1. awdrifter

   10

   This game is not Ace Combat, it's a freaking COD clone with planes. Regenerating health on a plane? Seriously?! Everything has been dumbed down to a mini-game, and yet it's incredibly frustrating to play. I hated the rail shooting section, I hated the bomber section, I hate they force you to go into the godamn ASM mode for ground bombings. There are no fictional planes, no memorable aces, no enemy radio chatter, no mid-air refueling. If you liked the previous AC games, you'll hate this one. If you like COD or BF3, then you'll love this.… Expand

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     0 of 0 users said yes
2. USG

   5

   Overall, this game is just bearable and nothing more. The developers ruined the series' foundations while making its inspiration too obvious. A mediocre inspiration does not result in an outstanding rebirth. Some nice features are preserved from older Ace Combat games, but most other features that resemble a horribly average first-person shooter to ruin its value and are extremely illogical and unrealistic. Whenever the "Mission Completed" screen pops up, a great amount of disappointment is felt in retrospect to Namco's previous titles. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has many flaws that has been introduced in the new title. The story is extremely forgettable, with stereotypical characters that are given a little thought and lack any depth. Missions are just slammed together in order with no pause. This is complemented by some of the worst songs ever composed for an Ace Combat title which feel unfitting at times whose only goal is to resemble, possibly, the culture of the area the player is flying over but adds nothing to the battle. Some music is just noise. Even Namco has dropped the ball on such staples as radio chatter, with nothing interesting going on and voices are often drowned out on default settings throughout the story. The gameplay itself is also broken. The CRA mode and physics are painfully unrealistic. Anything that is airworthy can backflip, go figure. Forget about taking damage too, feel free to crash into the ground and let the plane's regenerative health do the job. The player does not need to worry about purchasing aircraft, they're presented with a selection with unlocked aircraft. Nobody can enjoy the more rewarding system of purchasing aircraft and using any type of aircraft the player desires for any mission. Not even briefings are present anymore, and the only scripted two scripted briefings or so are horribly uninteresting. Only a few times is the player allowed to land, which are during heavily-scripted sequences under stupid circumstances. Helicopter missions are completely mediocre and unrealistic and there's nothing special at all with the gunner missions that do not separate Assault Horizon from the rest of the crowd. In Assault Horizon, the player is bombarded with constant visual effects. They become irritating, distracting, and disorientating very quickly and also break the pace of the game worse than CRA mode. Once the animation ends, the player must re-orientate and wonder the point of the bells and whistles of the game. One very major negative aspect of the game is the inconsistencies in difficulty during story mode. Many sections are are breeze, but then the player smacks a section that is nearly impossible to complete, let alone achieve a high rank on. The missions do not become progressively harder, either. About all that has been an improvement are the graphics which is expected. The multiplayer does not stand out in particular itself, although it has been improved from Ace Combat 6. Overall, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is not an enjoyable game and a failure in retrospect to many previous titles. Namco has also failed at marketing it towards western audiences.… Expand

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     2 of 2 users said yes
3. Bellicose

   2

   I would hesitate to call this an Ace Combat game. Not just because it's bad and I would prefer to divorce its identity from the franchise, but because it really is nothing like any of the other Ace Combat games. Do you enjoy flight games? Well, this isn't one of those. Oh sure, it has airplanes, but you don't actually do much direct controlling of them. The majority of the game is played in "Dogfight Mode" which is not as exciting as it sounds. In "DFM", the system takes over most of the flying for you, leaving you to -- well, marketing would say "focus on the fight", but in reality it's "focus on just holding down the guns and pressing the missile button when prompted to". Oh, didn't we mention? The game features quicktime events prominently. Nevermind the bland gameplay, the story is terrible. It leaves the wonderful Strangereal world behind in favour of...this subpar, generic, straight-up-meh experience. There is NOTHING of Ace Combat here. But even if it didn't share the name, even if it were a game striking out on its own for the first time, there's just nothing to like here. The highpoint of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War truly is behind us. This game is an ungodly morass of incompetence.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     4 of 4 users said yes

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