Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (ps3/360)

Ace Combat has always had a history of being the crème de la crème of flight fighter sims on the playstation and playstation 2, unfortunately years later the same cannot be said about the latest release in the series. First off Ace Combat Assault Horizon is not a bad game it is actually a lot of fun the only problem is Namco have gone to the trouble of fixing something that really wasn’t broken and what you are left with is a level of unrealistic yet highly accessible fighting and flying. If like me you played many of the older games in the series and thought the newest one would follow much in the same manner then I’m sorry to say that’s not the case, but all is not lost because there is a lot about the game that really makes it stand out among other recent flight sims. It’s easy to assume Namco made all the new changes in order to breathe new life into their highly popular franchise but you can’t help but wonder are the helicopter door gunner and C-130 segments a sign that it’s been influenced too much by games like Modern Warfare and Medal of Honour – both games are good but it’s a dangerous trend to follow that can often result in unimaginative gameplay that screams déjà vu. Though Ace Combat is in some ways guilty of the same influence it does have a trick or two up its sleeves.

The game does have a story and for the most part it’s not too bad but at best it’s predictable, given the aerial action is the centre point the story really isn’t something you will be paying attention to in the first place. In the past Ace Combat games have been exclusive to fighter jets and that worked, while reimagining the game it seems that Namco thought planes alone wasn’t enough. While jets do feature 80% of the time and work very well the added helicopter missions are a lot of fun and it keeps the game interesting when you have to adapt to a new style of flight but it’s nothing that’s not be done before. Anyone who played Apache Air Assault will be very familiar with what Ace Combat has done, the only helicopters available are an Apache and a Russian Hind – they do pack a punch and add a little extra to the game but you can only use them on helicopter specific missions. Also included is a mission where you are a gunner on a chopper and must hit ground targets and soldiers, again its interesting and fun but it’s been done to death by similar games – even the token C130 bombing run is included. It’s a shame the developers thought they had to add all the extra razzle and dazzle to sell it to today’s audience and I can’t help but think if they concentrated only on the jets and planes the game would have been more of a success especially with the fans.

My biggest complaint was that the game didn’t stand up to the realism and expectations that it built up, many past Ace Combat fans are use to a certain learning curve and even with the advanced controls activated it’s still too easy. To really hammer home how easy the flying can be one of the modes known as DFM (dog fighting mode) thrusts the player into a close up battle of break neck speed with explosive results, sounds good right? – Unfortunately no this is another example of fixing something that isn’t broken and here is why. To activate DFM you have to fly up behind the enemy at close enough range, once active your plane gains a sort of phantom autopilot that perfectly guides you through danger leaving you to blanket the enemy aircraft in gun and missile fire. While that may sound like fun the auto pilot is too linear and often sets you off on a scripted flythrough that feels more like a ride at universal studios than an actual dog fight.

Dog fighting mode is probably one of my biggest gripes with the game, you can successfully shoot down aircraft by not getting too close but it seems like it’s geared towards having you dog fight as much as possible. My assumption is they included this new mode to bring the player closer to the action but being that it can become so linear and the auto pilot takes over you never really feel like you are the one in control of the game – it might have looked good on paper but the end result is not pretty. Controlling the planes in the game is easy enough and the learning curve is short enough that in under an hour you can become an ace pilot in both manoeuvres and in combat. I love that the developers have made the game more open to newcomers but at the same time they have dumbed down too much of the controls and even the action, while engaging aircraft in dog fighting mode even if you try to crash into buildings or in my case the ground you just can’t do it and I personally think this kind of scripted event has no place in a flight sim.

It’s not all doom and gloom as Ace Combat is a beautiful looking game with painstakingly brilliant visuals both in the air and on the ground. Each plane in the game is perfectly rendered and the work done truly is exceptional, especially when it comes to the explosions and near perfect bleeding of metal. When firing upon the enemy you will see chunks being ripped from its body until its completely gutted and either bursts into flames or simply breaks apart in a hail of sparks and shrapnel. It’s very satisfying seeing your rounds rip apart the enemy reducing them to pieces but often too many times that means jumping right back into the pre-scripted DFM mode so you often end up back at square one on your round trip of repetitiveness. The game scores very high in the sound department, the planes and weaponry all sound exceptional but the real beauty is in the soundtrack. Ace Combat games have a history of featuring very well made music and Assault Horizon is no exception, it’s certainly a driving point of the action and a huge bonus point that the soundtrack CD came with my version of the game. Being that most of the game is set in Africa a lot of the maps are made up of deserts, there are also snowy mountainsides and very impressive renderings of Dubai and Moscow that definitely merits a mention. Most of the missions are straight forward enough and will either involve you taking down enemy aircraft in the area or targets on the ground such as troops and tanks.

