Pros: Great game over all, awesome aircraft,interesting missions.
Cons: Some minor pop up and pixelation
The Bottom Line: For anyone who likes to kick in the afterburners,head skyward and duel it out in grueling dog fights or like modern military aircraft as I do,then this is your game.
acecombat's Full Review: Ace Combat 2 for PlayStation 1
Namco delivers lots of air to air action with Ace combat2,the flight simulation game that gives you a
realistic feeling of what real air to air combat
might be like.
To give you some background of what is going on in this
game,an area known as NA-P2700 has been over run by radical
military rebels who have conducted a "coup d'etat".While
the heads of state were away attending a peace summit the
rebels took advantage of the situation and seized control
of all government institutions as well as all conventional
and strategic military forces.To counter this serious
threat you are hired to be part of an elite fighter
squadron known as "SCARFACE".Your mission has only
but one goal in mind! "PUT DOWN THESE REBELS AND
RESTORE PEACE.
Ace Combat2 is an extremely interesting game that provides
the player with 21 different combat missions to perform
as well as 24 awesome military aircraft ranging from the
nimble A-4 SKYHAWK to the sleek and deadly XFA-27, a
fictional fighter aircraft that resembles something
that was seen in the Japanese cartoon "MACROSS or
also known as "ROBOTECH" here in America.
The games graphics are a very big improvement from Namco's
first flight game "Air Combat",and better attention was
paid to detail.Terrain features and atmospheric effects
are nicely done and gives the game a much more feel
of realism.The 3D models of the various aircraft are
extremely well done and look awesome.The paint schemes
found on the aircraft are like the types of camouflage
found on military aircraft flying today,a far better
look then the hot rod paint jobs done to the planes
in the previous game.Even though there is some pop up
and pixelation that stands out it doesn,t hamper game
play or take away its quality.
Sound quality is not bad at all,it may not be all too
real but the jet engine noise and the sound of passing
aircraft in mid flight sounds pretty good.As for the
background music there's no complaint's here and though
others may not like it all that well,I was not bothered
by it and found it went very well with the game play.
As for your avionics,all flight instrumentation is done
through the HUD screen(head's up display)this is where you
conduct your combat from.You could choose the behind plane
view,but using your HUD is much better and allows for better
targeting.Through the HUD you can watch your air speed,
altitude and monitor your fuel consumption.You also can
view your radar screen and by pressing the square button
on the controller,you can view your target map.This will
allow you to pin point your primary targets which are in
red.
Your aircraft weapons are standard=GUNS and MISSILES.
Each plane has a limited amount of missile's it can
carry and each load is different according to the type
of aircraft you decide to use on your mission.
For example,the SU-35 has maximum payload of up to 80
missiles.The real SU-35 couldn't begin to carry that
much,but in the world of Ace Combat 2 you'll be glad
that you do.Because one thing is for sure! the enemy is
out to get you and there are lots of them,so keep it
together and stay out of his sights.And being that
you have a limited amount of missiles means that
you must make your shots count,however once your
missiles are depleted you do have an unlimited
supply of gun ammo at your disposal,so there are
plenty of slugs to go around.
Flying your aircraft can be done in three different mode's
NOVICE and EXPERT MODES A and B.I highly recommend to
all of you beginners out there with this game to stick
with the NOVICE MODE until you become familiar with the
game it self before using the other two modes.Using the
EXPERT A and B MODE gives the player a realistic feel of
what the real thing is like.Here you get the full use
of rudder control,left and right yaw and to perform
the kind of aerobatics that a real fighter plane can
perform.I know the first time I used EXPERT A,I crashed
on several occasions due to getting disoriented.Using
EXPERT B will really throw you off good.Try it! and
you'll see what I'am talking about.
Before you begin each and every mission,you are given
a detailed briefing which is done by both audio voice
and a moving 3D map.Here you are shown the objectives
of the mission as well as what troubles to keep an eye
open for,such as enemy legend pilots and anti aircraft guns
and missile batteries.
Ace Combat2 provides the player with a vast range of
combat missions to perform that will put you to the test.
These missions include of course air to air combat as
well as ground attack missions,anti shipping runs and
providing escort to a unit of B-1 bombers making a bomb
run on enemy port facility.You also get to provide
cover for a rescue operation and cover a naval task
group transiting a heavily defended channel.
And at the end of some missions you get the opportunity
to either land your plane at a shore based airfield,
or go through the heart pounding strain of landing your
aircraft on board an aircraft carrier at sea.
BOY! Theres so much to do here!
Aside from the missions themselves,you are provided with
a wonderful panoramic view of the various areas you get
to fly over.From high over snow top mountains and burning
deserts,to over islands and seas,to high over enemy ports
and cities.There is one night time mission that takes
place over a major city that is truly awesome to see.
There are some similarities from Air Combat that are
present here as well in Ace Combat2,such as you earn
money for the missions you complete and targets that
you destroy.New aircraft become available upon completion
of each sortie flown,but what else you get to do here
is earn a rank like in any military service.The ranks
start at "AIRMAN" all the way up to "COMMANDER IN
CHIEF".There are also legend pilots to shoot down
and upon doing so you earn a medal for each one you get
so watch out for these guys because they're serious
and mean.Oh and by the way lets not forget those
trusty wingman you can take with you.When you reach
the fourth mission you get the option choose a wingman
to aid you the rest of way if you want.You can also
instruct them to perform a variety of duties from
attacking ground targets,escorting bombers,to covering
your six'o'clock position to name a few,where in the
previous game you could only give two sets of commands
to your wingman.Another neat feature is that you can
see a full picture of your wingman you choose and as
you move up in rank so do they,now that is a pretty
neat deal.
There are some extra's you can unlock in the game too! you
can unlock the music player that enable's you to play any
of the different music tracks found in the game.You can
also view the various aircraft in the game through the
MODEL DISPLAY.With this feature it enables you to view
each aircraft and rotate them 360 degrees.You can also
zoom them up close or zoom them out by the use of
your game controller.Or if you are really good at the
game and make the highest rank you can achive like
"COMMANDER IN CHIEF" then you get the"FREE MISSION
MODE".This allows you to go back and play any of the
21 missions in the game and you can use this option
to practice and improve your skills so you can do
better when you play the entire campaign it self.
I cant help but say that Ace Combat2 is by far my favorite
psx game.It does give the player allot to do here and there
never seem's to be a dull moment here.Sure there are those that say its to easy and borrng but I found a game that
does deliver a ton of action and combat that has you bitting
your nails.Namco has truly got a hit on they're hands here as well as with Ace Combat3"Electrosphere"but soon Namco is
going to serve up yet another in the series of Ace Combat
fighter simulations with "Ace Combat4 shattered skies".And
what I've seen of this new games graphics,its going to blow
the other two out of the water.So look for this new Namco
creation to hit American shores in October or November
of this year.
So if you like kicking the tires and lighting the fire to
old afterburner,going ballistic skyward to duel it out
head to head with the enemy in a dogfight.Or you are
someone who is interested in modern military aircraft!
then Ace Combat2 is the game for you.A game that always
delivers action ans excitement.
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