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Sell me on Ace Combat 7.

CharlesAznable

CharlesAznable

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,593
Never played an ace combat game or any flight simulator for that matter. But seeing some game play it actually does look kind of interesting. But the thing of it is, is that it was never a genre I was even remotely interested in, so I'm not sure I want to spend $60 on a game I may not even like. Is it worth the risk?
 
Gevurztraminer

Gevurztraminer

Member
Dec 14, 2017
1,351
Do you like games that have a big focus on replaying/high score/rank chasing? Do you like upgrade trees? If so, get it.
 
PettySpirit

PettySpirit

Member
Dec 23, 2018
837
If the idea of playing a flight sim is intimidating (as it was for me and still is), take solace in the knowledge that Ace Combat isn't a flight sim. You fly realistic LOOKING planes in a fictional world with gameplay that is much more of an arcade affair while really, REALLY hype music plays on the background.

Interficium said:
It's like Metal Gear in Jets.
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He's not wrong. The plots of most of these games usually involve some sort of sci fi superweapon. And flying through tunnels. And dogfighting in really cool locales.

Did I mention the hype music?
 
Pyro

Pyro

God help us the mods are making weekend threads
Member
Jul 30, 2018
14,505
United States
I rented it and am halfway through the campaign (20 missions total, each lasting 20-30 minutes so far) and am really enjoying it. It's the perfect combination of being realistic looking and playing like an arcade game.

There's a pretty big tech tree of planes, upgrades, weapons, etc but I've yet to dig deep into it. I've bought 4 planes (that are all variants of F-16s and whatnot) and can't really tell the difference yet.

It's my first game in the series as well and there's multiplayer, but I'll probably just play one match for a trophy and not play anymore haha.

Overall I'd buy it for $30.

Edit: I completely forgot about the soundtrack like others have pointed out. It's amazing!
 
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eddiemunstr

eddiemunstr

Member
Jan 20, 2019
1,530
The games are somewhere in the middle of arcade and flight sim. Not too arcadey like say afterburner, but not too far into the sim front either. They are plenty fun though, and have pretty good soundtracks as well.

AC7 also has some pretty great weather effects; I generally play the games in 1st person view without the cockpit, but the weather effects pushed me into using cockpit view just to see them more often.
 

Deleted member 16025

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,506
I bought it because Digital Foundry said the last mission and it's accompanying music were amazing. I haven't started it yet, but I am looking forward to doing so this weekend.
 
Leviathan

Leviathan

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
2,065
High octane, visually spectacular, anime drama, ample content. It's a crisp, fantastic flight combat game with the substantial bonus of a rich setting and rather interesting narrative.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,847
Honestly at this point this series needs no convincing. It's the Final Fantasy of fighter jets, you haven't felt hype if you haven't faced against your sworn nemesis piloting a superjet in a thunderstorm with the most rousing tracks that puts hollywood composers to shame with the stakes cranked up at 100% seeing yourself being a part of history in the making. Only Ace Combat provides that
 
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Banned
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
I means, it has a big plane that drops lots of tiny planes like little bombs.
Need I say more?

giphy-12.gif
 
TheMrPliskin

TheMrPliskin

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,564
I'd been thinking about trying the game out at some point myself after hearing somebody gush about it. Based on the responses here I definitely should.

Hopefully when I get around to it I don't find it tough to play as somebody who has never played a flight sim or an Ace Combat.
 
Jroc

Jroc

Banned
Jun 9, 2018
6,145
The games aren't simulators, but they don't go full-on arcade like Star Fox or After Burner either. It's a bit like how Forza Horizon is an arcade racing game, yet there's still just enough of a simulation going on for there to be some gameplay depth.

Ace Combat is basically the ultimate realization of the Top Gun power fantasy. You fly around doing badass stuff to a killer soundtrack while a Japanese scifi story rages on in the background. The gameplay loop is super fun, and Ace Combat 7 in particular has really good mission variety. If you enjoy "gameplay focused" games like Tony Hawk then you'll probably love replaying Ace Combat missions for S-ranks.

The soundtrack is A+
 
RLCC14

RLCC14

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
2,447
It's japanese war sci fi set in an alternate Earth where the space fighters are real world (for the most part) jet planes, there's wars every other week, WW2 took place in the 90s and there are Nazi esque superweapons scattered around that get regular use as bosses.

Edit:I find that showing the Ace Combat 0 E3 trailer is the best way to sell what AC is about.
 
