Ace Combat series: I love and I hate...
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Muttley
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Played the demo and I must say it doesn't really do anything for me. Just seemed a little dull TBH.
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RageMatrix
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Admittedly, I've not played the Ace Combat demo very much yet - but I did have a blast in the short time I had a go and it looks like one to watch for me. YMMV.
XBox Gamertag: Jon256
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There are often to be found, in great legends, smaller legends. One of them is enclosed in the immensity of a certain eternal summer, in the year 1940.
A Fighter Command squadron was scrambled to intercept an enemy raid. Closing in on the contact, it became apparent that their small band of fighters were about to engage an opposing formation of over a hundred aircraft. As the distance closed between them, one of the RAF pilots became concerned that they appeared to be taking no action. He got on the radio and asked his Squadron Leader, Ted Graham - who suffered from a stutter - what the matter was. Had Graham not seen the huge metal cloud approaching?
There was pause a before Squadron Leader Graham replied. It was his answer that would became that small legend:
"Of course I've seen the b-b-b-bastards! I'm t-t-t-trying to work out w-w-w-what to do!" [1]
Playing the Ace Combat 6 demo for the first time, I can understand a little of what Squadron Leader Graham probably felt. Of course, this being a virtual battlefield, I did not face the danger of being killed or terribly injured in a fireball. Nor would my opponents plummet to the ground, their last minutes alive spent trapped in mortally wounded aircraft.
But... facing me on the screen were indeed a lot of bastards, and initially I was at a loss as to what to do. This is perhaps the most immediate shock upon playing the demo. Other games in the series have some mighty aerial punch-ups, but nothing quite like this. The entire screen seems to be filled with green targeting reticules and you feel just a touch outnumbered.
The impression was reinforced by a glance at the bottom-left hand corner of the screen, revealing that my F-16 - the Ford Escort of the Ace Combat series - was loaded with about 140 missiles, nearly twice as many as I've ever seen in any of the earlier games. Obviously, I was expected to expend quite a few of them.
However, an Ace Combat game is an Ace Combat game, and after getting over my initial shock, I almost instantly felt at home. Missiles. Check. Guns. Check. Right trigger throttle. Check. Left trigger air-brake check. Stirring music. Check. Slightly ridiculous flight name. Check. Time to emulate the Squadron Leader Graham, then. Get over it and dive in to the attack...
After the first play, more signs that this is indeed an Ace Combat game appear. The at first bewildering array of opponents becomes less heart-stopping when one realises that, as ever, there are red targets on the radar, which are the mission objectives. You can, if necessary, ignore the chaos erupting around you and concentrate on those. Not that theres any fun in letting a Mirage 2000 slip past without an AMRAAM in pursuit, of course...
The demo is a bit too short to give a major impression of some of the additions we've been promised. At the moment, it plays, and looks, much like any other Ace Combat game but on steroids. We shall have to see how much control we will have over the dynamic battles. There appear to have been a number of changes to accommodate the greater scope, noticeably that one missile = one kill (this could be a demo thing or a difficulty setting though).
And, oh, it looks gorgeous. Its not just the planes - Ace Combat 6 has always given good planes - but the details. One guy I know has waxed lyrical about the realism of the afterburner effects. Smoke trails criss-cross the sky. Clouds can be flown to and in. Missiles ignite, boost, point up and shoot away. Go down low, and the increased solidity of the ground environment becomes apparent in the rush of speed that one feels.
Like all Ace Combat games, this won't be for everyone. For those like myself, though, who do get it... I think we're in for a treat.
Tally ho, chaps!
[1] Source: The Most Dangerous Enemy by Stephen Bungay. A very similar account also appears in Fighter by Len Deighton.
A Fighter Command squadron was scrambled to intercept an enemy raid. Closing in on the contact, it became apparent that their small band of fighters were about to engage an opposing formation of over a hundred aircraft. As the distance closed between them, one of the RAF pilots became concerned that they appeared to be taking no action. He got on the radio and asked his Squadron Leader, Ted Graham - who suffered from a stutter - what the matter was. Had Graham not seen the huge metal cloud approaching?
