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A good start for a good game |
| Jhon strine from Kansas USA says (20/Jun/2002): |
Anyone looking for a good and entertaining flight combat sim look no further. This game has it all from the graphics to the way the planes move, right down to the coat of paint on the missiles. Graphics: with these you can see every little detail on each of the planes. The graphics really help you get the feling that you're actually in the plane. It's almost impossible to say anyting bad about the graphics because they are extremly well done and look beautiful. Controls: For such a complex system the creators did a great job of creating a control system. The controls are easy to pick up and respond well. I only have one complaint about the response time about the controls. I can't turn or bank as fast as I would like to. Sound: The sound is amazing and really adds to the experience of the game. With the sound you feel as if you really are in a fighter squadron on a mission. You can hear every little deatail from your guns firing to your afterburners roaring, and since the sound director took actual recordings of a jet engine going through takeoff and landing it really adds more of the feeling that you are actually in the game. Details: The "scoring system" is one of the high points of the game when you beat a mission depending on your ranking you get money. With this money you get different jets ranging from a mig-21 to an F-22 "raptor". The jets handle appropritley and have the right amount of detail and abilities. Fun Factor: This game is great fun to play and has everyting you could pretty much want in a combat flight sim. It has a good amount of unlockables to keep you playing. My only complaints are you can beat the basic game in about a day and even the hardest difficulty seems somewhat easy.
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A promising start for Ace Combat on PS2 |
| Björn Andreasson from Gothenburg Sweden says (15/Feb/2002): |
Graphics: This game is beautiful. The graphics are almost equivalent to Gran Turismo 3. The replays are awesome. Your plane really looks like a heavy piece of expensive machinery. However there is room for improvement. The explosions, for instance, are a bit disappointing. When you hit a large plane, like a cargo plane, there is a huge explosion of burning fuel. When the smoke clears the plane suddenly looks intact, then another explosion - plane still intact - explosion – plane completely dissolved.
Sound: Not bad at all. The radio chatter creates an illusion of real aereal combat. During replays the jet engines get muffled as the plane moves away from the camera. Then there is that hissing sound as a missile breaks free from the launching pod. Neat!
Lifespan: Since you can adjust difficulty level and choose different planes the lifespan should be long. The multiplayer option offers hours of dogfighting with your friends/enemies. The game is likely to outlive them. The sky is, literally, the limit.
Originality: Fortunately the game is not very original. Ace Combat 3 was original in a way that made the whole game go overboard. I am very pleased to say that Namco essentially stuck to the basics this time. Personally I prefer it that way. I would like an even stronger element of realism. If this is the “Ridge Racer” of the skies, I would die to get my hands on the “Gran Turismo”.
Fun factor: What can I say? Every boy must have built plastic models and dreamt of becoming a pilot. This is as close as most of us get. It takes a lot to be a real pilot. Follow my example instead. Go out and buy this game and get your ass back in the sofa.
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Good for PS2 |
| Matt from Washington DC USA says (13/Jun/2003): |
I grew up playing video games and wanting to be a pilot. Luckily these two things were complimentary to eachother, so I grew up playing flight simulator games. I've seen this game time and again on the shelf at the store, and though I was tempted to buy it, I always decided against it. The reason for this is because I have always been very skeptical of flight simulators on gaming consoles. If you ever play a flight sim (especially Janes) on a computer then you know that every button on the keyboard and joystick can be utilized, some even in three different ways. The PS2 controller has 8 buttons and 2 directional sticks, which told me that a lot of the game would be automated and not very realistic. My friend bought the game and it turned out I was right on the money.
Kudos to the graphics people though, the planes and scenery are top quality. Explosions and flaming pieces of airplane fuselage still need work though, but that's true of any flight sim game. It actually looks better than any MS flight sim I've ever seen (trust me, their cartoon like graphics are just sad) And I liked the replay at the end of the mission. The camera angles are enough to make any ground pounder look like a stick-and-rudder type.
