Customer Reviews

Space Ace

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

OK, let's start by mentioning that there are TWO versions of this DVD. There is a DVD-ROM version which requires Windows 95/98 to run, and there is THIS version (called DVD-VIDEO) which does NOT require a computer to run. Both versions are manufactured by Digital Leisure.

Here is the scoop on both versions...

DVD-ROM version:
-Requires Windows 95/98 to run. (I don't know if it will work with Windows 2000 or Windows Me)
-Has smoother game play. From what I have heard from other people, the game play on this version is practically flawless.
-I don't think that this version has the "watch" feature, which lets you view the entire animation without actually playing the game.

DVD-VIDEO Version:
-Does NOT require a computer to run.
-When I use this on my Sony DVD player that is hooked to my TV, the game play is painful. There are 2-3 second gaps between moves that makes the game almost unbearable. However, when I play this on my computer's DVD drive, the game play is quite good. There are still gaps between moves, but only about 1/4 of a second or so.
-Has a "watch" feature that lets you view the entire animation without playing it. This is very cool!
-Works on MOST DVD players, except some Toshiba models.

WHY I BOUGHT THIS VERSION:
Even though the game play is better on the DVD-ROM version, I decided to buy the DVD-VIDEO version for a couple of reasons...
-The "watch" feature was important to me. I wanted the ability to just sit back and take in the whole beautiful animation without having to do shoot, left, left, shoot, etc.
-I wanted this purchase to last. In other words, I didn't want to be forced to buy a new version of this product when I switch my computer system over to Windows 2000 (or whatever Bill Gates comes up with next).

ABOUT THE ACTUAL GAME:
What can I say??? This game is an arcade classic, and a personal all-time favorite of mine. The images on the DVD look EXACTLY like they did in the arcade. I can not tell any difference. It is awesome, and I love it!!!

Back in the 80's Space Ace was a game for people to get in line because it was a lot of fun. Space Ace has been in every format, and now after almost 20 years from its release we can enjoy it in our house with our DVD's. There is a little pause between every move to the game but that will vary from player to player. There is also a "watch" option that lets you relax and watch the hole game without playing it. A great Classic. Don Bluth made a great game.

If you plunked a lot of quarters into the old Dragon's Lair or Space Ace arcade games then give this game a shot. The graphics and move sequences of Space Ace DVD-ROM emulate the arcade game almost perfectly. The only shortcomings of this game are that the "good move", "bad move" sounds are missing. Also, the timing of some of the moves is slightly off in some areas, which means that you have to make your move a split second before the "danger" appears.

Other than that, it's like having a "Space Ace" arcade game on your computer!

If you have never heard of or played "Space Ace" however, then I don't really recommend it. By today's standards, it is not that great of a game. I bought it largely as a nostalgia item.

Space Ace [Blu-ray]

Incredible conversion and bug free despite some reviews. check sound output is linear on your PS3 and enjoy the 5.1 surround mix on your biggest 1080p screen.

Cannot wait for DL2 to go on blu-ray as Dig Leisure have really gone the extra mile in perfecting this product. Obviously there is no future plan to convert DL3 as that product was a severe embarrasment of the past and was nothing more than a pathetic recording of somebody playing DL3D.

But as for DL1 DL2 and space ace you would have to be brain dead not to snatch these titles up while they last. Simply the most superb interactive movie computer games ever created and have been for over 25 years for those gamers too young to recall their massive impact. My package from Amazon arrived here in Australia just 4 days after paying for them which completely stunned me.

To say that I am a Space Ace fan is an understatement. Back in the 80s, I don't know how many quarters I spent trying to discover the correct routes for every sequence (the only games I spent more money on was probably the first few versions of Street Fighter II). I became someone who can consistently complete the game on one quarter (on Cadet level anyway). Everytime I played at the local arcade, I always drew a crowd watching as I took command of Ace to rescue the fair Kimberly. Space Ace certainly has a special place in my heart.

So believe me when I say I tried many of the home conversions that became commercially available over the years, and was left sorely disappointed every time. Of the ones I remember, I tried Sega CD, Panasonic 3DO, PC, and the Philips CDI. Graphic quality of these were usually horrendous. The timing of the moves were completely different from the arcade, and some were just straight up wrong. Some versions did not even include every sequence. The best conversion thus far was probably the CDI version (which I tried at a store demo), but even that was not perfect, and I'm not about to buy a machine costing $300+ at the time just for Space Ace.

