I'm kind of fed up with these Japanese nonsense stories for some time now. AC5 was a great game but overdid it at certain parts, had too much chatter for my liking. Zero's dialogue was less ridiculous but the writing of AC6 was flat out terrible.
Assault Horizon is a bit like the last Medal of Honor game which grittyness I could really appreciate. Its not really dudebro or personal glory, but just about the fight itself.
I'm kind of fed up with these Japanese nonsense stories for some time now. AC5 was a great game but overdid it at certain parts, had too much chatter for my liking. Zero's dialogue was less ridiculous but the writing of AC6 was flat out terrible.
Assault Horizon is a bit like the last Medal of Honor game which grittyness I could really appreciate. Its not really dudebro or personal glory, but just about the fight itself.
Yeah, the characters in AH are really mannered, normal people, like real soldiers. Guts was the goofiest and he's always kind of scoffed at for being that way. The comparisons to CoD are a little harsh.
Could anybody tell me how to take off from the airport?
I crashed thousand of times and got totally sick of this game. I pressed my R1 button but nothing happened. This is from the guy who played all AC but 3 and 6.
Could anybody tell me how to take off from the airport?
I crashed thousand of times and got totally sick of this game. I pressed my R1 button but nothing happened. This is from the guy who played all AC but 3 and 6.
Just finished the game. I'd say this is a flawed but fun game, maybe 7 or 7.5 out of 10. I knew that it would be more "realistic" going in but I still hoped that they would slip some superweapons in there.
So disappointing to find out that Trinity was just
a special type of warhead
, and not a sci-fi superweapon. Even without that, there were plenty of good set-pieces in the second half of the game, from the
bombing runs against the aircraft carriers to the stealth bomber avoiding the radar installations to the battle with Major Illich in the eye of the hurricane
to almost make up for it. Unfortunately, you have to get through some awful early missions first, like the first helicopter mission and the AC-150 mission. I expect a lot of people will give up on this game early on, which is a shame since it does get better. I get that they were trying to add some mission variety, but those two missions in particular are executed poorly.
DFM is not as bad as I expected. It does make fighting planes easier, but you can only activate it once you're close to a plane and nearly lined up with it, so it's not completely overpowered. The "kill-cam" stuff never got old. In general, the jet on jet combat wasn't as different from previous AC games as I feared (but yes, it is flashier).
As expected for an Ace Combat game, the music is fantastic. The story's okay (read: serviceable for a video game), and I like all the radio chatter during combat, but the dialogue during cutscenes is sooo bad:
"Did you get me my coffee?"
"I told you. I'll bring the coffee if you bring the donuts."
"There's only one person I know who can fill out a combat suit like that"
"If I'm ever in Moscow you're buying me a drink"
"There's not enough vodka in all of Mother Russia for you"
...and so on. It's like something one would write if asked to do a parody of military meathead dialogue.
Anyway, I liked this game. It's not as good as AC5 or Zero, but I'd rank it above AC4. Totally worth the Redbox rental. I'm hoping for an Ace Combat HD Collection now.
Am I the only one who would love to see a game based around nothing but the helicopter missions? Not sure if I like the new airplane flight mechanics either. It feels much more arcadish than previous installments. Not to mention the stupid line-up-the-arrows minigame is basically a QTE in disguise. GTFO out of my Ace Combat.
Still, I'm happy with the purchase overall. It's fun enough if you go into it not expecting Ace Combat. Online from what I've seen is a blast. Hopefully the game sells well because it's damn near impossible to find a game right now on 360.
So I just finished Ace Combat 6 for the first time and have got a GameFly copy of Assault Horizon sitting here to be played tomorrow. How do they compare?
I was actually surprised at the style of missions in AC6. It really did feel like a noticeable advancement over the PS2 games. Not a generational leap, but still a level up. I like how each battle was made up of several smaller battles and objectives that you could tackle in any order you wanted, even offering certain tactical advantages like airports.
