How I came to own Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was a bit of a
weird one. I first became aware of it watching Angry Joe’s review of it; this
was so long ago that I couldn’t remember the score but it I remember thinking
at the time it looked pretty good. I hadn’t played a flight sim/combat game for
a long, long time – not since the original Air Combat on the Playstation, and
since that game was released before analogue controls were standard, it didn’t
handle all that well. But I happened to see a copy of it in Dudley Market,
remembered the review, and because I fancied something a little different play
decided to pick it up and give it a go.
Playing it, I actually found it to be pretty good. You play
as a number of Ace Combat fighters – a fighter, a bomber and a helicopter pilot
at various stages of the game. While some of these sections are handled better
than others – Turret sections are rarely welcome, for example – the game is
generally very good, challenging and varied enough so that it doesn’t outstay
its welcome.
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| I had to get rid of the cockpit view as it just got in the way. How actual pilots cope with it I don't know. |
I am aware that this is part of a long-running series and
that Assault Horizon was an attempt to give it a more ‘Arcade’-y feel. The
chief innovation in this game was the ‘Dogfight’ mode, which you could initiate
if you got close enough to your enemy. As I understand it, the idea is that it’s
very difficult to deal with enemy planes up close and personal means that quite
a lot of the combat is done at a range. Dogfight mode attempts to rectify this;
If you get close and press LB+RB, the camera zooms in on the plane you’re
following and you have to keep your missile lock on him long enough to fire
one. It essentially becomes an on-rails shooter at this point, and gives the
game a somewhat cinematic feel, although you quite quickly recognise where it’s
used to set up the set pieces in the scenery.
There is a certain strategic element to this, as you have to
pick your spots carefully. The Dogfight mode is designed to make the fights
with the more skilled pilots less of a slug-fest – and if your objective is
timed, using it takes up time you don’t have. It’s therefore wise not to do it
with everything, and try to take some of the smaller planes out with your
regular missiles. Recognising when to do Dogfight Mode and when not to is the
key to beating the harder levels.
The helicopter missions have been criticised for being
rubbish but I actually quite liked the change of pace. This also had a certain
strategic element to it. Your missions were rarely timed but it was good to
plan your approach, as taking on too many targets at once would rarely end
well. It also made flying through terrain a challenge, as the enemy missiles
would get you easily if you fly too high. Then again I really enjoyed Desert
Strike when I was a kid…
The Bomber missions serve mainly as another change of pace;
glorified turret sections and skilled piloting segments would probably not be
too much fun by themselves but it balances nicely into the whole single-player
campaign.
As for the campaign itself, I don’t play many modern
military games, but if I did, I expect they would look a lot like this. An
antagonist – not American, who knew – is using a new type of super-destructive
missile and it is your job to stop it. The story segments are reasonably-well
voice-acted, apart from the lead character who’s a bit of an everyman. The character
you remember is Gutz, your wingman, simply because his absolute refusal to take
anything seriously makes him the most memorable character.
Now that I’ve finished the campaign, I think I’m done with
Assault Horizon. It would be nice to be able to play it in multiplayer but no
one’s playing it right now. I might come back and play a harder difficulty if I
feel so inclined, but the game was as long as it needed to be and it’s time to
move on.