The Artificial Intelligence needs work as well. The fighters were just as easy to kill as the bombers, and I don't think anyone ever got a radar lock on me.
So overall, not a bad game for the PS2 console, but if you're looking for realism and a challenge, and you have a PC with a lot of RAM and a highend graphics card, try one of the Jane's flight simulations for PC.
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Not quite up to my expectations |
| PS2 24/7 from Detroit, Michigan USA says (10/Jul/2002): |
A simulation game typically has good graphics. This one does but aside from that not much.
The good: Graphics
The Bad: The game had several "different" missions that are all the same. The missions include accumulate a certain amount of points within the time limit. Oh and D.M. I know which review you were referring to and when I read it I didn't see anything bad said about this game due to lack of lasers. Jedi Starfighter and Ace Combat 4 have their differences I agree but they are both simulation games. Besides In the review there was the fact that the missions were repetative. Had there been missions to protect a cannon built on your side agaist waves of enemies coming in. Or they could have included more than one escort mission that lasted longer ("escort" was the only mission I liked in the game). Another thing that could have been done was assulting a base escoring B-52s to attack a base and you can attack the base yourself. The yellow squadron had too little involvement and there should have been dialouge between Yellow 13 and Mobius 1 in the siege of farbanti. So Dan did have some valid points about the game and making it more interesting. I could list so many more things that would make the game better but stay within the atmosphere of Earth. The principles are the same. LucasArts is more creative in how they construct missions for simulation games. You must admit that the suggestions I made could make the game better.
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best game ever |
| A gamer from commack NY USA says (25/Feb/2002): |
this is one of the best dogfighting games ever. The graphics are superb and flight characteristics very geniune. Namco even took the time to make the background realistic and highly detailed. Valleys mountains and ravines make for some challenging flight, instead of the usual flat background with minimal color. When flying low over water u can look back and see you jet blast leaving a trail in the water. Machine gun bullets will leave trails through the water, and the rain makes levels feel realistic. With several levels, enemies, and planes to shoose from oyu are guaranteed many many hours of gaming fun. I myself have played for over 15 hours beating the game on all 6 modes. As the mode gets harder, from very easy to easy, to normal, to hard, expert, to ace, it takes more shots to kill an enemy and less hits to get killed yourself. Explosions look realistic, and missiles look awesome as they fly from you guided toward your target. The scene before the final level is extremely well done, as every detail has been considered and it looks absolutely real. Replays make things also look realistic. Enemy planes as well as your wiingmen look very real, but you can not kill your friendly planes. Takeoffs and landings are fun and realistic, and they allow you to refuel (not important) and rearm or change your special weapon (bomb, guided missle, rocket launcher.....) WHat are you waiting for? Go out and buy this game NOW!
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This thing is frigen awesome |
| nicholas from Beverly Massachucets says (31/Dec/2002): |
This thing is frigen awesome!From the grahpics to the music,this game would have been voted 30 by me,but I can't.Those people saying that jedi starfighter is better.HAH!I have both games and i haven't played jedi starfighter for 6 months.Thats how much I hate it.Anyway,back to ace combat 4.I LOVE IT.The explosions are so realistic.I even found out that you can crash into other planes{the hard way}.Every plane with the exeption of 2 exsists right now or is being tested.And this time threre is a differrent theme.The enemy is a direct threat to allies!Not some crackpot old general who wants to take over the world! The contrails are so reallistic.And so are the planes.My favorite plane is the F15 active.My favorite mission is tango line.The music is so awesome!I wish they came out with a soundtrack.I love the track for the first level.Sometimes I just play it to here the music.Your wingmen still aren't very helpful,but they have saved my ass before.And at least you have wingmen in every mission and you have more than one.The enemies do realistic damage and take realistic damage.And these enemies will sometimes get hit,flame,and crash,or disinegrate upon contact with a missle.Except now I'm more careful because a bomber crashed into me once,and I hated that.They could have made it a little longer,but thats okay.The game is very origonal.This game is so fun,ace combat 5 {if there will be one} is going to be awesome.
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Kick the tires and light the fires!! |
| October Six from Cleveland, USA says (23/Dec/2002): |
Ace Combat 04 knocked my socks off! There is no other way to describe it. It was the first game I bought for my PS2, and I don't regret it! The detail of the aircraft, not just your own but your friends and enemies as well, give you the feel that you are there. A wide variety of aircraft and a wider variety of weapons give the game unlimited replay. Find one of the final levels is no longer challenging? Try to beat it in the F-4E or F-5E, the first two planes in the game. Or try shooting down a plane with the unguided rockets, or try to beat a level in record time, or destroy ever target, the list goes on! The graphics may not be movie quality, but if you actually are INVOLVED IN THE GAME you don't notice the trees and buildings rushing by (unless you fly into it, then you get real personal) The music tracks are great, sometimes I just flip on the game to listen to the Music Player. Right now, about a year after getting the game, I am still working on unlocking all of the aircraft that are availible. Thats right, a YEAR later and I still haven't beaten it all, and I play very often. The biggest problem was how short the game was, only 18 levels, and the lack of online game play, which would be excellent, as I would rule the skies! (note to NAMCO: try for 30 or 40, and maybe the option of playing on BOTH sides in the future!) I hope this is fixed in AC:05 I can't wait!
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Great but Frustrating |
| A gamer from Vancouver, Washington USA says (17/Jul/2003): |
The is the best jet game ever! This game has the best sounds the best graphics the best............ everything. I got this game for Christmas and I'm addicted. The only part thats bad about this game is when the screen says "Mission Accomplished" and then if you run into the ground or into a mountain or a wall, then it say's "Mobius 1 crashed" and the screen says "Mission failed" it sucks.My favorite levels were the bridge one, the one where you have to save the city and the mission "Shattered Skies". I don't get it, Yellow 13 is supposed to be the best ace pilot anywhere, and it's so easy to kill him. Then Megalith, what's the point of that level, I mean, the Erusian forces are already gone so why do you need to destroy this thing. There's nothing to it, at the beginning of the level you destroy a few ace planes and at the end you have to get between 130 ft and 50 ft while trying to destroy missiles and it says " Caution Pull up" the whole time it gets annoying, we know were low to the ground, look at are altitude so what's the point. Other than all that crud this is the best game ever. I have other PS2 games but i play this one about 15/7. This ace fighter game the king of kings and is ruler of all video games. It has the best graphics it has the best sounds it has the best gameplay it has the best everything and it's worth every penny.
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A horrible game |
| Dan from Washinngton D.C. USA says (8/Jul/2002): |
Yeah some people will say that this game is a really good game. The game is interesting for about the first 2 hours you play it. The storyline is boring The missions are all the same except for the landscapes: destroy so many units in so much time. Sure it has good graphics but then again so does Grandia II if you catcmy drift. The graphics make it look like a game made by 3-D0 (i.e. the graphics suck). If you want good graphics bu Star Wars Starfighter or Jedi Starfighter. Trust me LucasArts is way better than namco. The game has no cinematics, your wingmen don't do anything and the game is as interesting as watching grass grow. The only good thing about this game is that it has a fast load time though I hardly notice a difference in how entertained I am waiting to load the game or playing it. The good games have longer load times because someone actually bothered to program something. Once while playing it I was at 30,000 feet and I stalled in a plane that in real life can go to altitudes of 59,000 feet. They did this because if I were to go any higher I would have left the programmed area. Did I mention that the sky patterns are too repetative? If you are looking for a good simulation game by one from LucasArts but don't buy this.
