The flagship fighter is the F-15C Eagle.
A year and a half ago, I stepped off the Main to Queen bus, made my way over to GameStop, and quietly purchased Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War for the PlayStation 2. I had only just beaten the campaign for its predecessor, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, a few weeks earlier, and the massive drop in the plot left me hungry for the next title. 20 dollars later, I had a copy of what I would later come to cal the greatest flight simulator game to ever hit the PS2. Fine tuned by Namco Bandai’s Project Aces for release in April 2006, the game became a favorite for me through it’s exceptional graphics, ingenious missions, compelling music and wide selection of aircraft; I can attribute my love of the skies to this series. Tying it all together, however, is the plot.
Cutscene of Mission 14 with the player using a MIG-21 armed with missiles and Rocket Pods.
The plot is complex, but a watered down version is that you are a mercenary ace named “Cipher” who, along with his wingmate “Pixy” attempt to save the Republic of Ustio from the invading forces of the Belkan military. Along the way, you encounter and defeat several enemy ace squadrons, destroy a multitude of targets and learn a great deal about the so-called “just” ideal of the invading Allied forces as they push into Belka. Eventually, Belka detonates atomic warheads on it’s own soil, and Pixy defects to an organization known as “A World With No Boundaries” which seeks to create a unified planet through heavy military might. You go to destroy their missile system, but your replacement wingmate “PJ” is shot down by Pixy, flying a fictional aircraft known as the ADFX-01/02 Morgan. You fight a climatic battle above a dam, before you successfully shoot down Pixy, ending the threat to the world’s safety.
The Raptor: Just looking at this thing will send any Russian ace scurrying back home with their tail between their legs...
The major things that keep you hooked on this game are its plot, the exceptional graphics for its system and the large selection of aerial instruments of death. As I pointed out, the plot is rather long and complex, and even the watered-down version is lengthy, but that’s what makes it so captivating. The cutscenes that present the plot through multiple points of view are of an animation quality you’d expect from modern Xbox 360’s and PS3’s, yet on what nowadays is considered the “granddaddy” of gaming platforms. Topping it all off is the fact that you can get your hands on some of the world’s greatest fighters, from the legendary F-4 Phantom to the scarcely-put-into-service F-22 Raptor (personally my favorite). Not only that, every single missile, rocket, bullet and bomb is appropriately detailed and has just the right sound for it’s launch, including the NATO callsign “Fox Two” whenever a AIM-9 Sidewinder is released. Each and every single one of these facts makes this game so easy to pick up and play.
ZOMG, THAT THING’S FREAKIN’ HUGE!!!
The qualms I have with this game are few and minor. For one, I would like there to be a better multiplayer for the game, as the one available is of shoddy quality. Another thing would have to be the music; although Namco did a groundbreaking job with the orchestral score, the rest of the music is kind of blah. The final thing I have to say about this game is… GO AND GET IT!!!! It’s well worth the $20’s you’ll spend on it, and it’s coming from the series that HAWX will never top.
LONG LIVE ACE COMBAT!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment