. The missions, however are varied enough, and since you can revisit them with any of the 21 air crafts (each with a distinct style of flight), the replay value can be arguably good.Bottom line - finally, PS2 games are starting to show off the system's capabilities. AC4: Shattered Skies is no exeption, even the controls take excellent advantage of the analogue buttons. Dog fighting, bombing missions, avoiding anti-aircraft gun fire, shaking off missle locks, etc. etc. etc. everything you'd expect and want in a title like this, you will find. And all of this is presented in a style that is polished and, for a lack of a better term, very slick. If anything, for the genre of the game, it is Fun. Blissful and Gleeful in immersive flight.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Yowza!Nov 02, 2001
By Bob Manson
Unlike the rather disappointing US version of Ace Combat 3 for the Playstation, AC4 is awesome. If you like arcade flight sims, this one's an easy purchase. I originally set myself up for a disappointing experience, but I've been playing it for the last three hours and I'm one happy camper.
It has a (amazingly) comprehensible story with enjoyable narration--something that was sorely lacking from AC3. The battles make some amount of sense; there's a definite flow and feeling of achievement after each mission, although it's still fixed in terms of the actual events that occur. (There were aspects of AC3 that were cool, but the whole branching storyline made no sense without any cutscenes--it was just weird.)
The money system is a great idea, especially since planes in AC3 seemed to show up at the whim of the designers or as a result of contrived storyline events. You earn extra money for shooting down additional planes and earning higher mission grades, which can be used to purchase alternate weapons and new planes. It gives some real motivation to do a better job on the missions other than just getting an "A" beside your name.
The difficulty levels are a nice change as well--there's a "very easy" level that is reasonably easy to play, but still presents a bit of a challenge. There's also a tutorial, which isn't that great but at least it's something--it was rough for beginners to get started with AC3. (The biggest problems with the tutorial are that the text goes by too slowly, and there's not much in the way of feedback. I was hoping for a way to practice various things like missile usage and bombing, but no such luck.)
Graphics: beautiful. They're good enough that I don't pay any attention, and that's precisely where they need to be. I haven't noticed any anomalies at all in fact--no funny popup problems, weird blurring effects, slowdowns, whatever. The sounds are quite good as well, tho the "pilot chatter" can be annoying at times...it's also useful (warns of enemy planes etc) so it's acceptable.
Of course it's still Ace Combat: flight isn't terribly realistic, near-insane amounts of ammunition, surprise storyline changes, an amazing array of airplanes to choose from. That just makes it all the more fun...sure, realistic flight sims have their place, but that isn't what AC is about and that's OK.
Don't be scared off if you were unhappy with AC3 for the Playstation--this is a totally different animal, and well worth it.
26 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Great arcade actionOct 28, 2001
I was brought up on the Falcon/Jane flight simulators for the PC. I wish the reviews that I read had mentioned the following:
1. For a single player, there is only one mode of play. There are 18 relatively easy missions to complete. The average person will probably wrap this game up in 7-10 days of casual play. Thus, this game probably isn't the best value out there.
2. This is not a simulation -- it's an arcade game. If you're expecting full control over all aspects of the game, you may be disappointed. For example, you're not expected to land or takeoff. Each plane can hold 60+ missiles. The radar/weapons system are also simplistic.
With that in mind, there are several neat features of the game. The planes are very detailed and everything looks very life-like. The computer AI is pretty good; some of the opponents are excellent pilots. There is a wide selection of weapons, and each plane has its own distinct strengths and weaknesses.
Overall, there's lots of obvious additions that the programmers could have included (more modes of play/better replay mode). However, the game is fun to play and it looks great. I would recommend this game for everyone except someone looking for a true flight combat simulator.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Beautiful, fast, and best console fighter combat game ever.Nov 04, 2001
Before i start i would like to thank namco for releasing this gem of a game. I've played every game in the series, and always was thankful for them, since they were the only good fighter combat games out there. But this game goes above and beyond anything in the previous 3.
First off the graphics are absolutly beautiful. The ground no longer looks pixelated, it's now perfectly blended. Although the cities look mostly the same as they did, with sky scrapers coming up and other buildings shown flat on the ground, it's still effective. But this time there's just so much more going on on the ground, guns firing at you are shown much more realistically. In the ground support missions tanks, artillery, and pillboxes are all shown perfectly as they fire on your landing or advancing troops. Coming down from 35,000 feet, through clouds onto land targets is still as exciting as ever.
But the greatest addition to the series is the story. In the others in the series i didn't really care about it, i just wanted to get to the blowing stuff up parts, but in this the story is very captivating. It's shown through a mixture of movies and still pictures narrated by a civilian who is living through the war. This makes it very interesting as he interacts with the enemy you are fighting.
Overall this game should take it's place in your collection of games simply because it's the best flight sim out there on any console, and i doubt x-box or gamecube will have anything better for a while or maybe not at all. If you like aerial combat or have an interest this is the game for you.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Great Arcade FunMar 26, 2002
Ace Combat 4 is a perfect example of what video games are supposed to be. It's an arcade style fighter jet game, where you engage in dogfights, and various bombing missions in enemy territory. It also has an interesting storyline. But HERE are the details.
The Controls: VERY simple. Each action has it's own button. You fly with the analog joysticks. Target Lock, Shoot, Accelerate, and Decelerate with seperate buttons. Give yourself 5 minutes and you'll have mastered the controls. The rumble pack is especially great for this game, shaking when you hit the afterburner, or take a missle in the rear end.
Graphics: Very nice. People who don't think these are good graphics have been playing too many computer flight sim games where the graphics are borderline insane (Jetfighter 4).
This is PS2 on your TV, the graphics are smooth, and the explosions are fun to see.
Sound: Great music. It's intense. Plane sounds are top notch. Missles wizzing by your plane sound great also.
The Game: FUN. It is NOT a flight simulator. You don't have to land, take off, or fly 15 minutes to your target desination. You put the game in and there you go. Pure arcade style fighter jet fun.
Extra Info: There are 18 missions, all of which are different. You can also purchase new, better planes, and more advanced weapons as each mission passes, and you obtain more money.
If your looking for a good fun game, this is for you. If you want a complicated flight sim, look elsewhere. Enjoy!
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