Ace Combat games have a nice sense of scope. You’re a single pilot soaring over a war zone with battles unfolding across multiple fronts. You simply can’t be everywhere at once.
The best missions have you making split-second decisions about whether to stay and chase down the last remaining fighters attacking your bomber wing, break off early to support your naval group with a couple well-placed anti-ship missiles, or risk a quick strike against an enemy radar installation while leaving your allies to fend for themselves a few minutes longer. There’s a sense of urgency I’ve found lacking from some of the competing franchises out there.
That feeling of being dropped into an big dynamic battlefield is tough to convey via screenshots, but it’s something to keep in mind while checking out these pics of the SU-47, SU-34, MiG-29, and MiG-21 in action.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon comes out on the 360 and PS3 October 11th.
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