The story was the worst AC story I've seen yet though. I mean the idea on its own was good - tell a war story from different points of view, even going so far as to develop characters you know you're going to have to kill later on. The writing AND voice acting were just terribly handled though. AC5 and Zero (still haven't played 4) each read out like an English dubbed episode of Gundam[/I - good enough in its own context, AC6 felt like watching PS1 acting again. If Assault Horizon can at least reach standard western game voice acting it'll be an improvement.
Reticent Rhino said:
As expected for an Ace Combat game, the music is fantastic. The story's okay (read: serviceable for a video game), and I like all the radio chatter during combat, but the dialogue during cutscenes is sooo bad:
"Did you get me my coffee?"
"I told you. I'll bring the coffee if you bring the donuts."
"There's only one person I know who can fill out a combat suit like that"
"If I'm ever in Moscow you're buying me a drink"
"There's not enough vodka in all of Mother Russia for you"
...and so on. It's like something one would write if asked to do a parody of military meathead dialogue.
Anyway, I liked this game. It's not as good as AC5 or Zero, but I'd rank it above AC4. Totally worth the Redbox rental. I'm hoping for an Ace Combat HD Collection now.
I put in an hour or two saturday morning and I am going to say lousy. Definitely feels like a gimmick kind of thing than actually playing ace combat. But I guess you can have some fun with it if you forget everything you know about playing ace combat and only play the multiplayer mode the way you have to play it to be even barely competitive.
I personally loved the music =P
Just beat it and I really liked it, though as annoying the helicopter missions can be at times, I wish there was one more lol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVx1kq0B38U
Just finished this game. For what it is, I liked it alright. I didn't have any problem with the non-fighter missions and they were all pretty fun.
I have to say I miss the things from previous AC games that are missing though. Hitting dumb, slow targets from long range with missiles and having huge air/ground battles, etc. They definitely made most of your targets more mobile and evasive in this game and I found myself using DFM a lot of the time even though I'd rather be doing it the old way. Sometimes I just want to fly in circles and blow guys up with XMA6 without trying too hard. Maybe you can play more in this style with some of the perks you can buy in the free play mode.
Still a pretty fun game though. The music was awesome on the very last mission. SU-47 Berkut for life
So I just started this game and, *sigh* it feels like a western game.
When I say that, I mean it feels just like all the other brown military games. It looks like an Ace Combat that they outsourced to a western team or something. Despite being pretty much the only fighter jet/ helicopter game on the console market right now, I still felt like I was playing another Ghost Recon or something, right down to the regenerating health and loading screen hints. What I like about the other AC games is that visually they are about 85% military action and 15% anime - just enough to make it feel unique. The proper comparison would be to a Mamoru Oshii movie. That light Japanese flavor is gone now. I groaned out loud during the opening credits when I saw that they outsourced the character and art design to Massive Black Inc. That's just visually though. I'll agree that the writing and voice acting are several steps up from all the previous games. It's really a matter of whether you want a standard Clancy-esque plot or an English dubbed episode of Gundam. Visually I prefer the latter but narrative-wise I prefer the former.
I've only played up to the first chopper mission, and I've decided I don't really like the pursuit system. I feel better when I take down an enemy without it because I feel more responsible for the kill. The system isn't as bad as I thought - amounting to a fairly complex mini game, but I would still prefer I wasn't forced to use it. I actually do like the chopper gameplay though. I didn't like it as much in the demo, but for some reason I like it a lot more the second time around. I realize that there's quite a bit that the tutorial doesn't tell you, and once you get that the chopper section becomes a lot more enjoyable. More importantly, I always felt in control of what my helicopter was doing.
I put in an hour or two saturday morning and I am going to say lousy. Definitely feels like a gimmick kind of thing than actually playing ace combat. But I guess you can have some fun with it if you forget everything you know about playing ace combat and only play the multiplayer mode the way you have to play it to be even barely competitive.
Going to pick this up soon, just have a few question for those of you that have the game.
- How long is the campaign? I don't know if it is nostalgia kicking in but it did seem to me that AC5 and AC0 had pretty beefy campaigns. AC6's was incredibly short.
- Does the game bring back squad mates like AC5? Don't know why they every removed it.
As much as people hate the setting of it being on Earth rather than the made up planet, you get a special kind of pride when you finish the final mission and save DC. And the music, oh gawd the music. So epic.
