I've been pretty intrigued by the trailers for the new Ace Combat game. It's not a genre I've ever gotten into or cared for, but I'm always up for trying new genres and series that might not seem to suit my tastes. Last time that happened, I became a big Yakuza fan
So someone who never played the series before, or any flight combat game really, had some questions:
1) This is a sci-fi series? Do the games do anything interesting with that, like unique planes and high tech weapons or futuristic settings and so on?
2) So...how exactly do these games add challenge and not get repetitive after one fight? Last flight game I tried was the HAWX demo a decade ago, and it seems the gameplay loop of these games is "get behind enemy, lock on, fire, use flares to break missile lock". Obviously that's my completely uninformed perspective of this genre, so I'm curious where the depth comes from, how they keep the combat interesting and varied, and so on
3) From the comments I've read here, this series is known for having good stories? Is this new one stand-alone, or would I be completely lost playing this as my first one?
4) Will this only have flight combat? Or will be take-offs and landing/docking, mid-air refueling, and other mechanics/systems? Is it 100% skill-based or are there RPG mechanics like unlocks and loadouts? Does the narrative aspect have choices or is it just cutscenes and dialogue?
1) Absolutely. The Peak Sci-Fi of the series is with the 3rd entry, Electrosphere, which was balls to the walls wild. The game will usually have fictional 'experimental' planes(For example AC7 seems to feature an 'Arsenal Bird', which is a massive plane that has hundreds of drones in dock). Sometimes you get to play around with these experimental planes(Electrosphere again, allowed you to use some weird ass planes.)
2) It really depends. Sometimes you'll fly against dummies that let you lock on from behind, other times you'll have to fly against expert pilots who really test your skill and are nerve wracking to go against. Other times, such as in AC4, you have limitations in what you can do-There were a few levels in that one where the big mega weapon 'Stonehenge' would fire a massive blast that would cover the sky, and in a mountainous region you were forced to fly low altitude. The missions also vary-Sometimes you have to destroy anti air emplacements, aim for specific targets, protect your allies, and all of these might require a specific type of plane or armament.
3) So the series follows the world of 'Strangereal'. It's like ours, but a little bit off. There are repeating continents and loose connections between each game, where it's a political one, or a mention of a pilot, or themes that are reused, not in a bad way, but in an interesting way. In AC7 for example, Osea and Erusea are two countries that have been featured before in the series. Outside of that, you don't have to have played previous games to understand this one, but it does enrich the lore and for someone like me, it's a good nostalgia.
4) There will be all of that. Take offs/landings/docking/refueling/load outs. The narrative aspect might just be a story told in cutscenes/in game dialogue(The last game that had a real 'choose your own story' was Electrosphere, where you can get different endings). There might also be side-missions/hidden missions by doing secret objectives not listed, or doing things fast enough or at a certain time.
It's a blast, though. If you're worried about the story parts, there are compilations of the story beats on youtube(Ace Combat 4 is about 30ish minutes, collects all the cutscenes) that you can watch.
