When it comes to aerial battling, Playstation 2 owners are hardly spoilt for choice with Ace Combat 4 representing the only sensible choice for wannabe dogfighters. Come autumn, AC 4 will be ousted from the top spot to be replaced by Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. This sequel will proffer more of the same, umm, ace combat with smoother, crisper graphics, more missions (x30) and more planes (x50).
The games precocious tagline “Nothing Even Comes Close” would be good fodder for critics and cynics, but in all honesty, the marketing folk are probably right. Not just because there aren’t many other games of this sort, but because Namco seemed to have worked hard at perfecting what AC5 is all about. Speedy visuals and high-octane excitement is what consumers want from a game like this, and in all probability, that is exactly what they’ll receive.