To help you dominate the skies all manner of missiles and bombs can be unlocked for your various aircraft, unfortunately though the upgraded hardware will help it only serves to drain even more of the challenge away from your experience. Since Ace Combat is all about the planes you would expect they put the work in and recreated some real gems. In previous games you had to buy new planes but here you are awarded them after missions, thankfully there are enough to give the game a little more spice and variety. Notable mentions include the F-22A Raptor, Typhoon, F-16C Fighting Falcon, JAS-39C Gripen, Rafale M, AH-64D Apache, Mi-24 hind and my usual favourite the Russian Su-47 Berku. They all look sound and perform brilliantly unfortunately some of the aircraft in the game is mission specific so you can only use them for particular missions that require aircraft of that type and roll. Eventually you unlock a few different paint schemes for your aircraft but the majority of paintworks seem to require buying them as DLC which is a shame because once you finish the game there is not too much incentive to go back and do it all again. When you do complete a mission you are given the option to go back and play it through online co-op with a friend, and if that’s still not sociable enough there is always the multiplayer with its addictive domination and death match modes.

Assault Horizon is really a bag of mixed tricks, on the one hand the game is very accessible to casual gamers and newcomers but to the hardcore fans it’s slightly insulting to the point that you will forget you are even playing an Ace Combat game. Games like Gran Turismo have successfully revamped what they stand for and what they do but it seems that somewhere along the way Ace Combat got not only lost but confused. The comparisons to missions in Modern Warfare and similar shooters are too in your face to just brush them under the rug and forget about them. The game mechanics work when you are in-flight but once autopilot kicks in and steals the action the realism grinds to a halt. I really wanted to like this game and in some ways I still do but after playing through it and completing everything the game had to offer I’d have to recommend it for rental only.

It seems many developers are setting a dangerous new precedence which involves revamping a series to what they think is a near perfect representation of their chosen field, realistically what they end up doing is gutting it then dressing the remains in fancy ribbons that fall off once you give it a serious test run. To add insult to injury the rinse and repeat element to Ace Combat is such that for the entire game just relying on lock on missiles will get you through mostly in one piece. There are too many things wrong with the game to make it a top class combat flight sim, I’d liked to have given it a higher score but it proves too much how a perfectly good franchise can be ruined by reinventing its ins and outs. I’m giving Ace Combat: Assault Horizon a 6 out of 10 – this is one ride that’s not worth the purchase price but as a rental it will definitely pass the time.

Battlefield 3: day one on the frontline

This is not a review for Bf3 so don’t expect my usual high polished professionalism and attention to detail (really don’t), there will of course be a review soon enough – this is simply a brief description of what I experienced on my first day playing one of the most anticipated games of all time. Firstly I heard a lot of negative remarks about the single player campaign so I honestly didn’t expect a lot right there ..wrong. the campaign is actually very good and does tend to draw you in very quickly. The first few missions were kind of mediocre but after about an hour into the campaign it got very fast paced and very involved. The visuals in the campaign were absolutely stunning, the lighting and smoke effects were jaw dropping.

A perfect example was one of the levels set at night where I could see enemy flashlights ahead piercing through the smoke and darkness, it was hard to snap to action when the visuals demanded so much attention. The friendly AI is for the most part pretty good and they don’t seem to hog the spotlight too much leaving you with nothing to shoot. the enemy AI can be quite brutal at times but I find many shooters to be brutal until you learn the basics. The missions did seem a little linear with a lot of scripted events but it was never enough to make me complain. In short the single player campaign is not half as bad as some reviewers have previously stated, linear or not its a whole lot of fun packed full of heart pounding moments and fire fights.

Ok onto the multiplayer, the reason why many people will get the game in the first place. Guns and lots of guns! there is no shortage of weaponry in BF3, anything I used from rifles to handguns all looked and sounded very authentic with a lot of upgrades to unlock. The first time I tried the online I got blown to bits after about one minute, I quickly respawned and jumped back in to see what would happen next. Looking around the main staging area I was treated to having the option of jumping into a jet / tank and even a little jeep, naturally my curiosity got the best of me so I climbed right into the pilot seat of the first thing I saw with wings. Staying in the air was not an easy task, I stayed airborne for a minute or two but inevitably lost control and crashed into the ground. The controls for aircraft are straightforward enough but keeping them in the air is a whole other story, this was to be expected and I’m glad they didn’t simplify it for the sake of reaching a bigger audience – if you do screw up you can always parachute to safety.

Anything on wheels was easy to drive and I found tanks especially were fast and strong enough to push forward without too much flack. The maps for the game were absolutely brilliant with so many buildings and areas that the possibilities for strategic combat were pretty much limitless. I found the first few times I played with random people it was much harder to gain any ground or get kills, when I joined a match with some friends that all changed. Given the maps are so large you can of course go and do your own thing lone wolf style but if you want to last longer sticking to your squad and working as a team is the way to go. Like I said this is just a brief  summary of my first play and though brief I’d already recommend it as the best shooter I have ever played – full review coming soon.

