Air Combat/Ace Combat (PS1, 1995)
Graphics-6.5 Sound-8.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-6.5/7* Story-4.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-6/6.5* Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*Mission 12 and 17
+
Buy new aircraft with money made during missions (you get rewarded based on enemies destroyed and their values as well as your jet’s damage) - can choose which plane to use before each mission
Aircraft have differing stats in 5 categories (mobility, stability, offense, defense, power (speed)) and some have a stealth ability but worse overall stats
Difficulty options (easy-hard - affects plane costs and damage taken+enemy AI; both these and the control setting can be changed at any point)
Mini-map toggle which doesn't pause gameplay (a semi-transparent enemy radar is always on in the bottom left corner and its range changes dynamically depending on how close the nearest enemy is), TP/FP view toggle
Good draw distance for planes and smooth framerate (worse for the ground and backgrounds are pretty basic looking as is the exhaust effect on planes though the models themselves look decent)
Lock on feature which shows how far away the enemy is, Can switch target to lock on to with a button press
Can hire a CPU wingman pilot to accompany you for some missions but its AI is very simple and paying for a better mercenary doesn't make that much of a difference (can tell it to do one of three things but using it as a meat shield is by far the most effective - actually makes the game a lot easier on easy-medium?, go to objective is inefficient because it can't do much about ground targets; sometimes one is assigned to you but you can choose to go alone instead)
Nice sequenced/psf music though it's only used for a couple of jingles (title, mission briefing)
Pretty detailed briefings which let you check enemy planes in advance
+/-
Save in-between missions (multiple slots, shows current score/money, last plane used and last mission finished)
Partially non-linear structure (choose between 2+ missions after the first three on a map screen)
Get a game over if you run out of money and planes
Two control options settings (basic and advanced - latter allows for more maneuvers)
Upbeat 80s-style rock/synth rock OST (mostly cheesy but suits the arcade-style gameplay)
2-Player VS mode w/ split screen - No co-op mode
Limited ammo
Can't see enemy plane HP
Time taken and fuel+ammo spent is not a factor in the mission rankings but you will have watch your current fuel levels in some later missions
Unlockable mission select (have to beat all missions on hard though)
If you lose a plane then the game keeps going but you have to rebuy it at a higher price (generally better to just reload)
Ground targets tend to give more points even if they're not part of the objective
Pretty easy first 4 missions+missions 6 and 8-9 (7 as well with RC-01)+mission 13 and 16
Your speed automatically goes back to around the middle of the bar when you're not breaking or accelerating
Voice assistance and arrows help you navigate towards nearby enemies and avoid missiles - can't turn off the voice
One boss only (air fortress, decent)
-
Some control/interface issues/oddities (the radar's range (mini-map) is a bit too short and your assistant doesn't tell you which direction to go when you can't see the next target on the map - can't upgrade it, can pretty much fly inside an enemy plane from behind or into a currently exploding enemy plane without crashing, can't make the HUD semi-transparent, no analog stick support, unskippable score countdown at the end of missions, can't review a mission's objectives while playing it)
No plane customization (visual or otherwise) and CPU wingmen don't become better over time
Kinda repetitive (usually find and destroy target(s) or destroy all enemies, some escort missions, some nighttime and ravine missions and one ravine/tunnel mission)
The machine gun is almost useless since it's much harder to line yourself up to hit with it unless you're fighting bombers or helicopters and there are only two different weapons (machine gun and missiles)
A bit slow paced at first
Some planes kinda suck (F-117 Stealth, F-4, F-16, SF-39?) and some are meh (F/A-18)
Some missions are kind of drawn out (Mission 05/Destroy pipe-lines!)
