"Dog Fights! and more."

I love to fly in video games, cockpits and altitudes are one of my favorite things to gauge at. Though Ace Combat 5 is flawed in several areas of it's presentation, it's gameplay is flawless. The level design is not the greatest when compared to Ace Combat 4.

Graphically, it's hard to distinguish between Ace 4 and Ace 5. Ace 4 is actually better, in many ways. The level design so much better, there are more bombing runs in Ace 4 there's a missle cam which I couldn't find in Ace 5.

Storywise, I ask this simple question. Why does a flying game need a story? This is a flaw in Ace 4 and Ace 5 that has never been truly solved even though Ace 5 makes it more apparent that a flying game needs no story by making the story so annoying. Who want's to hear people whine when you could be in a vicious dog fight or a mean bomb run?

While I give Ace Combat 4 a 10/10 here is my review for the next best thing.

Graphics: 8/10
Slightly better than Ace 4 but still not photo real and that doesn't matter one bit... Why because the gameplay is stilll the same and graphics are never all that unless they bring something to the table gameplay-wise.

I enjoyed the more detailed greenery like trees and the variety in textures but I still felt jipped when it came to level design and fun to be had. The graphics were adequete nothing to write home to mom about but they served the game well. It brought home the point, you know what's going on at all times.

I especially enjoyed the ability to switch camera views from 1st to 2nd to 3rd person prespective and how it showed your score, having a score is tha neatest thing of any game.

Music: 5/10
The music is almost absent, except for the drunken last bomb run where everyone is singing for peace together and I muted everything because it was so depressing. I just want to kill people not cry my heart out, especially when they sound drunk.

Sound: 7/10
Better sound than most airplane games you could hear what is happening around you quite clearly and there is no confusion about what's going on.... Except for all the crappy and usless wingman chatter which does nothing since (spoiler) some of your wingmen are downed regardless of what you do. The yes and no answering system is not a lot of help and is just a waste of dialouge. Save the voice acting and make a 10 point game.

Story: 7/10
The worst thing is the vioce acting and dialouge, why do we care about anything but killing targets? Sure there is a morale, but if i wanted morality I would worship our lord every Sunday and read books on human nature and philosophy. Why would I delve back to our own reality when I could just be entertained. If i wanted depressing reality I could go stare at a bum ask for change while everyone ignored them.

It's all too melodramatic for me and I hate to see grown men cry... Though I disagree with the war in Iraq, I'm pretty sure this game was taking a stance against American Imperialism so I just gave it a +1 point to the 6/10 it had, thing is the screen writer still sucks, so... Does the message's deliver suck as well? You be the judge.

Gampelay: 8/10
Bottomline in any game is how the game plays. This game is better than most, but it fails a little short of being a sequel. It actually is not as awesome as it's prequel. :D But it still awesome.

The controls are still effective, and you are capable of deploying real life strategies in arial battle. My favorite is to stall, and drop behind an opponent. I will stall just to get behind my persuer and that is awesome. Sometimes flying low plus ome handy manuvers will also help you lose missles, talk about reality.

The game has decidedly left ground targets for dog fights and that to me is not so cool. I miss bomb runs and mixing the action up. I only found my favorite plane the F-10 bomber put to good use once. In a critical mission none the less but still, not as effective as it was in Ace Combat 4.

One of the best new things is the control over your wingmen. Choosing and buying a plane for them is totally helpful in all your missions, since your wingmen will fly superior planes your opponents AI will not matter since they are not human. If you've played angainst a human opponent you sill understand, that a dog fight can last as long as your gas tank has fuel.

The types of missions are mostly airial and the emphasis on dog fighting can be felt through out the game. Percentage wise ground/arial engagements is 1 to 4 so 1/4 your missions will be intense ground attacks.

The game has replay value to an extent, since if you enjoy this game as much you can opt to collect new skins for your planes and new planes in general. If you are a flying nut this is cool.

The coolest thing in Ace 5 is that Boeing and some other plane manufacturers helped developement in the gameplay which helps to add something new strategically.

Verdict: 8/10
A bit different than perfection but still solid for Red Barons :D

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/11/04