Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was be the first flight simulator title I had purchased in a very long time. At the time I purchased this game in 2012 it had been over 10 years since I grabbed Airforce Delta for the Sega Dreamcast. I've rented and played previous games in the Ace Combat series, one that's been on the market since the original PlayStation and I've been pretty happy with them; so when this was released recently I was in just the right mood for a nice flight-combat simulator and jumped on it.
As is the case sometimes. Usually I will wait. Usually when most games are released I look over at my stack of unplayed games in queue and realize there's no point grabbing anything new until I've finished what's on my plate. But every once in a while I get an urge to play a particular kind of game and every once in a while a new game is released that coincides with that urge.
Assault Horizon turned out to be one of the most cinematic air combat experiences I'd ever played. I'm not sure anyone's ever taken this approach to a flight simulator before or since, though Ubisoft's HAWX comes pretty close. Assault Horizon includes a new Close Range Assault mode which you initiate during combat and effectively allows you to focus on chasing that one bogie or ground target without being overly concerned about crashing your jet into the ground. During a number of round in the game these are set up while chasing key targets and the game is scripted to fly you between buildings, exploding obstacles and provide you with other close calls that you would normally see if this was any other action oriented video game.
Excitingly enough, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon also added some non-jetfighter elements to mix things up a little. The game starts off with an AH-64 Apache helicopter mission that is one of the finest helicopter games I've ever played. Hiding behind cover and popping up to destroy targets, just as those are designed to do, never felt so perfect. Assault Horizon gives you the perfect amount of control to allow you to fly through the streets and take down artillery and a fantastic level of detail with dust whipping up around you when you're close to the ground and a great 'over the shoulder' camera view so you can watch those hellfire missiles let loose from your sides. The only unfortunate part was that there was only two of these levels. Namco should really make an entire Ace Combat game based around helicopters.
There is also a fantastic bombing mission in a stealth bomber, a gunning mission in an AC-130 ground attack aircraft and a mission as a door-gunner in a Blackhawk helicopter. Each of these are exceptionally well executed and really add to the overall aerial combat experience, but also work well as one-offs that you were dying to play more of, as was the case with the helicopter missions.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon really pushed to change the way combat flight simulators are played and they were very successful at that. I've never been so excited by a flight simulator as I was playing this game and I'm really hoping that it did well enough that Namco incorporates this new style into their future games. They made it more accessible to people who find flight sims 'boring', which they really can be, pushing for more ground details and easier controls as well as a ton more action that is typically missing in this genre. Highly recommended for people who don't usually touch this genre.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was be the first flight simulator title I had purchased in a very long time. At the time I purchased this game in 2012 it had been over 10 years since I grabbed Airforce Delta for the Sega Dreamcast. I've rented and played previous games in the Ace Combat series, one that's been on the market since the original PlayStation and I've been pretty happy with them; so when this was released recently I was in just the right mood for a nice flight-combat simulator and jumped on it.As is the case sometimes. Usually I will wait. Usually when most games are released I look over at my stack of unplayed games in queue and realize there's no point grabbing anything new until I've finished what's on my plate. But every once in a while I get an urge to play a particular kind of game and every once in a while a new game is released that coincides with that urge.
Assault Horizon turned out to be one of the most cinematic air combat experiences I'd ever played. I'm not sure anyone's ever taken this approach to a flight simulator before or since, though Ubisoft's HAWX comes pretty close. Assault Horizon includes a new Close Range Assault mode which you initiate during combat and effectively allows you to focus on chasing that one bogie or ground target without being overly concerned about crashing your jet into the ground. During a number of round in the game these are set up while chasing key targets and the game is scripted to fly you between buildings, exploding obstacles and provide you with other close calls that you would normally see if this was any other action oriented video game.
Excitingly enough, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon also added some non-jetfighter elements to mix things up a little. The game starts off with an AH-64 Apache helicopter mission that is one of the finest helicopter games I've ever played. Hiding behind cover and popping up to destroy targets, just as those are designed to do, never felt so perfect. Assault Horizon gives you the perfect amount of control to allow you to fly through the streets and take down artillery and a fantastic level of detail with dust whipping up around you when you're close to the ground and a great 'over the shoulder' camera view so you can watch those hellfire missiles let loose from your sides. The only unfortunate part was that there was only two of these levels. Namco should really make an entire Ace Combat game based around helicopters.
There is also a fantastic bombing mission in a stealth bomber, a gunning mission in an AC-130 ground attack aircraft and a mission as a door-gunner in a Blackhawk helicopter. Each of these are exceptionally well executed and really add to the overall aerial combat experience, but also work well as one-offs that you were dying to play more of, as was the case with the helicopter missions.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon really pushed to change the way combat flight simulators are played and they were very successful at that. I've never been so excited by a flight simulator as I was playing this game and I'm really hoping that it did well enough that Namco incorporates this new style into their future games. They made it more accessible to people who find flight sims 'boring', which they really can be, pushing for more ground details and easier controls as well as a ton more action that is typically missing in this genre. Highly recommended for people who don't usually touch this genre.
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