If only it was longer. I patiently wait for the next Ace Combat game.
Ugh. Russian ultranationalist takeover AGAIN?! That revelation right there made me want to stop playing the game. I'll still see if it get's better though, and if there are more helicopter sections.
It just astounds me how a Japanese team can make a game feel this UN-Japanese. I don't want to sound like a weeaboo, but I'm just shocked that Project Aces so successfully pumped out a COD clone in the air. Yeah it's a different kind of game, but I still feel the same mentality - like I can nonchalantly walk through it.
It just astounds me how a Japanese team can make a game feel this UN-Japanese. I don't want to sound like a weeaboo, but I'm just shocked that Project Aces so successfully pumped out a COD clone in the air. Yeah it's a different kind of game, but I still feel the same mentality - like I can nonchalantly walk through it.
I received the game earlier this week and have been playing it every night. Have not finished the main campaign, tried a bit of online fun. Here are some thoughts on the game so far.
Pro
The game looks proper beautiful. Love the jet external camera, love the cockpit camera too. The plane models could always be more detailed, but they work beautifully the way they are now. Ground is nice, the cities are full of buildings and detail. Light and shadow effects are properly nicely done, as are the effects of smoke, oil, explosions etc.
If something trumps the graphics, then it is the sound. Playing with the 7.1 headphones is an experience that I have not had anywhere before.
Music, oh my god, the music. The soundtrack CD that comes with the Limited Edition is just a glimpse of what the real soundtrack will be like. There are tracks within the game that are nowhere to be found on this CD and they are lightyears better than some of the boring tracks bundled on the CD.
Surprisingly enough, the massive bomber mission was real good. I would drone and drool on about how you do not get to fly the B-2 anywhere else, but that is irrelevant. The mission was done very nicely and I love how the bomb runs and plane handling were implemented. Thumbs up!
Amazingly enough, the story works. It is still corny as hell at times, but these characters are better than the emos from AC6, nowhere near as cool as Zero's enigmatic aces, but still quite likeable. There is a sense of camaraderie between them.
Plane control is excellent. I was surprised how good the simplified control scheme works. It does make the game even more arcade-like than the original one though. As a long time fan of the series, I fly using the proper controls, but anyone new to the series should try the Optimum or whatever it was called out.
Cutscenes look nice. Some of them kind of have more polish than others, but they are all very nicely done.
Con
Generic, f-ugly menus. Remember the awesome menus from AC5, ACZ and even AC6? Those have been discarded in favor of a menu that looks like a placeholder. Ugly fonts. Considering the fact that you will spend a lot of time in the menus, I find this unacceptable.
No scoring system, no buying of planes. This is the vadernooo.jpg moment for me. Since there is no scoring, there is really no point of going after the general enemies. Just make a beeline to the TGT marked guys and once those are dead, the rest of the planes FREAKING VANISH. I kid you not. This is retarded as hell. The player gets access to new planes every mission. The Berkut - an old favorite - that required a whole playthrough of ACZ just so that you could afford it, is given to you just like that. I suppose they will give me the PAK FA at some point too. Bah.
Cannot purchase special weapons either.
Enemies teleport into the fray. Annoying and made so only to make the missions more intense. In the old games, the enemies always seemed to arrive from some direction, not simply materialize out of nothingness.
The helicopter, door gunner and AC-130 missions are an afterthought at best. Sadly, these missions take the form of a distraction rather than propel the story or action. The door gunner missions are simply boring. The minigun somehow has a splash radius equal to a bazooka, able to cut down hordes of people while not even aiming at them. The AC-130 missions are a messy trial and error ordeal. New enemies pop into the fray out of nowhere, the entire action is plagued by the awful camera and limited view. As I said - it is a matter of learning the enemy patterns and then shooting them outright without even thinking. The heli missions are just sad - nice controls and some nice cinematic action, but altogether a missed opportunity. The only way to play these is with the HUD-less view.
There is of course tons more, both good and bad. Using the DFM is pretty much a mixed bad. Awesome when it works and the action feels cinematic, terrible when it does not.