Apache Air Assault: (ps3/360/pc)

Apache air assault is a flight simulator that puts you in charge of helicopters not planes. if you are a fan of the hawx series don’t despair as the game gives you one of the deadliest and most efficient gunships of all time - the apache.  it may be too hard for most players as it requires a certain level of skill to play but if you are a fan of flight sims its a must have.

The missions are straight forward enough and offer a briefing at the start so you know what you will be doing, fighting terrorists and modern day pirates seem to be the order of the day and the game serves them up in bucketful's. The training too also helps you get the best out of your helicopter – again its not easy but in time it can be picked up. the levels are fantastic looking and for the most part appeal to the eye, however like a lot of flight sims once you come close enough to the ground it gets a little choppy. the thing is though if you are playing properly you shouldn’t need to be that low in the first place. when the action gets going the explosions and weapons all seem very realistic and look well polished.

The controls are and can be utterly frustrating to the point where you will start to really respect what real pilots must go through. there are a number of difficulty levels, each level changing not only the AI but the way you fly your vehicle – realistic mode is something i tried but gave up almost immediately after crashing into the ground constantly.  the combat really feels fine tuned and helicopter’s are packed full of weapons to use on the enemy. it features everything you would expect from machine guns to rocket pods/hellfire missiles and so on. the thing i really liked about the game is the offline co-op, its fun to fly around with a friend either being a gunner or pilot – not a lot of games feature such in-depth offline co-op anymore and it was a big reason for me getting the game.

The game offers a vast number of boeing’s super beast that is the apache but other helicopters do pop up in the various side missions such as a russian mi-35 hind and the mq-8b fire scout but for the most part you will be flying apaches like the ah-64d logbow and the ah mk1 apache. it uses the same engine as il-2 sturmovik: birds of prey so it is at its core a very satisfying looking game that plays hard but rewards you for it. helicopters can be customized with decals letting you give your helicopter the perfect look, there are a lot of decals on offer so the perfect looking chopper is just a few button presses away.

The online multiplayer adds a little extra life to the game and it can be fun working together with another player but they could have done a lot more with it. its not a bad thing really but the opportunity was there to create a truly engaging multiplayer experience.  in closing i’ll admit i really liked the game, the developers had previously made a game i enjoyed and i wondered if i’d feel the same about this one – trading a squadron of planes for helicopters could it work?. it did and its unique in that way but its uniqueness causes it to only appeal to a certain audience. if you like flight sims like tom clancy’s hawx or the sturmovik series i’d highly recommend giving it a go, it delivers in terms of combat and looks but not controls . i’m giving apache air assault a well deserved 9 out of 10, if it offered a little more in terms of mission types and multiplayer it would be a straight 10 – the controls could do with a little work too. it may just be a combat flight sim but for fans of the genre and of aerial assault vehicles its deliciously decadent eye candy.

My top 10 games of the year

1. Dead Rising 2
2. Assassins Creed: brotherhood
3. Red Dead Redemption
4. Gran Turismo 5
5. Castlevania: lords of shadow
6. GTA: episodes from liberty city
7. Guitar Hero: warriors of rock
8. Fallout: new vegas
9. R.u.s.e
10. Heavy Rain

Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2: game review (PS3/360 & PC/Wii)

Being a big fan of the original game i really wanted to place this and so i snapped it right up on the release date. the first game centred around around high-tech air combat with a plethora of planes to choose from, this time around the formula hasn’t changed but does it still work.

The short answer is of course yes it does, it really does. the story takes place just after the original game with the team being deployed to the middle east where terrorist attacks are on the increase, this changes when three Russian nuclear weapons go missing and they are tasked with tracking them down. tracking nukes down in planes may sound a bit ridiculous but the missions are set up in a way that the player can and does influence what happens with the nukes.

The original game relied on planes to get the job done and though there was nothing wrong with that the developers have added a little twist to the game play this time in the form of UAVs. you will of course be tasked with take out strategic targets and installations but this time around you can recon the area with a UAV and in some cases destroy targets with armed UAVs. along with this of course comes the use of a gun-ship which can fire 3 different ranges of heavy artillery, these are evident the most in the rescue mission where you have to provide air support for your allies on the ground. there have of course been other improvements such as being able to land your aircraft but that also raises the difficulty when it means you have to land your plane on an aircraft carrier at night. the combat itself is high octane driven with a steep enough learned curve but once you enter the zone you will gain air superiority over your rivals.