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Best Simulation Game |
| D.M. from USA says (9/Jul/2002): |
Of course Lucas Arts is "much better" when you have a narrow view of the gaming world. Things like the fact that the planes do not have lasers is beside the point. The only way to write a good review of the game is to compare it to onthers in is class. Jedi Starfighter and Ace Combat 04 are two totally different games that should be judged for what they are. Ace Combat 04 has excellent graphics and with contour and no-polygon shaped landscapes. Extra detail was put into theis game as seen because the water flings up a little when gun bullets hit it. The flying is good with realistic controls and vibration at the right time. Missles are real enough by leaving contrails and not always hitting their mark. The planes mauverability is adequete for each of the planes (of course the F-4 is not going to be as agile as the F-22). Explosions are realistic and the missons long enough to provide lots of fun. There a bounus planes and levels to be earned. Overall this a must buy for anyone who likes Simulation games
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This is not a game to be missed! |
| Fighter Jock from Seattle, Washington, USA says (14/Aug/2003): |
Ace Combat 04 is one of the best games I've ever played! It has awesome scenery, great levels, all the fighter jets you'll ever need! The sound and music are way awesome, especially the last level. The only thing that was lame was the storyline, but the rest of the game makes up for it. The other thing that's cool is the different screen angles. You can fly the view outside the jet which allows you to watch the afterburner, a full screen view with just the HUD or the $#< remove me > at !pit view which I think is the coolest. From the $#< remove me > at !pit view you can turn around and see your missiles being fired from inside the jet and when flying the A-10, you can look behind you and see the engines running. This game also has the latest weaponry from different varieties of bombs, air to surface missiles, air to air missiles, and everything else in between. This game rocks!
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A great sim |
| Daniel from Edina, Minnesota, USA says (30/Jul/2003): |
I love acecombat04!! its a great game to have around when you are bored, i have all of the missions on all difficulty levels completed with an "S" rank i think, i have most of the aces shot down and am working on getting all the planes with all of the different color schemes. the graphics are amazing, the game-play is adictive,.... The best plane (not just in my opinion, it really is the best plane!) is the X-02 Multiroll. It is the fastest plane, and it has the biggest ammo capacities: 950 gun, 82 missile, 26 XLAA, 24 BDSM, and 16 QAAM. it has the highest mobility, and it just plain looks freaking cool. To get the X-02, you must beat all the missions on normal with an S ranking, and to get the 2 other color schemes for it, you must beat all missions on hard and expert with all S ranking. you can use free mission to do this though, which helps.
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I Like This Game So Much |
| Ryan Sinks (gaming enthusiast) from Hicville, Oregon (I hate it here), USA says (16/Oct/2002): |
If you think this game is better than StarLighter or Jedi Beerdrinker or whatever, you are retarded. The A.I. given to your wingmen on AC4 far exceeds anything Lucasarts could ever emboss into a combat simulator. AC4 is THE BEST jet combat game available on a console (close second: Air Force Delta). I must admit, however, that the graphics for StarCommander or whatever is quite stunning, while the graphics for AC4 are only good when you're 30,000 feet above the ground. The aircraft and gameplay are awesome, The storyline is captivating (especially once you get to Megalith), and the longest loading time is nil to 5 seconds- with zero in game loading time. Personally, I don't think ANY Star Wars game should be considered a SIMULATOR because- in case you forgot- it all happened long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
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This game is the best game for fighter jet combat ! |
| A gamer from Florida , USA says (14/Apr/2003): |
this game is the best for fighter jet combat . The graphics are unreal it's like your there in a F-18 fighting off terrorist . the sound is great to even the explosions sound like your there in real life. This game really dosen't have much originally but it still rocks. My favorite fighter aircraft is the F-22 it's the best plane but it's extremly expensive .it has the strongest missiles and great speed and mounveralbility. I've had the game since 2001 and now it's 2003 I still can't beat the last Level ! But don't use cheats on this game because otherwise the game is really stupid . this game is probabliy the most fun game there will ever be it's biggest commpetteters in my book are Red Faction 2,lord of the rings the two towers,007 nightfire and dragonballZ Budokai .
