Ace Combat Series Review - Part 1: Ace Combat 4

Well, the topic of gaming has been haunting me for the past few weeks, so i decided to take some time and write a quick game review.

The game...Project Ace's ACE COMBAT series.
I can figure several dozen people going "what" after seeing that title, but Project Ace's is a internal Namaco development team that had organically worked on the game "Air Combat" for the PSone. Since then, they have produce Air Combat 2, Ace Combat 3 (the start of the new Ace Combat name)Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies, Ace Combat 5: Unsung War, and the recent Ace Combat 6: Skies of Liberation.

This review however is to touch on the 3 games that have been kept aside compared to many of the other air simulators that are out in the market. To start, Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies.

Ace Combat 4 was the first new step Project Ace's took to developing their recent style of air combat games. Unlike the previous 3, the player had a much more detailed look inside and outside his cockpit. Much has been done to give a more "real feel" to the game, and it works rather well even on the PS2. Ace Combat series are notorious for being vibrant in their detail and despite most of their games being on a previous generation system, the style, look, and detail of the craft, explosions and even missiles is crisp and clean that could easily suffice for PS3 graphics. It also gives the pilot the chance to survey the air around him, vertically and horizontally as well as "track" targets when they are selected.

Ace Combat 4 was also the first game to implement "radio chatter" in the series. As you fly within the vast mission-scape, you can get a good deal of com traffic from fellow pilots, sometimes they help you, others you get from the enemy that try to insult you, and fail. The radio chatter also implements part of the story or mission, offering you tips or mission updates that may be important to your task. In a more detailed note, the sound of the actual game is quite accurate, and even the soundtrack is worth looking into. Thew music gives a good feel of rush, and certain missions fit the track that is playing quite well. For example, the "Blockade" mission were you are ordered to shoot down transport planes protected by a massive Jamming field, the music playing grips you, it seems to fit with the scene of daring pilots diving into a difficult situation and pulling through against overwhelming odds.

The interface of Ace Combat remains pretty sparse, but maintains the usual bits seen in the previous games. Basing close to the "fighter craft" look; From speed and altitude, to weapon ammo and even damage (okay, maybe the damage control is a bit far-fetched). There isn't too many things to watch so your not overwhelming with readouts. Even with the full and detailed cockpit view, the controls resemble a real fighter quite well.

This is actually a mandatory thing in Ace Combat Series. To get 100%, you will have to replay the game a few times over to unlock new craft and gain the highest ranks. Trust me, it's not as easy as you may think to beat the game and get all "S" rank in the first run with the craft you are given during most missions, as well as saving up enough to buy the good ones like the F-22 or the SU-37. Despite that, playing many of the first missions with the most advance craft is a bit boring, being able to easily outmaneuver even the Ace squadron of "Yellows" you face in early missions.

Speaking of Yellows, I guess its time to explain the story. Ace Combat 4 takes place in a fictional world were two powers, Independent States Allied Forces (ISAF) against a powerful foe known as Eruseans. The Eruseans are in command of most of the continent Usea and dominate the skies with a very powerful super weapon that was originally meant to destroy asteroids. There are also several cut scenes within the storyline that give a good idea to how a small group of civilians feel about the war when the Eruseans occupy their town. The game puts you in the seat of quite an assortment of craft, many modern day craft and a few prototype and in production craft (during the time of its release). What i mean by Yellows is the name of the Ace squadron that makes an appearance in various levels to either impede your progress were your forced to either avoid them or run away, and eventually engage them in fierce combat. The AI used for the Yellows is very good, and gives a very exquisite taste of dealing with a foe that can always change the way it flies. Even with the most advance fighter, it is still a challenge to line them up to fire. That's another interesting thing, Missile locks in this game are both heaven and hell. They can be wonderful and easy, other times they wont leave you alone. Avoiding enemy missiles while trying to lock on with your own is the main point of the air duels, and mastering that leads to becoming an epic ace.

Game play is fast pace, you always got to be moving and observing your surroundings. At times it can get quite slow with a lull in combat but that tends to quickly change with a mission to either protect an ally, engage a target, or secure a section of the map. The real downside is most missions are "Destroy this amount of targets..." so there is little originally in many of the mission despite the few escort missions there isn't much else in the way of challenging missions until the end of the game.

Overall, id rate this a 8/10
Its got some good graphics and a rich story with nice cut scenes that help depict it from the other side rather well, and many of the missions provide a good amount of fun. Sadly, with the lack of originality in said missions really hinders some aspect of enjoyment and change of pace.