Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Review from AJ - Tuesday, 11 October 2011 @ 6:54pm

Ace Combat has been around a while, but the formula has managed to remain fairly consistent. It's always been less of a flight sim and more of an "arcade" game. It's less about the reality of dog fighting and more about the fantasy. The plots are always over the top, the action is always intense to point of being laughable and most importantly the locations and countries involved are always fictional... until now.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is the first game in the series to feature real world locations (if you ignore the PSP release...which everyone did). That may not seem like a big deal, but it displays a marked shift in the positioning of the game. Where once Ace Combat would feel at home with over the top titles like Devil May Cry, it now has more in common with a Tom Clancy title. Surprisingly, Assault Horizon is actually more Tom Clancy than Tom Clancy's HAWX. Even the story has been penned by an actual real-life author, Jim DeFelice.

The latest in the series is the first to feature a semi-believable plot, and probably the first that you'll actually pay any attention to. The story follows several different pilots as they track down a rumoured new technology called the Trinity weapon. In search of who is responsible for the weapon, the game takes players to a dozen or so real life locations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the US.

Dubai? No, I rent.

Locations aren't what makes the game more realistic though, it's more the way Assault Horizon puts you in the action. In similar fashion to HAWX2, AC often puts you close to the action in support of ground troops. Mostly this is in the form of helicopter or gunner missions, but even fighter missions feature a strong bent towards ground support. Whilst admittedly playing gunner out the side of a Black Hawk or an AC-130 is probably more suited to Call of Duty, it's a fun diversion from flying... and who doesn't like blowing up tanks with a 120mm cannon?

In addition to just playing gunner, you do get plenty of time actually flying choppers as well. Unfortunately, these missions really are the first "tell" that Ace Combat is still an arcade game. Flying at low altitude between buildings loses the thrill once you work out that you can safely fly into them. It's also the first time you begin to notice the scripted nature of the combat in Assault Horizon. Frequently the missions involve flying to Point A, blowing up 5 tanks, flying to Point B, blowing up 5 tanks, rinse and repeat. Congratulations you won! Some of the earlier missions cleverly fade between attack and support within the same mission as you assist ground troops meet their goals...but later on it's as if the level creators ran out of ideas. Missions quickly devolve into "shoot anything that moves". More often than not, the only serious danger you'll face is running out of missiles....which usually isn't too much of a problem when your gunship can carry well over 150.

How can you possibly miss from here??

I know Ace Combat is an arcade experience, but several times throughout the game you get the distinct feeling the game is cheating. Some times in your favour, and some times in your targets favour. For the most part, enemy fighters take 2 missiles and maybe some machine gunning to take them out. However, there are many many instances where this simply isn't the case....the game cheats and the worst part is you can feel it happening. You'll fire off two missiles, which impossibly miss as the enemy fighter takes an instant right hand turn. Then as you tail the fighter between buildings in a pre-scripted action sequence (even though you're theoretically still in control), no matter how many missiles you shoot off the enemy is immune...right up until the point where they crash into a well positioned bridge in a ball of cinematic fire. It's not only frustrating to have wasted a dozen or more missiles on an enemy that clearly was always going to hit that bridge, but it's frustrating to feel like you're now longer in control of your own aircraft. The game puts you on rails, and flies you through a pre-ordained path to its inevitable conclusion. Whilst you're left with the illusion of flying through impossibly close buildings, it soon becomes clear that you're just a passenger.

The main reason these pre-scripted events are so annoying is because the rest of the combat is so good. These force cinematics whilst supposedly add to the realism and excitement actually thrust you back into your living room and remind you that you're just playing a game, a game without consequence. In my view, a game is at its best when the sense of danger outweighs the potential for harm, not the other way round. It doesn't matter if you CAN die in these sequences if you don't feel like you can.

Not in game, but close enough

This same feeling is felt during the close combat sequences using Ace Combats new "Close-range assault". When an enemy fighter is within close range you can enter a dogfight mode which zooms in on the back end of the enemy. It turns on a heap of assists that help you chase the opposition through seemingly impossible turns. Like some sort of balancing game, all that is required is for you to make at least some sort of effort in the right direction, and you will keep locked on their tail. Mash shame missiles, mash some machine guns and soon enough they'll be dead. Somehow though, possibly because of the sheer number of enemies, these sequences are still fun. As per usual, your wingman are completely and utterly useless, and it's up to you to take down the entire wing on your own...such is life.

A similar mode is engaged for targeting a series of ground or sea forces. A little easier to master than the HAWX version, the game provides you with an entry point to bombing runs to assist in attacking multiple ground targets. This version is far more successful than the dog fighting mode, simply because it still requires you to do the hard yards in hitting the target whilst not getting destroyed yourself.

Kaboom!

In between missions, the player is treated to a series of cut scenes involving the main characters in the story. Whilst you have some limited control of the character (i.e. you can look around) these are essentially cut scenes, although admittedly more engaging that the usual sequence of stills with a "mission briefing". The highlight of this however is in the final scene of the game.... having won the war, gotten the girl and being a national hero you will be prompted to push the Y button. On this command your character will throw his fist into the air in a salute to all things awesome in the world. All that's missing is a fade to black and "Don't you forget about me" by Simple Minds. Without a doubt, the most ridiculous gameplay element I have ever seen in any game ever.

Pros

• Typical Ace Combat over-the-top flight action
• Real world locations with a real world plot (at long last!)
• Varied and interesting missions (including helicopter and gunner missions)
• In game action cinematics although forced are still pretty cool
• More Tom Clancy than Tom Clancy's HAWX.

Cons

• The game cheats....often
• The second half of the game doesn't live up to the excitement of the first half
• An F-16 simply cannot carry 150 missiles. It's just absurd!
• The Breakfast Club ending