Don't fall for the Holy trinity meme. AA series is a round table of godly games. If you enjoyed the PS2 games, do yourself a favor and give this a try.
the story itself isn't worth talking, but there are multiple routes you can take which will change the future missions drastically. the missions themselves tend to have much more interesting goals. and there are a huge load of meme planes to pick up.
a side note I might be wrong but I feel like only 1 person voiced more than a 5/6th of the characters
the story itself isn't worth talking, but there are multiple routes you can take which will change the future missions drastically. the missions themselves tend to have much more interesting goals. and there are a huge load of meme planes to pick up.
a side note I might be wrong but I feel like only 1 person voiced more than a 5/6th of the characters
It is actually ridiculous they were able to put a full on Ace Combat game on a PSP of all things. Besides the controls naturally, everything here is the same as you would have found on a PS2. But they didn't stop there.
Not only is the story based in a different part of Strangereal, away from the usual locations the series is in. But they actually implemented more into the gameplay, by giving us the old map system from the original and giving us entire new missions depending on what mission we choose.
You could focus on attacking an enemy base, leading to a mission based around destroying it, but because of that, the enemies have used that opportunity to attack your allies which you could have helped out if you chose the other missions.
It's a really cool system and I hope it makes a return one day.
Not only is the story based in a different part of Strangereal, away from the usual locations the series is in. But they actually implemented more into the gameplay, by giving us the old map system from the original and giving us entire new missions depending on what mission we choose.
You could focus on attacking an enemy base, leading to a mission based around destroying it, but because of that, the enemies have used that opportunity to attack your allies which you could have helped out if you chose the other missions.
It's a really cool system and I hope it makes a return one day.
Very fun game, excellent entry into the Ace Combat Series. Wish I played this when the PSP was hot so I could get some multiplayer sessions in with friends in this/Joint Assault.
Music was good, but it was great when it mattered.
The story was lacking compared to the console games and some of the missions were way too easy even on the hardest difficulty, but overall a fun experience.
Music was good, but it was great when it mattered.
The story was lacking compared to the console games and some of the missions were way too easy even on the hardest difficulty, but overall a fun experience.
If there's a list of best PSP games, this game should be in it. While not made by Project Aces, (Access Games made this one. The same devs who did Drakengard 3) the quality comes exceptionally close to the PS2 titles despite being a handheld title. I guess it being a PSP is its biggest fault. The story is fine with accompanying artwork albeit less noteworthy, gameplay is the same as 5 which is great although they also reintroduced branching missions, added more fictional aircraft (some from previous games) and introduced aircraft customization and that gives it tons of replayability. It gives a good challenge and a satisfying payoff with its mission variety (though some levels might be BS too especially the gas mission). The soundtrack is a banger as always even though the sound team is entirely different from the previous games (one of the people from the sound team is the composer of the Index anime series). It's also probably best experienced on emulator as there are enhancements and finding a legitimate copy is going to be tough as you can only get this on UMD and this got removed digitally years ago. If you own a modded PSP though, that will also do. The controls on the smaller analog is still pretty good and playing it on the go is still worth it.
I highly recommend this game. Whether you are a fan of the series or a newcomer, don't skip it. It is a gem that I hope more people discover.
I highly recommend this game. Whether you are a fan of the series or a newcomer, don't skip it. It is a gem that I hope more people discover.
Skies of Deception hits hard and it's a cool little game. Despite being shackled to an handheld, X is able to give it all with a multi-branch approach to the missions and even if I was defaulting to the F-22 for most sorties (I won't be caught with my pants down during a dogfight), the game offers a lot of customization in terms of parts, camos and difficulties. It's no Ace Combat 7, but it strikes a good balance between being a serviceable passtime and hitting hard with it's voice acting, music and gameplay.
Can be corny, but isn't it charming.
Can be corny, but isn't it charming.
definitely really short and really easy, especially if you are used to the other games in the ace combat series. I would say that only the really diehard ace combat fans should get into this one, since it is a fun cheesy sidestory for the AC world we all know and love, but doesn't really do much else beyond that. just as optional as ace combat 6 imo
It's an alright version of Ace Combat, but there's ultimately little that Ace Combat X excels in. Graphics are about average for a PSP title, which isn't great for a genre so reliant on spectacle and sense of speed. Voice acting, at least in English, isn't particularly great either.
Unlike the other Ace Combat entry on the PSP, X is set in a fictional world, which could in theory afford the game greater freedom when it comes to exploring its themes. The game attempts to tell a story about dictatorships and how intertwined they are with the military industrial complex, but the plot remains shallow and has little of interest to say. It doesn't help that most of the plot is delivered in cutscenes separate from the actual missions, and explained in monologues by a reporter that never even meets or interacts with the player character. The missions themselves tell a fairly standard story: the evil neighboring country attacked us, now we'll kick their asses and take back our land (and airspace), all while enemy fighter pilots become more and more afraid of our faceless protagonist the more missions we complete. It works as a power fantasy, but the series has shown that it's capable of more.
The missions themselves are simultaneously the best and worst part of X: they're fairly varied and there's no way to see all of them in a single playthrough, encouraging players to replay the campaign and try out different mission orders. That being said, some missions are absolutely brutal, and the game doesn't have any checkpoints.
The worst offender was an escort mission that sees the player defend a couple of helicopters whose pilots seem determined to get the attention of every single RPG along their path. RPG crews spawn in during the mission, meaning there's no way to clear a path ahead of the choppers, and there's a very small window between RPG crews spawning and firing. What made me furious was learning about what's going on behind the scenes: some RPG crews will always miss their shots. There's only a couple of enemies actually able to hit the choppers, so it's entirely possible to hunt down enemies that pose no threat at all. The mission seems to try and subvert every assumption a player with a functioning brain would make about how it works, and it's borderline unplayable because of it. I somehow made it through, but if you're going for an S-rank remember to schedule an appointment with your nearest mental health professional, cause there's no way you're making it through this with your sanity intact.
Unlike the other Ace Combat entry on the PSP, X is set in a fictional world, which could in theory afford the game greater freedom when it comes to exploring its themes. The game attempts to tell a story about dictatorships and how intertwined they are with the military industrial complex, but the plot remains shallow and has little of interest to say. It doesn't help that most of the plot is delivered in cutscenes separate from the actual missions, and explained in monologues by a reporter that never even meets or interacts with the player character. The missions themselves tell a fairly standard story: the evil neighboring country attacked us, now we'll kick their asses and take back our land (and airspace), all while enemy fighter pilots become more and more afraid of our faceless protagonist the more missions we complete. It works as a power fantasy, but the series has shown that it's capable of more.
The missions themselves are simultaneously the best and worst part of X: they're fairly varied and there's no way to see all of them in a single playthrough, encouraging players to replay the campaign and try out different mission orders. That being said, some missions are absolutely brutal, and the game doesn't have any checkpoints.
The worst offender was an escort mission that sees the player defend a couple of helicopters whose pilots seem determined to get the attention of every single RPG along their path. RPG crews spawn in during the mission, meaning there's no way to clear a path ahead of the choppers, and there's a very small window between RPG crews spawning and firing. What made me furious was learning about what's going on behind the scenes: some RPG crews will always miss their shots. There's only a couple of enemies actually able to hit the choppers, so it's entirely possible to hunt down enemies that pose no threat at all. The mission seems to try and subvert every assumption a player with a functioning brain would make about how it works, and it's borderline unplayable because of it. I somehow made it through, but if you're going for an S-rank remember to schedule an appointment with your nearest mental health professional, cause there's no way you're making it through this with your sanity intact.