Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
When 'more of the same' just means 'more awesome', can that really be a bad thing?
Published: May 17, 2006
Somewhere around Ace Combat 3 on the original PlayStation, Namco hit paydirt, mixing a flight model that tiptoed the line between simulation and arcade flight game so perfectly that you got the unshakable sense that this would probably be what it's like to live as an ace in the world of Top Gun.
As the series has progressed, it's moved to the PlayStation 2, which brought with it a significant upgrade in visual presentation (though I still miss AC3's amazingly load-free zip from the menus to the main mission via a simple tunnel), better mission variety, wingmen you can order around, and better radio chatter all make for a more immersive game.
However, they don't make for a different game. One could argue that the series hasn't made a serious change in the better part of a decade, so the question remains, can Ace Combat Zero, now the sixth game in the series, still deliver the same fun factor without being terribly different from the past couple games?
The answer is, largely, yes. Exactly how much of a yes depends on how much of a fan of the series you still are. This is definitely the best game in the series, with a slightly new approach in telling the story of the same world that Ace Combat 5 inhabited (the nations of Osea and Belka are the focus, it's just 15 or so years earlier) that uses live actors and lots of voiceover to tell the tale of a mercenary ace that apparently didn't exist, though the pilots that flew with him certainly seem to recall the man.
As you play through the storyline, you'll explore the conflicts that catalyzed the Belkan War and more or less fly through the history that made up the last game. It's a great approach that rewards fans of the series with the very thing that Namco has stripped out in earlier games; a storyline and mythos, and it gives the missions a sense of purpose.
Sure, you'll still be doing mostly strafing runs and dog fights, and you'll go up against a superweapon, but it does feel like Namco really tried to work in as much variety as they could to thinks. You'll be able to pick from different branches of a mission, you'll rarely fly the same type of mission three times in a row, and the game offers a ton of upgrades and new planes to keep your entertained, grading you on how merciless or honorable your kills are (for instance, you can disable a plane and then choose not to blow it out of the sky if you'd like).
It's also rather difficult, thanks to the inclusion of new ace squadrons that will often fly into the middle of missions. Each has a name and a rather cool intro (in fact, all of the in-game cinematics are evocative of the same rush jet movies have channeled), but they can be incredibly hard to shoot down (as aces are likely to be). Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but it's not uncommon to run a mission for a good 30-45 minutes and then suddenly have to contend with the aces for half that time.
This wouldn't be a huge deal if your wingman AI was significantly bumped up, but they don't really stand a chance against the aces. The AI as a whole is better, though, and this means even common missions can get hairy, which is what dogfights should be all about. Namco included a two-player split-screen option, and it's certainly fun (you can fly campaign or dogfight missions with just a couple button presses), but it feels like a poor substitute for the online play that fans have been begging for since the last two games.
As the series has progressed, it's moved to the PlayStation 2, which brought with it a significant upgrade in visual presentation (though I still miss AC3's amazingly load-free zip from the menus to the main mission via a simple tunnel), better mission variety, wingmen you can order around, and better radio chatter all make for a more immersive game.
However, they don't make for a different game. One could argue that the series hasn't made a serious change in the better part of a decade, so the question remains, can Ace Combat Zero, now the sixth game in the series, still deliver the same fun factor without being terribly different from the past couple games?
The answer is, largely, yes. Exactly how much of a yes depends on how much of a fan of the series you still are. This is definitely the best game in the series, with a slightly new approach in telling the story of the same world that Ace Combat 5 inhabited (the nations of Osea and Belka are the focus, it's just 15 or so years earlier) that uses live actors and lots of voiceover to tell the tale of a mercenary ace that apparently didn't exist, though the pilots that flew with him certainly seem to recall the man.
As you play through the storyline, you'll explore the conflicts that catalyzed the Belkan War and more or less fly through the history that made up the last game. It's a great approach that rewards fans of the series with the very thing that Namco has stripped out in earlier games; a storyline and mythos, and it gives the missions a sense of purpose.
Sure, you'll still be doing mostly strafing runs and dog fights, and you'll go up against a superweapon, but it does feel like Namco really tried to work in as much variety as they could to thinks. You'll be able to pick from different branches of a mission, you'll rarely fly the same type of mission three times in a row, and the game offers a ton of upgrades and new planes to keep your entertained, grading you on how merciless or honorable your kills are (for instance, you can disable a plane and then choose not to blow it out of the sky if you'd like).
It's also rather difficult, thanks to the inclusion of new ace squadrons that will often fly into the middle of missions. Each has a name and a rather cool intro (in fact, all of the in-game cinematics are evocative of the same rush jet movies have channeled), but they can be incredibly hard to shoot down (as aces are likely to be). Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but it's not uncommon to run a mission for a good 30-45 minutes and then suddenly have to contend with the aces for half that time.
This wouldn't be a huge deal if your wingman AI was significantly bumped up, but they don't really stand a chance against the aces. The AI as a whole is better, though, and this means even common missions can get hairy, which is what dogfights should be all about. Namco included a two-player split-screen option, and it's certainly fun (you can fly campaign or dogfight missions with just a couple button presses), but it feels like a poor substitute for the online play that fans have been begging for since the last two games.