Online play seems to work just fine, but there do not seem to be very many players online - especially in the co-op section that is the most appealing of the bunch.
Yeah that's a big part of it, same with the art design. I knew that already, but even the mentality behind the gameplay feels like it's following the trends of western developers.
Constant hints flashing across the screen treating you like an idiot, systems put in place to assist the player and take a measure of control out of their hands, regenerating health, etc. This was the shit that I was glad Japanese developers weren't doing (for the most part), and the fact that internal Namco managed to do this so well has left me shocked and appalled. Even the music, while still great, sounds more similar to that of all the other military games than to other AC titles other than a few fantastic main themes. Furthermore, the game is actually doing really well in Japan.
Yeah that's a big part of it, same with the art design. I knew that already, but even the mentality behind the gameplay feels like it's following the trends of western developers.
Constant hints flashing across the screen treating you like an idiot, systems put in place to assist the player and take a measure of control out of their hands, regenerating health, etc. This was the shit that I was glad Japanese developers weren't doing (for the most part), and the fact that internal Namco managed to do this so well has left me shocked and appalled. Even the music, while still great, sounds more similar to that of all the other military games than to other AC titles other than a few fantastic main themes.
Up to Mission 6, Dubai, I believe? Played more of it last night and I am enjoying it more than I did, but it's been somewhat of a frustrating experience. To put it simply, the game just needs more heart and soul. AC games produce so much energy and excitement and Assault Horizon is severely lacking in this area. It's just TOO boring. Your squad is so uninteresting and your main character barely speaks!
I'm sorry, but these games need melodrama to some extent. While AC6 is sitting on the extreme end of the cheese-ball spectrum, AH is teetering on the exact opposite end about to tip over into sleepy ville. Ace Combat Zero, imo, is the perfect balance. I'm a bit disappointed with the OST so far too. There have been a few good tracks, but nothing AMAZING like in AC5 & Zero. I NEED slap bass/drum fill mission briefing intros. Did they really have to remove this kind of stuff?
Is there a way to assign controller buttons? I just need to remap the DFM button to something other than two bumpers so I could used the flight stick. I find it very difficult adjusting speed using the trigger. Also do most of you play with Optimal setting or Original?
I agree with the above assessment about the game by glaunrung.
I finished the game last night and even though I liked all of the proper flying missions, the last three missions were bogus.
These might be considered mild spoilers - nothing story driven or nothing you would not expect.
The game lets you select a plane and then you are stuck with that for the last three missions. Makes sense story-wise, but I found it annoying since it comes without warning.
The final ace battle of the game is tedious at best. Sure, it provides some thrills if you let yourself get carried in with it, but in fact it is a rather silly string of scripted events. I found it silly and unnecessary, replacing true dogfighting skill with some retarded sequence of non-QTEs.
I like the story. It has nice characters. The planes are awesome. The helicopter missions are somewhat above average.
And the fact that you only have one bona fide bomber mission is such a cocktease.
I greatly enjoyed the final few missions, especially the one where you fly
around the Tornado.
And the bombing run, god yes, that was too fucking awesome. The way this game deals with ground targets and naval fleets was a neat surprise as well, I used to hate those things in an AC.
The OST is a bit of a mixed bag but the best tracks truly are great. Those of the final levels are all good.
I hope Project Aces will continue what they started with AH, but then remove the on-rails and chopper for more stealth and bombing runs. As well as making the levels less linear with hidden aces and medals to gain. The enemy spawns should be handled less obviously as well. The game just opens a new can on you, it feels lame. Agree about the inability to make money and buy crafts too, that needs to come back.
Story
Objectively speaking: abysmal. Don't know who this DeFelice dude is but everything, from dialogues (except a few ones at the beginning) to storytelling, is horrible. The ending from a non american point of view (I'm Italian) is just disgusting considering post 2001 events (and actual too, ie. Libia). National sovereignity is a word that doesn't exist in Assault Horizon.
Character's motivations are cringeworthy (not the motivations itself, but the storytelling is).
Gameplay
From previews I thought a lot worse, I liked it. DFM works and scripted dogfights weren't that bad. No score and no possibility to buy planes is a bummer, but the worst of all is the absence of Aces AC:0 did so many good things...
