"An excellent addition to the Ace Combat Series"

Introduction

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War takes place 15 years before the war covered in AC5. Nations that appeared in AC5, such as Osea and Belka, return in this game. You fight for the country of Ustio with their Mercenary Squadron.

Gameplay: 9/10

Excellent. For those who played AC5, the controls should be familiar to you. Everything is smooth and the layout is perfect. Plenty of aircraft, typical for an Ace Combat game, are available to the player. The ability to choose your special weapon has come back, making it easier to use each aircraft or your favorite aircraft for the role you need. The biggest change, vastly improved AI. Your wingman is very smart, capable of following your orders precisely and destroying what it finds or what you tell it to. The enemy also received the overhaul, capable of avoiding your missiles better, and ganging up on you to take you down. Over 160 named aces appear in the game, some of them part of a squadron, which are extremely hard to shoot down. Those that are part of a squadron work together extremely well. Usually you will be chasing one, attempting to shoot it down, and the rest will be behind you launching every missile they have at you or keeping Pixy busy and unable to help you. A new "ace" system is in the game and what kind of ace you want to be will influence what you destroy or not destroy, and which missions, aces, cutscenes, and radio chatter you will see and hear. At 18 missions, this game may seem short, but depending on which ace you are, you get a certain mission. Sounds confusing but that equates to 54 missions plus mission 19, which is available for only one kind of ace, totaling to 55 missions. I can only nit pick at a few things. There aren't a lot of cutscenes like there were in AC5, but there are still quite a few and they are really good. You only have one wingman, but as good as he is, I can overlook that. In short, this game takes the best of AC4 and AC5 and puts them together for a very enjoyable game.

Story: 8/10

A very good storyline that supplements the story in AC5 and fills the void that AC5 left about the Belkan War. It has its interesting twists like all AC games and the interviews of aces that you get to see later in the game really add to the immersion factor. Great overall.

Graphics: 10/10

For an aging system (6 years old), this game has impressive graphics. Each aircraft is very detailed, crisp, and clear. The weaponry, the smoke trails from missiles, the puffs of smoke from a SAM launch, all detailed. The environmental effects, such as the sky, clouds, weather, sun, day or night are all realistic and make flying the unfriendly skies fun and challenging at times.

Sound: 10/10

Everything sounds great in the game. All the jets and weapon effects are top notch. The radio chatter is even more immersive than in AC5 and changes depending on which ace you are. The explosion sounds are also great and changes depending on how far from the explosion. Nothing to complain about here.

Replayability: 8/10

There is a lot of incentive to keep playing the game after you go through it once. S Ranking all the missions on Normal difficulty and higher earns you various things along the way. Getting every medal, every aircraft, and completing the Assault Records will take a minimum of three attempts through the game. Missions differ depending which kind of ace you are as well, so there is a good amount of replayability in here.

Final Recommendations

If you're a fan of the series then it's definitely worth buying and adding to your collection of AC games. If you're doubtful or new to the series then you might to rent it first just to be sure, but there's not much wrong with this game. I highly recommend it to rookies, veterans, and aces. Easy to pick up and play for the rookies, and challenging enough for the aces.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/01/06