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99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great game, but have I played this before?, October 27, 2004
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (Video Game)
Okay, this is a awesome game. It has wonderful graphics, the airplane details are superbly represented, and the sound is really good. One of the signature differences between this new title and the previous Ace Combat 4 is the addition of the CGI cutscene movies, whereas the Ace Combat 4 used the storyboard type representation. If you have played Ace Combat 4, this game is easy enough to pick up and jump right in to the action. Minor changes have been made to controls to allow for the "wingman" control scheme with the D-pad. This enables you to direct you wingmen to either cover, attack, disperse and use their special weapons on a target. You can also use the dpad for the standard yes no reply to questions that your wingmen will ask you throughout the game. It does add a nice touch of realism to the game with all the chatter you hear over the radio.
Now, since it has been 3 years since Ace Combat 4, I must say that I really did expect more in the way of advancements, but it truely feels like the same gamestyle, typical storyline, and overall general feel. Of course that is not berateing this game one iota. The graphics are much sharper, the land elevation scenery is much more detailed with trees and brushes now visible. The buildings are also nicely detailed with a higher polygon count. Perhaps the best change made for me is the missile animation you now see when you launch a missile. The missile stream is now much more realistic with the way it curves and actually winds through the air.
If you enjoyed Ace Combat 4, you won't regret buying this game. If you never played Ace Combat 4, then you will truely love this game moreso than the typical veteran Ace Combat player. Great visuals, good storyline and good sound design make this a winner in anyone's book.
Just to mention that you can either play the campaign mode or arcade mode. Arcade mode will have you reprise your role as Morphius from the Ace Combat 4 game. The campaign will carry you in the role of flight leader and allow you to fight with and control your wingmen. Enjoy.
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic And Satisfying, January 8, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (Video Game)
The only other Ace Combat game I've ever played was the first one for the PlayStation. It was impressed with the look and feel of the game. Ace Combat 5 effectively helps me to relive the same enjoyment I had playing the first game.
AC5 does a fantastic job of putting you in the pilot's seat of a fighter jet. The realism is astounding. Plane models look just like real jets, with good detail and believable movement. There are multiple viewpoints available both inside the cockpit and out that can be adjusted. The landscapes in certain missions are stunning to see from 2000 feet in the air. Finally, instant replays with adjustable angles appear after the completion of a mission (or in the event of the player's untimely death). They're reminiscent of the cool-looking replays in Gran Turismo 3.
The music is movie-quality and suits whatever action is taking place. As for sound effects, I don't think they could have been any better. For example, the farther away you are from an enemy when it's destroyed the longer the sound from the explosion takes to reach your ears. If possible, use a 5.1 stereo system with AC5. It sounds awesome.
There's a nice variety of missions, and none are excessively long. Once the campaign mode is complete you can replay any mission from that mode singularly. With 50 models of jets to unlock and use there's plenty of reason to keep playing.
As if all these pros weren't enough, AC5's story isn't bad either. How rare to witness a well told, positive moral in a video game. Communication between pilots during missions adds character depth and makes the gameplay more involving. Some players have complained about the audio chatter being annoying but I didn't find it bothersome.
At it's core Ace Combat 5 is a game with heart. I wholly recommend it.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Comparison to AC04, April 17, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (Video Game)
Better;
* Excellent graphics, particularly the aircraft models, weather effects and cutscenes.
* The same great gameplay as AC04 with some nice tweaks (e.g. enemy stealth planes are actually harder to detect).
* Lots of missions with a choice of paths through the game (though not as many as AC3), plus refuelings and carrier landings.
* Well written and absorbing plot.
* Numerous and varied aircraft and special weapons, including a fun new super plane and a kill-based 'evolution' system for unlocking improved variants of planes.
* Greatly improved arcade mode, again with a choice of paths, making for a nice half-hour blast.
Worse;
* Ropey mission design. Targets constantly pop up out of nowhere and you get teleported around the map after every cutscene. The action feels more scripted and less like you're flying around a real battle. This is reinforced by the fact that while the target areas are highly detailed, the rest of the maps are quite empty.
* Some of the missions feel like pale shadows of AC04 missions.
* The dialogue is often whiney, unprofessional or just annoying, and often gets out of sync with the action.
* The stats on the aircraft seem to be made up at random, and don't have that much affect on gameplay anyway. The missions aren't designed to make best use of the available weapons, and hence players will never use most of the basic planes and will have little incentive to unlock most of the improved variants. The loss of selectable secondary weapons is a shame.
* Rare but highly annoying bugs; planes fly underground and through buildings, missiles sometimes mysteriously fail to track.
* For the most part the difficulty curve is smooth if a little too easy (even on ace difficulty), but there are a couple of missions that are just unnecessarily frustrating (White Noise and Four Horsemen).
* The two player mode and target shooting range have been removed.
Missed opportunities;
* Fewer targets and no re-arming, making things less frantic. This is a shame as there are some missions where landing and rearm without leaving the battlefield would've worked well.
* The medal gallery is nice, but more unlockables (e.g. rendered beauty shots of aircraft) would have provided more motivation to get those special rankings.
* Giving wingmen orders is fun, but they don't seem to do much or need your protection. Similarly the interactive dialogue could've been cool, but doesn't actually seem to do anything and is hence just distracting.
* No bombers, choppers or VTOL aircraft, to fly or give orders to.
* Music is generally great, but the score for the final missions don't quite have that spine tingling thrill that AC04 had.
Ace Combat 5 is great fun and a high quality title in its own right. However while the graphical tweaks and new features are appreciated, it isn't a major advance over AC04, and the niggling problems prevent it from delivering the same outstanding all-round experience that Shattered Skies provided.
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