Ace Combat is surely one of the best gaming experiences I've had all
year. I was first introduced to the series with Ace Combat 4, which was
recommended to me by forum posters on Gamespot. I totally loved it,
which forced me to keep my eyes peeled for the next installment. I
didn't buy the game right away at launch but eventually I saw it at my
local video game store for a good price and decided to get it. After
all, I thought it was a sure bet, and it was.
Ace Combat 5, like 4, takes place in a fictional world resembling our
own. Your country, Osea, is worried that their traditional rivals, the
Yuktobanians, might be planning something after spotting a couple of
their spy planes hovering over Osean territory. They send your squad of
four to investigate and by that point things sort of degenerate.
The storyline is pretty good and is actually told well this time,
compared to Ace Combat 4's disjointed story. It is told by cutscenes
between the missions but also through great voice acting during the
missions. You always feel involved in everything that is happening
around you, and you also feel responsible since you're the squad
leader.
Now don't think for a second that this is a simulation; from the
storyline to the gameplay this is a Top Gun styled game. The physics
are unreal, you're able to do airpin turns at Mach 2 speeds and can do
maneuvers that would be simply impossible in real life. On top of that,
your plane carries godly amounts of ammunition, up to 100 missiles and
they always have unlimited machine gun ammo. You are clearly a one man
carnage machine and that's the way they wanted it. Still, I can't help
but hope that they add a bit more realism for the next installment, but
I think it would get in the way of the epic storyline, so my guess is
that it won't happen.
The graphics are pretty good, especially when using the cockpit view.
That view allows you to view the cockpit from all angles from the
inside which is awesome. They should really do that for driving games
too. But aside from that, you don't really get to see too much of the
graphics considering the speeds at which you're flying and that you're
there to basically blow stuff up.
The sound steals the show. Now, I actually preferred the soundtrack in
Ace Combat 4, but this one is no slouch. The music is epic, gets you
pumped up and carries the storyline perfectly. The voice acting is
great and the radio banter is entertaining. The sound effects are
powerful and dead on. Really, what more can you ask? Nothing. Perfect
sound, kudos to Namco.
Sadly there is no multiplayer in this game. Do I have to mention that
it would be totally awesome to have online dogfighting? I don't. I hope
that for the next game they add that. As it stands, the core game is
longer than 4, and they have added an extra arcade mode that is
basically a light continuation of 4's story. It's nothing to go crazy
at however. You also have the possibility of unlocking more and better
planes if you meet certain requirements in missions, like the previous
AC games. One thing, they took out the 2 player support from the
previous game, which might affect slightly huge 1v1 dogfighting fan,
but overall isn't a factor. All in all, this game has pretty good
length and replay value, but it clearly screams (I do) for multiplayer
support.
This game shouldn't be missed by anyone who likes a good shooter, a
good story, good music or heck, even dogfighting aficionados :) Try it,
you'll love it.