When I found out about Space Ace HD on amazon, I had to try it. I've been jaded by all the conversions thus far so I didn't entirely have high hopes, but the very affordable price, the promise of HD, and the generally positive reviews here made it too enticing.

I am happy to report that this is the Space Ace that we have been waiting for! Graphic quality is excellent! Keep in mind that this was done in the 80s so there's only so much they can do, but on my 1080p 46-inch set, the video quality is really sharp. I played thru the entire game on Ace difficulty, and the timing of the inputs is just as I remembered from the arcade. Every sequence is intact. There is both a widescreen and standard video mode. A visual guide setting is available to help with timing. All 3 difficulties are present. If you just want to watch the whole thing in one sitting, there's a watch mode. I'm not really an audiophile so can't comment in this area, but it seemed pretty good to me.

And just in case you read some earlier reviews here, I had no problems on my PS3. And the thing about the lack of Kimberly's "get me out of here" on Ace and Captain modes, that's how it was in the arcade. It is only available on Cadet mode (as it should be), and the watch mode.

So what you you waiting for? If you're reading this, Space Ace must mean something to you, so buy it now! You will not regret it.

I picked up this with Dragon's Lair on Blu-ray and I played them both on my Playstation 3.

I wasn't able to play the arcade version of this game. It was just not around in the arcades that I went to. However it was one that I have always wanted to play/own.

Again, the extra features make this version of the game worth owning. I love seeing the creators talk about their work and what they did to accomplish it. They actually used stop motion and live action shots in this game. Amazing.

The previews under features gives you access to 2 playable levels one from Dragon's Lair and one from Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp.

You get 3 levels of difficulty instead of the 2 that were listed for Dragon's Lair, as well as other options that were not available. Such as there is a widescreen and original option as well as subtitles that were not offered in the Dragon's Lair Blu-ray.

The comparisons to other versions of this game over the years is a nice added feature as you can see how much better this version looks on your HDTV.

I am glad to add this title to my collection, and I can't wait for Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp to come out on Blu-ray so I can pick that one up as well.

Back in 1983 a game called Dragon's Lair came to the local arcades, 3 months later came Space Ace in early 1984. The rest is history. Space Ace back in the day was a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios and Cinematronics. Just like Dragon's Lair, Space Ace's gameplay consists of requiring the gamer to move the joystick or press the fire button at precise moments in the animated sequences to govern the hero's actions. It's basically a mini-animated movie. You think for a video game's purposes the animation will be pretty lame, but both Space Ace and Dragon's Lair had animation that Disney would love to have a hold of.

Even 25+ years later, I still find myself enjoying these games, but as with them back in the day, it's definitely an acquired taste and not for everybody. This version of Space Ace is clearly the best Space Ace ever released to a home console. The graphics have been immensely improved and the controls are more lenient on the gamer. I noticed only a couple of bugs where there is an annoying clicking sound after a death or scene, but that's only a minor nitpick. Space Ace definitely is not a fun as Dragon's Lair. I think it's the characters in Space Ace that are sometimes just annoying for my tastes, but the game is still fun to play and watch at times. The extras has some nice additions including a full movie video of the game without interruption and some nice interviews of the creators of the game and even includes Don Bluth. It also contains playable levels from Dragons Lair, and Dragons Lair II. Not bad!

I played it on my PS3 without problems and I hear it should run on all other blu-ray players without a hitch. Obviously it's going to feel more like a game with a PS3 controller, but the regular DVD controller will do the job too. Definitely pick this up if you want to take a trip down Laserdisc video game lane...

This game worked smoothly on my 60GB PS3 (my firmware is also up to date). Several months ago I rented the Dragon's Lair bluray from netflix and that did not work (it repeatedly froze during game play). I initially thought the disc was defective so I requested another Dragon's Lair disc and that one froze too. This was NOT the case with Space Ace, which worked perfectly. Pehaps Sony has updated its firmware and fixed the problem since the time I played Dragon's Lair. It will be interesting to see if Dragon's Lair works now with the latest firmware. Anyway, Space Ace worked for me as of January 17, 2009.

This is a fun game that came out after the popular Dragon's Lair game. It's not as good as the DL game, but it is amusing. The animations are great as usual. Game play is pretty good too. Not too difficult. Overall it's a fun game to play and gorgeous to look at. Especially if you like good animation.

If you too where a child of the 80's you will love this trip back in time, the conversion is great I am running it on a AUS PS3 and its as smooth as I remember the arcade I cant fault it. This is a must buy if you ever liked the old Laserdisc Games of the past I am just waiting on my Dragons Lair 1 and 2 to show up now....