One of the features that really stood out too me is the upgrades system which in many ways reminded me of modern warfare 2. my finishing in game challenges you gain experience points and with these xps you can upgrade your planes, the upgrades themselves come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of categories from evasion to damage. the reason this system works so well is because by having a tough plane if you do play through the story missions again you will have the upper hand on the enemy. another feature i enjoyed was survivor mode which just like it sounds involves waves of enemies coming at you with everything they have, once the timer reaches zero the game ends but its no walk in the park.

Graphics wise the game is quit impressive but my main gripe with the game is this, the video clips are sometimes awful and i’m talking playstation one awful. the reason for this i’m sure is the connection between HAWX 2 and the new future soldier game yet to be released, the footage is just lazy and really made me wonder if they rushed the release, luckily nothing else is lacking detail. this time around planes will take damage more realistically from the new damage system and the AI is greatly improved giving a more challenging game experience. if it were not for the sometimes ugly video clips (there are a few, about 30% of the video) i’d give this a higher rating, the graphics/music and of course game play are all top notch but the difficulty may not suit all gamers. if you were a fan of the original its a must play but if you are a casual gamer i’d say maybe rent it first. 8 out of 10, its losing a mark for the video and for some of the missions not allowing some of the unlocked planes.

my favourite aircraft the russian SU-47 berkut makes an appearance.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey: game review (PS3/360 & PC)

Il2 is as you would imagine a flight simulator with the main focus being on combat, there have been previous instalments of the series on the pc but i have never played them so i won’t be referencing any differences between them and this new one.

The game takes place during world war 2 with the player controlling the side of the allies. a wide range of battles are rein acted beautifully from the battle of Stalingrad to the battle of Britain and many more. the game is not just confined to the major battles as it also includes many lesser known operations all testing your skills of both flight and combat.

Graphics wise the game has some of the best visuals i have seen to date at times they even rival other flight combat simulators such as Tom Clancy's HAWX. one level where the graphics particularly shined included search lights piercing the dark clouds of an aerial battlefield, everything looked and sounded ultra realistic. there is no doubt the visual work of the game won me over from the start with the incredibly accurate plane interiors but even the sounds are authentic, sometimes loud and bombing while you get torn up from a flak unit bellow – sometimes screeching while a dive bomber gets you in its sights.

The game play is solid, the missions though sometimes a little bit repetitive are both fun and engaging. there is certainly a lot of life to this title too as you unlock more and more extra single player missions along with a whole host of planes. as a combat flight simulator it has everything you would expect so it wins there but as a pick up and play game it has more than enough here too. trophy hunters will be glad to hear there are a satisfying enough amount of trophies to pick up and you will be earning them in no time. IL-2 impressed me so much in every way i’m giving it a 9 out of 10 – if you are a fan of aerial combat simulators its a must buy.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. - game review

Set in the near future h.a.w.x. (high altitude warfare experimental) is an air combat game with plays more like an arcade game than a flight simulator . You play as an air force pilot that leaves the air force for a PMC (private military company) the aim of course to provide military services for organisations & countries all over the world. There are about 20 levels most of which are fun to play but where the game really shines is the map design - using global satellite images the developers have modelled every level from actual real locations so when you are flying over Washington it really is Washington that you are looking at.. However it does get a little blocky if you fly too low to the ground but it is a nice little feature. So it’s a flight game so there are a lot of planes to choose from including classic fighter jets to modern planes like the F22 Raptor & all of them handle fairly realistically. There are a ton of planes to unlock & you can use experience points to upgrade each of them with different weapons/bombs/missiles etc.. now this might sound like a good idea & at times it is but I have finished the game on normal already & have half the game completed on both hard & elite but I’m still only half way up the ranks so really the rewards system is just too hard & I think that will put people off playing. The game uses a new feature known as ERS (enhanced reality system) which when used provides a gateway on your screen that can either lead you out of harms way or right into a fire fight.. I used this only when the game made me use it because it does feel kind of like cheating so avoid it when you can because it will really take the fun out of the game for you.

The missions can be fun but very tough at times & most of them involve dog fights/bombing runs & close air support ..but at times this can be a little repetitive & just when you compete your objective you seem to always bump into one last batch of enemy jets & this does gather rather tiresome. I did like this game & it did have its moments but the story was lacking a little & its no where near as good as other Clancy titles like EndWar, its very challenging if you want to climb the ranks & upgrade your planes but the fact it’s a tough game sets it apart from all the others. I’m not going to recommend this to everyone but if you do want to experience it I’d suggest renting it first because its not going to appeal to everyone & its really one of those games you might just want to play through once. If you want to know anything else about the game then drop me a line here & I’ll get back to you when I can, in the meantime I’m giving h.a.w.x. a 7 out of 10.. It was fun to play & very challenging but it has its problems.