WGAME REVIEW
A
erial combat games can be split
down the middle, more or less,
according to which half of the ’90s
they hark back to. Is it an ode to After
Burner, all effortless loops and rolls?
Or is it the kind of rigorous flight
sim that flew so high in the decade’s
latter half, almost invariably taking
its name from a plane (see Falcon 4.0,
B-17 Flying Fortress, et al), where even
correctly retracting your landing gear
is a real achievement.
You don’t need me to tell you that
Ace Combat 7 is the former. You can see
by the screenshots, by the very name,
that this is about getting you up in the
air and feeling like Maverick ASAP, laws
of physics be damned. It’s the latest in
a 23-year-old franchise devoted to just
that, no less. And on those terms, it’s a
roaring success.
As with its predecessors, there are
two different flight models available
here, one professing to offer a
simplified handling experience while
the other offers a deeper simulation. In
truth, neither one is particularly taxing,
and the most discernible difference
between them seems to be increased
control of yaw and pitch in simulation
mode. It’s Need for Speed handling in
the air then, essentially, and there’s
nothing inherently wrong with that.
After an hour or so of chucking a fighter
jet about with abandon, though, you
do feel a desire to test your flight skills
further than either model truly allows.
No, instead that challenge must be
gleaned from Ace Combat 7’s missions.
They start off pedestrian, but kick into
gear after three or four levels to reveal
an unhinged campaign. What begins as
15 minutes of shooting at radar towers
and the odd enemy fighter quickly
descends into boss fights against
impossible constructions, battles
with drone swarms, and navigational
setpieces straight from a Universal
Studios ride. The demands of Ace
Combat 7’s campaign are matched
perfectly with its accessible approach to
flight simulation, throwing improbable
machines and scenarios at you simply
because it can.
Make it back to base after one of
these delirious encounters, and you’ll
earn some currency to spend on new
weapons, plane upgrades, and entirely
new aircraft via a huge and elaborate
tech tree. The improvements to
maneuverability are subtle when you
upgrade a plane, but weapon additions
can make you much more effective in
certain missions.
But is there variety? It seems poor to
even ask when you’ve just concluded
a mission that requires you to navigate
collapsing skyscrapers, but no, there
isn’t. Despite all the bluster, it’s hard to
shake the fatigue that comes with your
100th dogfight. The settings change
around, and sometimes the environment
itself poses a hazard, but in the simplest
terms the gameplay loop doesn’t evolve
beyond aim, lock, and fire.
TURBULENCE
There are more obvious negatives,
though, like the unengaging cutscenesWHY
SHOULD
I CARE?+ You’re a rusted
on fan.
+ You still have
nightmares about
Falcon 4 (me too).
+ But you can be
my wingman any
time.Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
Presents a spruced-up goose.
DEVELOPER BANDAI NAMCO STUDIOS • PUBLISHER BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT
http://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/ace-combat-7VERDICT:
Uncomplicated but
gratifying flying, in
scenarios of increasing
silliness and likability.
Tedious story, though. 7between missions, which hand on heart
I really did try to follow, but... nah.
I’ll not dwell on what’s ultimately a
subjective aspect of the game, though,
but will instead sing Ace Combat
7’s praises for looking great without
overly taxing your PC (there’s even a
downsampling option!), but mostly for
keeping the early ’90s arcade flight sim
alive, prettier and weirder than ever.
PHIL IWANIUK“Control? Yep, it’s me
again. Listen...”COME FLY WITH ME
NAVIGATING ACE COMBAT 7’S AIRCRAFT TREEF-4E
Where it all begins.
It’s capable and
nippy, but those
stats... yeesh.SU-30M2
A formidable
Russian Air
Force classic, all
undulating lines
and missiles.F-22A
The priciest
fighter, and with
reason: These
are $150m per
unit IRL.