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I had never in my teen life palyed a game so out of this world until now! |
| A gamer from Cudahy,California,United States of America says (30/Oct/2003): |
Ace Combat 04: Shattered skies is the best game I've ever palyed. I always wanted to play an airplane game because of how cool they look so that why I bought this game. I got to say I'm not disapointed and can't wait unit they make a new one. This game has everthing you want and need in a game it gives a vast veririty of palnes I mean fighter jets to choose from equiped with bombs and missiles.Fast game play , also has a story with it so it's not just a mindless game with no purpose.The sound is incridable, sounds realistic and knocks you out of your chair and doesn't let you get back up.This game is all killer and no filler.And as for the graphics there the best I've seen and I can just paly this game for hours and hours.
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superb! |
| Christopher from Glasgow, Scotland says (14/Feb/2002): |
I have no doubt that this is the best game in my ps2 collection. The first thing that you notice is the smoothness of the graphics. The controls are very realistic and compared to other flying games are much easier to learn.
Although there are only 18 missions, they become vey detailed and envolving making them last a while. There is also 4 difficulty settings to complete making the game's lifespan quite long.
In two player you are stuck with the inside view only and another couple of camera angles there wouldn't go amiss.
The replays are also great as watching your mate crash and burn in 7 differnt angles can be fun.
The fact that you can land and takeoff at any time to refuel and rearm is another added feature.
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Very awsome game |
| Brock from Scottsdale, Arizona says (22/Oct/2002): |
I think this game was really good. The graphics were great and what I like the most was that your friends actually help you by shooting ohter jets down also. See on Ace Combat2 for PS, you only did the missions by your self and rarly had anybody to help you, if you did have someone the don't do crap for you, they just fly around and say "I'm hit I'm hit" cause they suck. The stories the guy tells I think get boring after awile, cause all he says is how good that fighter guy is that sits in the bar playing his guitar. But I think this is an awsome game, I also like to see the after burners come on cause it looks real. When they come out with Ace Combat5, wow that will be even more awsome!
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Ac04 planes |
| Adam Cory Mitchell from Lakewood Ohio says (15/Mar/2005): |
Acecombat04 rocks!!!!It has 1000000/1 graphics espically when you shoot aces down you take take a sneek peek at your new wings!My favorite all around plane is the B-2 and the F-117E or anything steath.The SR-71 is cool shot it down in mission 8 and the KC-10 fuel jet maybe theres another jet refueling!Also thers a E767 for Erusian radar service.In breaking arrows I recomend the SU-37 it can go all the way the the end of the CBA (combat area) to get to the XB-70 and if you want F-22 ABELL!One more SECERET theres a Lockheed U2 (enemy)its worth 500 points so get it its in Whsky corridor at 50000 feet so got at least at Mach2 okay guys!It also has two Yellows as escorts with QAAMS!
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THE BEST AIR COMBAT GAME EVER! |
| Spence from Denver, USA says (15/Oct/2004): |
This game is the best air combat that I have come across in a decade! Some great tips are at ps2cool.com. The only bad thing is that it is very hard to get all the color schemes but still great. The graphics are great and the planes and weapons are very realistic and excellent for a game. YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON A GREAT GAME IF YOU DON'T PLAY THIS! You will need a gameshark to get good codes if you want anything other than tips on how to get paint schemes and additional aircraft. I have logged more than 40 hours but still cannot stay away from the game. My most kills are over 5000 thousand but this game is still great to play with the added difficulity levels.
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"Rated best flight sim of the year."says gamespy. |
| Andrew from Canton,Ohio United States says (9/Jun/2003): |
This game is by far the best flight simulation game that i have ever played for ps2.The graphics are the best i have ever seen on a ps2 game.This explosive action takes your mind to a whole new level.You can fly over 20 planes including stealth bombers,stealth fighters,and many mutirole jets.There are 18 explosive levles with about 6 difficulties to play on.The bad thing about this game is that you have to have codebreaker or gameshark to unlock any codes in this game.If you do not have codebreaker or gameshark you have to beat the game codeless.But that does not change the fun of this explosive flight simulation rated the game of hte year 2001!
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