There was pause a before Squadron Leader Graham replied. It was his answer that would became that small legend:
"Of course I've seen the b-b-b-bastards! I'm t-t-t-trying to work out w-w-w-what to do!" [1]
Playing the Ace Combat 6 demo for the first time, I can understand a little of what Squadron Leader Graham probably felt. Of course, this being a virtual battlefield, I did not face the danger of being killed or terribly injured in a fireball. Nor would my opponents plummet to the ground, their last minutes alive spent trapped in mortally wounded aircraft.
But... facing me on the screen were indeed a lot of bastards, and initially I was at a loss as to what to do. This is perhaps the most immediate shock upon playing the demo. Other games in the series have some mighty aerial punch-ups, but nothing quite like this. The entire screen seems to be filled with green targeting reticules and you feel just a touch outnumbered.
The impression was reinforced by a glance at the bottom-left hand corner of the screen, revealing that my F-16 - the Ford Escort of the Ace Combat series - was loaded with about 140 missiles, nearly twice as many as I've ever seen in any of the earlier games. Obviously, I was expected to expend quite a few of them.
However, an Ace Combat game is an Ace Combat game, and after getting over my initial shock, I almost instantly felt at home. Missiles. Check. Guns. Check. Right trigger throttle. Check. Left trigger air-brake check. Stirring music. Check. Slightly ridiculous flight name. Check. Time to emulate the Squadron Leader Graham, then. Get over it and dive in to the attack...
After the first play, more signs that this is indeed an Ace Combat game appear. The at first bewildering array of opponents becomes less heart-stopping when one realises that, as ever, there are red targets on the radar, which are the mission objectives. You can, if necessary, ignore the chaos erupting around you and concentrate on those. Not that theres any fun in letting a Mirage 2000 slip past without an AMRAAM in pursuit, of course...
The demo is a bit too short to give a major impression of some of the additions we've been promised. At the moment, it plays, and looks, much like any other Ace Combat game but on steroids. We shall have to see how much control we will have over the dynamic battles. There appear to have been a number of changes to accommodate the greater scope, noticeably that one missile = one kill (this could be a demo thing or a difficulty setting though).
And, oh, it looks gorgeous. Its not just the planes - Ace Combat 6 has always given good planes - but the details. One guy I know has waxed lyrical about the realism of the afterburner effects. Smoke trails criss-cross the sky. Clouds can be flown to and in. Missiles ignite, boost, point up and shoot away. Go down low, and the increased solidity of the ground environment becomes apparent in the rush of speed that one feels.
Like all Ace Combat games, this won't be for everyone. For those like myself, though, who do get it... I think we're in for a treat.
Tally ho, chaps!
[1] Source: The Most Dangerous Enemy by Stephen Bungay. A very similar account also appears in Fighter by Len Deighton.
"Stars don't twinkle in space." - Char Aznable.
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RageMatrix
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Had a really long session with the demo last night. Fucking brilliant. Its the little things like: -
- Some bogeys you can sneak up on with afterburner (especially using cloud for cover) and plough a missile straight into them, but other enemy pilots seem much more aware of their surroundings and take literally minutes of ariel ballet to get into a decent firing position ("I got tone! Fox 1!")
- Some of the panicked radio chatter is great - my wingman was totally freaking out about the number of enemies and complaining for the entire time
- Doing a barrel-roll flip to dodge an incoming missile and literally seeing the smoke-trail whizz right past your cockpit was something to behold.
- Losing an enemy in the cloud cover, even though you had good tone only to find out that the guy had slammed on the air-brakes as soon as he hit the cloud and was now in a decent firing position behind me made my heart skip a beat.
- Having one ballsy bogey follow me down to almost street level as we dodged between buildings to try and shake him with cannon tracer-fire blowing bits off buildings all around me was also a highlight.
