing the game but for the most part it's a superficial, shallow experience. If you want to have a good time, go ahead and this game I'm sure you'll like the gameplay. If you want a story driven game or something to take away after putting down the controller, look elsewhere. Overall, I'd say this is a very fun game to play and there's always something very satisfying about maneuvering through the air and lighting up bogeys.
To sum it all up:
PROS:
Fun Gameplay
Competitive Online
Great Graphics
CONS:
Weak Story
Could be a pro or con depending on your perspective:
Aracade-Like
* Makes the game more accessible and easy to play by "dumbing" down the controls for flying *
Want Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Discount?
As a huge fan of the previous Ace Combat games, this game is a severe disappointment, to the point, I stopped playing 2/3rds of the way through and stopped. It took most of the things that used to work well and changed them, but didn't bother fixing any of the older problems, creating a game that is as far from the "original" AC games as the new Stars Wars movies are from the original trilogy.To give a concise summary of the game, it seems like a failed and desperate attempt to be a HAWX clone, rather than a fitting member of the original franchise that HAWX itself is a clone of.
More detailed however, the most glaring problem with the game is that you have to play it exactly a certain way. If you want to succeed in air to air combat, you have to use the new DFM system; if you want to accomplish the ground assault missions, you have to use their new ground attack system. There's no thinking though things, it's simply playing the game the way the developer wants you to play it, not the way you want to. Even getting away from attacking planes requires you to use their new "counter-move" system.
Even beyond that, this game is flawed, suffering from incompetent wingmen to enemies with a serious "every enemy wants to attack you" problem. Unlike AC6 where you could direct your wingmen to cover you or attack your target, there's nothing here to control your wingmen. Have a guy on your tail and you're having trouble shaking him? Tough luck, you're on your own.
Essentially, any air-to-air mission will result in good amount of trying to dodge missiles while wondering why your wingman is off flying in circles. The only time I ever noticed any allied plane taking out a target was during cinematics (and there are oh so many of them).
This wouldn't be a problem as the friendly AI in AC6 wasn't very good, but it's an issue when you spend 5 minutes of every mission just flying around in circles trying to shake the enemies who have forgotten about everyone else but you. Even this wouldn't be a problem, but since you can't enter DFM while being locked onto, the mission comes to a halt until you can shake and destroy the enemies on your tail.
In one particular mission, you are tasked with taking out four bombers. Once you take out exactly two of those four, two more bombers and two fighter escorts appear and as the fighter escorts make a direct b-line to your position, your wingman is off flying around not doing anything, just enjoying the sights.
So now, you have to shake both escorts in order to get the DFM to work and take them out, then hope you have enough time to go back and take out the other four bombers.
The frustrating part is that it almost feels like luck when you succeed, since there's very few things you can do differently. It's honestly just a matter of getting a your first missile to hit instead of the second. The feeling of being an ace pilot and all around awesome that you get playing the older games simply isn't there.
As for the new additions to the game, they're unnecessary. The helicopter mission(s) and the AC-130 missions are okay and were probably the funnest parts of the game, but they don't do anything to "save" the game in my opinion.
As others have said, if you're an AC fan, the DFM is going to frustrate and upset you. Taking out enemies the "old fashioned" way is still possible, but as I stated before, if you want to succeed the mission, you have to use the DFM, which is kind of obnoxious to be perfectly honest. Playability wise, the DFM is just boring. Fly close to the enemy (doesn't matter which side you're actually coming from) and then just keep the cursor over the target and keep firing until the enemy blows up. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Once you kill an enemy, sometimes you get a nice little cinematic (which are actually pretty cool), but by the time you get back in control of your plane, you have no idea where it is, how fast it's going or what direction it's flying.
They've also added a HAWX style ground attack as well, where you have a tunnel of sorts to fly through while destroying enemies. You can avoid using this, but again, you'll find successfully completing the missions next to impossible if you don't use it.
Like the DFM, the new ground attack path has it's own cinematics, which is frustrating as you'll sometimes have your next line of targets locked on, only to have a cinematic play and by the time you're back in control, you've lost the targets. There are even forced cinematics that show your allies taking out targets, regardless of whether you've shot at those particular enemies or not.
Finally, one of the things I alluded to as "not fixing any older problems" is the sometimes laborious process of playing 10 minutes of the game, having one or two enemies left, dying and having to replay the entire ten minutes. This will happen in this game. A lot.