And helicopter gunner missions are useless.
Music
Main theme's cool, didn't like the rest. My favourite still remains the AC:0.
Also, why on earth there's no giant aircraft+last mission with galleries in my AC? No more briefing/debriefing with replay, no more "Project Aces" screen and motto at the start.
Am sad
I appreciate the change after AC6 but there's still a long way to recover from Belkan War.
Finished the game yesterday on Elite. I actually ended up enjoying the game quite a bit, but there are A LOT of things wrong with this game. It was a really frustrating experience to be honest. I'm not talking difficulty either, but rather what this game could have been. Looking back I actually think the game had good mission structure/pacing. The helicopter missions aren't TOO bad and the second turret mission was actually fun for me. I thought all the fighter missions were really well done. I enjoyed all of them (well, maybe except for that ICBM? missile mission at the very end on Elite). By the time I finished the game I actually wanted more. I think the game could have used 18-20 missions. That seems like the good AC stage average.
I ALMOST grew to like the characters in this game. Problem is, there is BARELY interaction between your squad. The game needed more cut scenes/back story/explanations. The story has too many missing holes in it. Things jump around too much, it's hard to give a shit about Markov's intentions and
Ilich's (SP?)
betrayal. And seriously, what's wrong with Bishop? He doesn't say ANYTHING! The whole game he's like, "Markov, he's good. We can do this."...and that's it! What's here isn't terrible, but it's not triggering my emotions either (like previous AC games do).
I'd say my favorite sequence in the game was the return to Miami and the part where
Guts takes the 'bullet' for you and has to eject from the cockpit.
The music that clicks in during this moment worked really well for me and it was like THE only moment where my heart kind of dropped. I want more stuff like this. This is the kind of shit that sets AC apart from Tom Clancy shit and other flight games. Also, the
fist pump scenes during the ending segments were so cool.
It was a reminder that this AC is still very much a Japanese developed game, lol! Well, that's at least how I interpreted it!
My main problems with this game, however, is just the lack of single player features, especially compared to older games. There is too much focus on multiplayer and its unlockable perks. The multiplayer stuff is okay, but I'd rather sink 50 hours into S Ranking the game on all difficulties and earning Medals. The 100+ unlock list is cool and everything, but it's so bland looking and boring. I want cool, decorated Medals and a hanger that changes depending on how many S Ranks I earned!
Played death match for a few hours last night and it was actually really fun. That 50 hour coop/competitive trophy doesn't seem so ridiculous now, lol!. I didn't get into AC6 online, but I'm kinda digging the online components in this game.
Some weird things I noticed though. DFM counters don't seem to always work for me. I feel like I'm completely level, but the icon won't change right away to allow me to counter. Same with the pursuit counter move. I never feel like I see the pursuit red arrow icon comes up when a pilot I am DFM'ing reverses me. Unless it's happening too fast or something, I don't know. Anyone experience these issues online?
But you can play it like an Ace Combat game if you want to. You don't really have to use DFM all the time and you probably wouldn't want to if you are playing with the classic control scheme.
But you can play it like an Ace Combat game if you want to. You don't really have to use DFM all the time and you probably wouldn't want to if you are playing with the classic control scheme.
Ah, I've never played using the Classic control scheme; I take it targets that require DFM to be destroyed, can be destroyed normally with missiles and machinegun with the Classic scheme.
Also played the demo finally over the weekend. As a loyal Ace Combat fan I was turned off at first but started to really like it after a while. It felt like a great mix of arcade and sim that I have never played before. The DFM took a bit to get used to but once I did I liked it. I was not a fan of the Chopper mission...didn't like the controls at all.
I will end up picking this up when I can get it cheap...around 30
Ah, I've never played using the Classic control scheme; I take it targets that require DFM to be destroyed, can be destroyed normally with missiles and machinegun with the Classic scheme.
Unfortunately no. You have to use DFM for Target_Lead enemies. And some ground targets can't be locked on outside of ASM. So yes you have to their on rails scheme for specific events. But that doesn't mean you can't play most of the game like the previous Ace Combat ones.