I am totally buying this game
- Some bogeys you can sneak up on with afterburner (especially using cloud for cover) and plough a missile straight into them, but other enemy pilots seem much more aware of their surroundings and take literally minutes of ariel ballet to get into a decent firing position ("I got tone! Fox 1!")
- Some of the panicked radio chatter is great - my wingman was totally freaking out about the number of enemies and complaining for the entire time
- Doing a barrel-roll flip to dodge an incoming missile and literally seeing the smoke-trail whizz right past your cockpit was something to behold.
- Losing an enemy in the cloud cover, even though you had good tone only to find out that the guy had slammed on the air-brakes as soon as he hit the cloud and was now in a decent firing position behind me made my heart skip a beat.
- Having one ballsy bogey follow me down to almost street level as we dodged between buildings to try and shake him with cannon tracer-fire blowing bits off buildings all around me was also a highlight.
I am totally buying this game
XBox Gamertag: Jon256
Wii Code: 4849 1090 9042 6725
"Wrapped in metal, wrapped in ivy"
The Official UNIX/Linux Thread
Wii Code: 4849 1090 9042 6725
"Wrapped in metal, wrapped in ivy"
The Official UNIX/Linux Thread
Couple of things I've read about on the forums here:
http://forums.acecombatskies.com/
One, when the "SHOOT" message appears in the HUD you have more chance of hitting your target with a standard missile. Two, theres a gauge which fills up next to your radar (I believe but am not certain this fills when you help allied units under attack; for example, the tanks being strafed by AH-64s); when its full, hold "up" on the D-Pad to call upon a special attack by Allied Forces.
http://forums.acecombatskies.com/
One, when the "SHOOT" message appears in the HUD you have more chance of hitting your target with a standard missile. Two, theres a gauge which fills up next to your radar (I believe but am not certain this fills when you help allied units under attack; for example, the tanks being strafed by AH-64s); when its full, hold "up" on the D-Pad to call upon a special attack by Allied Forces.
"Stars don't twinkle in space." - Char Aznable.
New trailer. Warning, contains standard Ace Combat scripting, dialogue and accents!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2ZK2ODrxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2ZK2ODrxM
"Stars don't twinkle in space." - Char Aznable.
I'm a little way into this game now; delayed partly because of the put-back slightly UK release and partly because Mass Effect is competing for attention...
My initial impression was that it felt a little flat. Ace Combat has never had great voice acting, but it did the job, and it worked most of the time (Ah, Chopper and Thunderhead, how we miss your little chats... ) but this one seems a touch worse than usual. I still like the Estobakian accents, though. I just have a thing about mock Russian accents...
The first couple of missions also feel a touch, I don't know, lifeless. Maybes its because I played the heck out of the first mission in the demo. However, Ace Combat 6 mixes it up by adding the Allied units - and suddenly, things brighten up. Thats not just you up there fighting for Gracemeria - its you and GhostEye and Dragon Breaker and Barracuda! It adds interest to what you're doing, and boy, do you feel bad when Barracuda team gets wiped out because you were too busy strafing tents all the way over the other side of the battlefield... (er, sorry, chaps. Better luck next life).
It also becomes apparent that the game is more dynamic with lots of nice little touches; for once, it actually looks like all the people you're supporting are actually doing something, and with the Allied support feature, they do. And for perhaps the first time ever in an Ace Combat game, you have Wingmen who are actually useful. Not only that, but they can be shot down, too. Hopefully not by you.
Theres other nice little touches - ESM, which aids you or the enemy if you're in its radius, being able to land at newly captured bases, and upgraded SAMs. They blow up just the same as the old ones.
Theres some disappointments - the Assault records are a bit barren (strangely, your own forces can now feature here, and I'm wondering if you earn some sort of achievement if due to your tent-strafing oversights everyone else gets fragged... ), and Ace Combat games are always better with more featured aircraft, not less.