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moomoo14

moomoo14

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
441
It's a game that is a lot of fun with some really great mission design. There's a lot of variety in the missions, and you're generally not doing the same thing in each one, so each feels pretty different. Even when it is the same, there's enough differences in how the missions play out that each feels unique. I'm pretty sure it's on sale for $40 right now too, so it's not a full price game right now.
 
chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,575
Ladioss said:
Most fun I've had with a game this year, so far. Do yourself a favor and choose experts controls with easy difficulty for your first walkthought, unlock the A10 as soon as possible and you are set.
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This is what I did, and the only previous Ace Combat experience I had was AC5 (which I got as a pre-order bonus for AC7). Worked really well for me, it's still intense but the score-attack missions don't have ridiculous requirements. You can go back and play them on higher difficulties once you get used to how the game flies/unlock some more advanced weaponry.

AC7 is a wild ride, OP. The story is nutty in both good and bad ways, but the combat is legit and the whole package is spectacularly over the top. The only issue I really had with it was that some of the missions are too gimmicky and punishing. Be prepared to rage at some terrible checkpointing.
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,426
CharlesAznable said:
Never played an ace combat game or any flight simulator for that matter. But seeing some game play it actually does look kind of interesting. But the thing of it is, is that it was never a genre I was even remotely interested in, so I'm not sure I want to spend $60 on a game I may not even like. Is it worth the risk?
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It is INTENSELY anime.

INTENSELY.

You should only get this game if you're in the mood for an over the top pseudo military anime story because the gameplay ain't great.
 
BadWolf

BadWolf

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,148
Honestly? I'm up to mission 9 and the gameplay feels pretty weak and the mission design is full of gimmicks.

Finding it hard to return to it.
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,426
SG-17 said:
That's bullshit. The gameplay is top-tier. Its distilled perfection of 20 years of game design.
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Yeah no. Any game that decides "this level is gonna be difficult because we're just gonna make it so you can't see" is far from perfect. The game is gorgeous and dogfighting is fun, but that mission structure is, from top to bottom, total garbage.

AC: Joint Assault, a clunky mess of a game, has better mission structure than AC7. Like, I don't understand what they were thinking when for almost 6 missions in a row, they penalize you for dogfighting, in a jet fighter game. It's nuts. I haven't played all the AC games, but 7 is at t he bottom of my damn list.

Like, real talk, remember the mission where you have to ignore what you're looking at and use the minimap to navagate around moving radar blobs? Who came up with that? Take them off design, that whole thing was shit. Everything after that? Fine. But why bother even having that in the first place? It's terrible!
 
ScreamingMadden

ScreamingMadden

Member
May 5, 2018
7,353
I've also never played an Ace Combat game until 7. I haven't finished it but I've immensely enjoyed my time with it. The gameplay is fast and fluid as dogfighting is really enjoyable as you try to angle your missiles at the right angle on your target. Also I like the mission variety as some missions might have you simply take down bandits, some might have you anniliate air bases and naval bases in order to reach a specific score. One has you use a special weapon to take out missile silos (admittedly not one of my favorites, but it's one of the more unique missions). Still I've had a blast playing it and this seems like a good intro game to play towards the Ace Combat series for gameplay (Lore is gonna require researching what happened in prior games though). Speaking of lore, I'm liking that too. It has a strange blend of anime drama and Ra Ra Pilot Jock writing that I'm actually into.
 
Laserbeam

Laserbeam

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,441
Canada
It is really good.

Sometimes very frustrating due to some missions being overly long and filled with random gimmicky objective barriers (SAND STORM!, STAY IN THE CLOUDS OR DIE!, etc) and the checkpoint system being a bit shit.

But I've been enjoying it very much, especially the later half, which I'm now well into.
 
NESpowerhouse

NESpowerhouse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,658
Virginia
Mesoian said:
Yeah no. Any game that decides "this level is gonna be difficult because we're just gonna make it so you can't see" is far from perfect. The game is gorgeous and dogfighting is fun, but that mission structure is, from top to bottom, total garbage.

AC: Joint Assault, a clunky mess of a game, has better mission structure than AC7. Like, I don't understand what they were thinking when for almost 6 missions in a row, they penalize you for dogfighting, in a jet fighter game. It's nuts. I haven't played all the AC games, but 7 is at t he bottom of my damn list.