The morse code beeping during briefings can be a bit annoying (should've faded out as the guy started talking - there are subtitles and you can turn off the voice though)
Pretty dated looking explosions/enemy plane crashes (2D explosions and the planes just sort of disappear in mid-air after falling for a bit without any debris)
Can't fly on the side and do barrel rolls like in After Burner
Pretty generic story told through scrolling text
No speed control in ravine and tunnel missions+easy helicopter enemies makes them mostly easy and slow
Most planes feel too similar (even fairly large stat differences only translate to a small difference when playing)
13+ seconds of waiting (death cutscene+loading) each time you die
No radio communications with the enemy or with your allies during missions (Wing Commander)
Level Design-7 Frustration-6/6.5* Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*Mission 12 and 17
+
Buy new aircraft with money made during missions (you get rewarded based on enemies destroyed and their values as well as your jet’s damage) - can choose which plane to use before each mission
Aircraft have differing stats in 5 categories (mobility, stability, offense, defense, power (speed)) and some have a stealth ability but worse overall stats
Difficulty options (easy-hard - affects plane costs and damage taken+enemy AI; both these and the control setting can be changed at any point)
Mini-map toggle which doesn't pause gameplay (a semi-transparent enemy radar is always on in the bottom left corner and its range changes dynamically depending on how close the nearest enemy is), TP/FP view toggle
Good draw distance for planes and smooth framerate (worse for the ground and backgrounds are pretty basic looking as is the exhaust effect on planes though the models themselves look decent)
Lock on feature which shows how far away the enemy is, Can switch target to lock on to with a button press
Can hire a CPU wingman pilot to accompany you for some missions but its AI is very simple and paying for a better mercenary doesn't make that much of a difference (can tell it to do one of three things but using it as a meat shield is by far the most effective - actually makes the game a lot easier on easy-medium?, go to objective is inefficient because it can't do much about ground targets; sometimes one is assigned to you but you can choose to go alone instead)
Nice sequenced/psf music though it's only used for a couple of jingles (title, mission briefing)
Pretty detailed briefings which let you check enemy planes in advance
+/-
Save in-between missions (multiple slots, shows current score/money, last plane used and last mission finished)
Partially non-linear structure (choose between 2+ missions after the first three on a map screen)
Get a game over if you run out of money and planes
Two control options settings (basic and advanced - latter allows for more maneuvers)
Upbeat 80s-style rock/synth rock OST (mostly cheesy but suits the arcade-style gameplay)
2-Player VS mode w/ split screen - No co-op mode
Limited ammo
Can't see enemy plane HP
Time taken and fuel+ammo spent is not a factor in the mission rankings but you will have watch your current fuel levels in some later missions
Unlockable mission select (have to beat all missions on hard though)
If you lose a plane then the game keeps going but you have to rebuy it at a higher price (generally better to just reload)
Ground targets tend to give more points even if they're not part of the objective
Pretty easy first 4 missions+missions 6 and 8-9 (7 as well with RC-01)+mission 13 and 16
Your speed automatically goes back to around the middle of the bar when you're not breaking or accelerating
Voice assistance and arrows help you navigate towards nearby enemies and avoid missiles - can't turn off the voice
One boss only (air fortress, decent)
-
Some control/interface issues/oddities (the radar's range (mini-map) is a bit too short and your assistant doesn't tell you which direction to go when you can't see the next target on the map - can't upgrade it, can pretty much fly inside an enemy plane from behind or into a currently exploding enemy plane without crashing, can't make the HUD semi-transparent, no analog stick support, unskippable score countdown at the end of missions, can't review a mission's objectives while playing it)
No plane customization (visual or otherwise) and CPU wingmen don't become better over time
Kinda repetitive (usually find and destroy target(s) or destroy all enemies, some escort missions, some nighttime and ravine missions and one ravine/tunnel mission)
The machine gun is almost useless since it's much harder to line yourself up to hit with it unless you're fighting bombers or helicopters and there are only two different weapons (machine gun and missiles)
A bit slow paced at first
Some planes kinda suck (F-117 Stealth, F-4, F-16, SF-39?) and some are meh (F/A-18)
Some missions are kind of drawn out (Mission 05/Destroy pipe-lines!)
The morse code beeping during briefings can be a bit annoying (should've faded out as the guy started talking - there are subtitles and you can turn off the voice though)
Pretty dated looking explosions/enemy plane crashes (2D explosions and the planes just sort of disappear in mid-air after falling for a bit without any debris)
Can't fly on the side and do barrel rolls like in After Burner
Pretty generic story told through scrolling text
No speed control in ravine and tunnel missions+easy helicopter enemies makes them mostly easy and slow
Most planes feel too similar (even fairly large stat differences only translate to a small difference when playing)
13+ seconds of waiting (death cutscene+loading) each time you die
No radio communications with the enemy or with your allies during missions (Wing Commander)