The story is growing on me, after a somewhat cringe-inducing start; its interestingly presented, and theres some nice cut-scenes - although we all know that A-10 pilot wasn't really trying, because if he was, that Fiat 500 would have been atomised...
But Ace Combat 6s biggest strength is this - its looks absolutely, jaw-droppingly, gorgeous. Move your HDTV up to the window and just play the opening trailer. See how many people you can make drool against the glass...
My initial impression was that it felt a little flat. Ace Combat has never had great voice acting, but it did the job, and it worked most of the time (Ah, Chopper and Thunderhead, how we miss your little chats...
) but this one seems a touch worse than usual. I still like the Estobakian accents, though. I just have a thing about mock Russian accents...The first couple of missions also feel a touch, I don't know, lifeless. Maybes its because I played the heck out of the first mission in the demo. However, Ace Combat 6 mixes it up by adding the Allied units - and suddenly, things brighten up. Thats not just you up there fighting for Gracemeria - its you and GhostEye and Dragon Breaker and Barracuda! It adds interest to what you're doing, and boy, do you feel bad when Barracuda team gets wiped out because you were too busy strafing tents all the way over the other side of the battlefield... (er, sorry, chaps. Better luck next life).
It also becomes apparent that the game is more dynamic with lots of nice little touches; for once, it actually looks like all the people you're supporting are actually doing something, and with the Allied support feature, they do. And for perhaps the first time ever in an Ace Combat game, you have Wingmen who are actually useful. Not only that, but they can be shot down, too. Hopefully not by you.
Theres other nice little touches - ESM, which aids you or the enemy if you're in its radius, being able to land at newly captured bases, and upgraded SAMs. They blow up just the same as the old ones.
Theres some disappointments - the Assault records are a bit barren (strangely, your own forces can now feature here, and I'm wondering if you earn some sort of achievement if due to your tent-strafing oversights everyone else gets fragged... ), and Ace Combat games are always better with more featured aircraft, not less.
The story is growing on me, after a somewhat cringe-inducing start; its interestingly presented, and theres some nice cut-scenes - although we all know that A-10 pilot wasn't really trying, because if he was, that Fiat 500 would have been atomised...
But Ace Combat 6s biggest strength is this - its looks absolutely, jaw-droppingly, gorgeous. Move your HDTV up to the window and just play the opening trailer. See how many people you can make drool against the glass...
"Stars don't twinkle in space." - Char Aznable.
Cheers for the detailed impressions, F-ZeroOne, always loved the AC series and will definitely pick this up for Christmas based on what you've written here.
Thought the graphics were truly mind bending on the demo, I hope for the next or future versions we have hardware powerful enough to render destructible scenery on the ground. Imagine carpet bombing a city and seeing everything crumble and vaporise beneath you
Thought the graphics were truly mind bending on the demo, I hope for the next or future versions we have hardware powerful enough to render destructible scenery on the ground. Imagine carpet bombing a city and seeing everything crumble and vaporise beneath you
You're welcome; incidentally, I forgot to mention that I understand theres 15 missions total; this feels a bit short but OTOH each mission seems to last about three times longer and theres a hell of a lot more going on...!Rod_S wrote:Cheers for the detailed impressions, F-ZeroOne, always loved the AC series and will definitely pick this up for Christmas based on what you've written here.
Thought the graphics were truly mind bending on the demo, I hope for the next or future versions we have hardware powerful enough to render destructible scenery on the ground. Imagine carpet bombing a city and seeing everything crumble and vaporise beneath you
Eurogamer has a somewhat longer review which echoes some of my own impressions.
Pity the enemy ace squadron are allowed to cheat and move at physics-defying speeds... they're the standard AC "uber-near-immune-to-missiles" enemy type. However, what they're not entirely immune to is having all your wingmen shoot at them at once - instant "Itano Circus"...!
Destructible scenery would be interesting, and would open up a few more aircraft types - lets recreate Red Flag for real in our very own Vulcans!
"Stars don't twinkle in space." - Char Aznable.