Like, real talk, remember the mission where you have to ignore what you're looking at and use the minimap to navagate around moving radar blobs? Who came up with that? Take them off design, that whole thing was shit. Everything after that? Fine. But why bother even having that in the first place? It's terrible!
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Lol AC7 isn't even the first game in the series to do that. That whole mission is one gigantic reference to AC5 which had a similar mission also involving President Harling (except for that one, you were visually guiding a gimped cargo plane through the radar, now even as a kid I hated that shit). Also, what specifically is the problem with that section in particular? The fact that you actually have to use your radar to plan out your route? Your reasoning for dismissing that one section are kinda confusing. What else about the mission structure did you dislike?
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,426
NESpowerhouse said:
Lol AC7 isn't even the first game in the series to do that. That whole mission is one gigantic reference to AC5 which had a similar mission also involving President Harling (except for that one, you were visually guiding a gimped cargo plane through the radar, now even as a kid I hated that shit). Also, what specifically is the problem with that section in particular? The fact that you actually have to use your radar to plan out your route? Your reasoning for dismissing that one section are kinda confusing. What else about the mission structure did you dislike?
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I mean it sucks because your field of view in the minimap is too small. The orbs are constantly moving and there are paths that are just false. Go down a false path? Too bad, game over, start again. That shit is dumb. Dead end paths that just result in you having to do it again because the direction of the mission is so vague is just poor design. It's not like the mission where you have to shoot down the bombers, where the difficult comes with balancing when to target bombers and when to go after escorts. It's just a slow, plodding, "pick a, b or c, one is right, the others are fail states" type of nonsense that really has no place here.

Even then, it's still not as bad as you losing control due to lightning strikes or not being able to see due to sand storms, but it's still very dumb.
 
NESpowerhouse

NESpowerhouse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,658
Virginia
Mesoian said:
I mean it sucks because your field of view in the minimap is too small. The orbs are constantly moving and there are paths that are just false. Go down a false path? Too bad, game over, start again. That shit is dumb. Dead end paths that just result in you having to do it again because the direction of the mission is so vague is just poor design. It's not like the mission where you have to shoot down the bombers, where the difficult comes with balancing when to target bombers and when to go after escorts. It's just a slow, plodding, "pick a, b or c, one is right, the others are fail states" type of nonsense that really has no place here.

Even then, it's still not as bad as you losing control due to lightning strikes or not being able to see due to sand storms, but it's still very dumb.
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IIRC, you can expand the minimap so you can get a greater view of the radar coverage. I can't remember specifically how much of the area you can see with the max-expanded radar, but it should be enough to help you plan out where to go. I didn't really have any issue with that first section when I first played the game, and it becomes almost irrelevant given how hype the second part of the mission is.

Now the only mission gimmick I really found annoying was the one where your ass is grass if you fly above the clouds (even though you need to in order to destroy the radar system). I must have had to redo that mission 20 times (granted, I was playing on hard, but I feel like I died much more than I should have).
 
ScaleboundGOTY

ScaleboundGOTY

Member
Nov 7, 2017
2,978
If you're the type of person to make a thread here about how a game sucks because it's cheap on normal difficulty instead of dropping the difficulty to easy on your first play through don't get it
 
Keldroc

Keldroc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,978
Mesoian said:
I mean it sucks because your field of view in the minimap is too small. The orbs are constantly moving and there are paths that are just false. Go down a false path? Too bad, game over, start again. That shit is dumb. Dead end paths that just result in you having to do it again because the direction of the mission is so vague is just poor design. It's not like the mission where you have to shoot down the bombers, where the difficult comes with balancing when to target bombers and when to go after escorts. It's just a slow, plodding, "pick a, b or c, one is right, the others are fail states" type of nonsense that really has no place here.

Even then, it's still not as bad as you losing control due to lightning strikes or not being able to see due to sand storms, but it's still very dumb.
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What? Just expand the minimap view and you can see almost the whole maze, no problem. Your complaints are bizarre. I mean everything you're complaining about is a real hazard in air combat. Sometimes you gotta fly by instruments.
 
MrNelson

MrNelson

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,356
Mesoian said:
I mean it sucks because your field of view in the minimap is too small. The orbs are constantly moving and there are paths that are just false. Go down a false path? Too bad, game over, start again. That shit is dumb. Dead end paths that just result in you having to do it again because the direction of the mission is so vague is just poor design. It's not like the mission where you have to shoot down the bombers, where the difficult comes with balancing when to target bombers and when to go after escorts. It's just a slow, plodding, "pick a, b or c, one is right, the others are fail states" type of nonsense that really has no place here.

Even then, it's still not as bad as you losing control due to lightning strikes or not being able to see due to sand storms, but it's still very dumb.
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I told you this the last time you brought this up, you can expand the minimap. There's 3 settings, one for your immediate vicinity, one showing a larger portion of the map, and one showing the whole thing. When you expand it the trucks flash on the radar every few seconds, allowing you to easily find them.
 
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