Namco Bandai's latest Ace Combat game, headed to PS3 and Xbox 360 next year, adds something new to the formula that's sure to please people who really hate airplanes. According to the press release, Ace Combat Assault Horizon "intensifies the franchise, escalating combat to the next level with aircraft that are literally torn apart, spewing oil and debris across the sky."
This game represents a "rebirth of our premiere franchise," said Project Aces producer Kazutoki Kono. What better way to bring it back than with airplane mutilation? The trailer (after the break) also makes references to real-world locations like Miami, and cites GeoEye map data, suggesting that this game is following the flight path set forth by the PSP's Joint Assault. Also, there's a shoutout to Namco Bandai's Twitter account for some reason.
whoa.. please dont tease me with those helicopters.. please tell me we'll finally be able to fly them.. i dont know about the camera view.. looks a bit wobbly, unless that wasnt gameplay.. but other than that.. i'm definitely getting this.. it looks like a lot more to do than just fly, shoot and dodge enemy fire.
Alright, no offense game developers. But I completely understand how the art of the QTE can really draw a player into some of the more intense scenes. But a air combat game isn't one of them.
The best thing about these kind of games hunting a jet and fighting it out only to watch that last bullet or rocket turn them in smithereens. Now that will be more than likely done by a 30 second QTE instead of your own skill.
@PSN ronaldmonster I think what happened in the trailer was that when a fight is on your tail you can hold down Triangle to see his view and dodge his shots easier. A QTE with only one button is kinda boring.
@PSN ronaldmonster maybe they just added QTE not for every kill you make but for the sheer WOWLOOKATTHAT moment in single player to make it more WOWsh without relying too much on game movies. or maybe it will fail horribly it's still too early to judge game play mechanics.
@Evi1d33d that makes sense... i was like OMG not again that quick time event crap!!! when i have first seen it. But that actually makes sense what you say...
If you ever played an AC series game on the PS before, you can get that "missile-following QTE effect" by holding down (instead of just tapping) the Circle/Fire button after you shoot the missile.
You could also zoom and center the camera on a targeted aircraft by holding Triangle, and it seems like they really improved the camera in AH. In AC4/5/0, the camera would rotate a complete 180° basically making you fly a plane backwards...
@Killface was here sadly you can't lockon on to the angel. But if they were enclosed in metal and emitting heat that would be a great target and i wold take my atheism on to another level.
sold. i just recently started playing Fires of Liberation again because i went to an air show the other day and this looks great. the detail of the planes in Fires of Liberation was amazing so i can't wait for this
I'll be a little disappointed if this actually is set in the real world instead of Ace Combat's universe. I liked that it was all a little more fictional than other war games.
@kyouteki It was cool that for most of the games it was all one world and one history that could be followed. I'm a huge nerd that enjoys that stuff, so I'll miss it too. Nonetheless, I still like me some plane flyin', so I guess I'm in.
@kyouteki Yeah, I really loved the fictional world thing and I wished that they would make an Ace Combat game set in their early 1960s when machine guns were still as widely used as the then-unreliable air-to-air missiles.
I don't remember Ace Combat being this "action movie". And are we really gonna start putting quicktime in flight simulation games? I have no idea what those quicktime moments were for.
The AC series on the PS2 always had some feature where if you would move the right stick it would pan the camera so you could look around. And if you held the Triangle button, it would zoom and center the camera on the targeted enemy. Same with holding Circle and having the camera follow the missile trail.
Looks like this is an massive overhaul of the third-person view, as it was quite annoying to have the camera rotate a full 180 degrees to view someone behind you while trying to fly a plane forward...
Then again, it's just an early trailer preview so I guess we'll see when it comes out.
As a Wii-only owner (due only to economical factors, though), I have to say: I wonder if there'll ever be other Wii Ace Combat-styled games. I mean, there's "The Sky Crawlers"... and nothing else. Sky Crawlers was amazing, it was practically Ace Combat minus missiles, meaning the Wii can actually stand this kind of games. So why is it so hard to, at least, port an old Ace Combat title into Wii?
But Wii-rant done, I'm glad the AC series is still up and running. Was a great part of my PS2-years.
Really excited about this! The trailer left me more than a little surprised though. Huge gameplay shifts, and an increased focus on casual gamers.
I was hoping the game series would become a little more realistic (countermeasures, at least, please), but it appears it will be made even more simple. This is disappointing but I was such a huge fan of Ace Combat 6 that I'm sure I'll sign up for 7 no matter what they do.
I wonder if 4 player co-op will be available throughout the entire campaign, like it is in the upcoming PSP Ace Combat.
@GuardianLegend You have to realize that Ace Combat from the first game is designed as an arcade flight shooter and not something like even a "sim lite" like those Third Wire flight sims.
I wasn't too impressed with the last one. The story was quite insipid and uninteresting. I can't even remember any of the missions that were awesome. But I'll hold judgment on this one.
@IslandLife Yessir it did! But it looked like an SU-37, or some kind of advanced Flanker model. If it was the 37, that would be very possible. Those things have the most insane maneuverability.
Nice, its been awhile since I played an AC game. Being able to use helicopters is awesome, but I wish they still used their own countries. Also I hope the gameplay is still like the old ones without the cinematics.
Oh dear god I need a new pair of pants... This actually makes up for not having AC6 on PS3, which was still a seriously huge let down.
Though it may be more arcadey then previous games I'm sure it can't hurt. Even the limiter in HAWX grew on me so anything they do in this should be alright.
And as for the helicopters, which would be EPIC! If they're showing crosshairs from them in the trailer, I think that insinuates there will be helis almost for sure. But I won't jump to conclusions.
I will be paying very close attention though. One word of dancing with angels or suits of armor being stolen that have less than nothing to do with Fighter Jets and I'll just stick with HAWX 2.
Kind of nice to see it return to the PS3, since that's all I own... but where Ace Combat 6 paled in comparison to AC04 and 5, HAWX filled the void of AC6 and now HAWX 2 on the way this Fall... all I can say to Namco Bandai is "Ace what, now?"
Developed by the Project Aces team at Namco Bandai Games Inc. in Japan, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon brings a new intensity to the franchise, escalating combat to the next level with aircraft that are literally torn apart, spewing oil and debris across the sky. Players will engage in intense single player and online multiplayer combat over real world locations, dodging skyscrapers and turning enemies into fiery supersonic debris.
