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Published
by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Developed by NAMCO
Release Date: Out Now
Price: £39.99
Ace
Combat: Squadron Leader, an introduction.
If
the truth be told you're not going to find a flight simulator
on a console. At least you won't find one to match the realism
of those found on the PC. However whilst console gamers
are confined to arcade flight experiences this doesn't mean
they have to be any less impressive. The Ace Combat series
has long been a favourite for flight fans and the previous
game in the series, Ace Combat 4, was tremendously popular
and judging from what we've seen this fifth game in the
series should be equally as popular.
What's
the game about?
After
a wartime nuclear disaster the lands of Osea and Yuktobania
have shared a fragile peace for several years. All seems
fine until September 23rd 2010 when that fragile peace is
shattered. The lands are divided by the Ceres Ocean and
in the middle of the ocean lies Osea's Sand Island military
base. Members of the 108th squadron attempt to intercept
a group of unidentified aircraft and are almost wiped out
in the process. Suddenly you're in a war situation and you'll
have to protect Osea. The game comes with a campaign mode
that contains around 30 missions and an arcade mode that
offers shorter action filled missions for when you want
a quick blast.
What's
good about the game?
There's
much to like about Ace Combat: Squadron Leader. The games
story is actually interesting and both the campaign and
arcade modes will keep you busy for months. The game may
not be a simulation but Namco certainly didn't skimp on
the details. The game includes an impressive amount of aircraft
from manufacturers such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop
Grumman, BAE and Dassault Aviation. Not all of the aircraft
are flyable but quite a lot are. You can actually buy new
aircraft yourself and choose what to fly for a given mission.
The AI of your enemies is also a high point as they can
really give you a challenge and have a good variety of behaviours
so you never quite know what to expect. The game also allows
you to issue commands to your wingmen, which certainly proves
useful at times. The mission variety is also impressive
and you'll encounter air-to-air, sea and land assaults,
recon missions, escort missions and much more. You never
feel like you're playing missions that feel similar to ones
you've already played, which helps to keep the game feeling
fresh.
What's
not so good about the game?
Although
Ace Combat: Squadron Leader is a very satisfying game, the
one downside is that there is no multiplayer options. It
would have been great to have an online mode and a two player
dogfight mode but sadly it's not to be. Owners of Ace Combat
4 might also argue that Ace Combat: Squadron Leader doesn't
offer a large amount of improvements over the previous game
but seeing that Ace Combat 4 was very impressive, there
wasn't much that needed improving to begin with.
How
does it look?
Most
people wouldn't expect a flight game to look that good on
a console but Ace Combat is surprising in that for the most
part it looks great. Should you get destroyed in a mission
you'll have a chance to see a realistic looking replay that
looks so good you'll actually want to be destroyed from
time to time, just to see the replay. The terrain graphics
look very impressive and it was great to see a PlayStation
2 game with such realistic looking water. The aircraft models
are similarly first class and whilst the damage modelling
might not be completely realistic it still looks good enough.
The cutscenes look impressive too and it's obvious Namco
went to great lengths to give the game as much polish as
possible and the result is well worth it. Best of all though
is despite all this detail the frame never once appears
to dip.
How
deaf gamer friendly is the game?
Subtitles
can be enabled in Ace Combat: Squadron Leader and once they
are the game is deaf gamer friendly. The tutorials are excellent
and fully subtitled. In addition to the subtitles the tutorials
also have an onscreen picture of the controller that highlights
what controls are used to further simplify things. Flight
games are not the easiest of games for a newbie but the
structured and subtitled tutorials make sure that mastering
the controls is a smooth and pain free process. The games
cutscenes and briefings are also subtitled so you'll be
able to enjoy the games story and fully understand what
needs to be done in the games campaign. During flights the
radio chatter is subtitled so you'll actually feel part
of the team and not like you're flying around in isolation.
You even get to supply answers to questions by using the
directional button during flight, which is good to see.
Final
Thoughts.
Namco
have created a classic in Ace Combat: Squadron Leader. Whether
you're a veteran of the series or a complete novice you'll
still be impressed by what's on offer here. The game has
a variety of difficulty levels which will suit all abilities
and the tutorials that have been included are very comprehensive
and assume no previous experience in playing a game of this
nature. In fact it's difficult to find fault with the game
and only thing it doesn't deliver is multiplayer modes,
which is a little disappointing. However as a single-player
game it's superb and a must own if you're after a combat
flight game.
Overall
Game Rating: 9.0/10
Deaf
Gamers Classification:
(Click
the letter or here
for details)
Absolute quality from top to bottom
and deaf gamer friendly too.
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