#ACE COMBAT 7 PRINCESS UPGRADE#
This upgrade system, as mentioned before, is a little overwhelming, full of various details and abbreviations. As players complete missions, they’ll gain MRP, the currency needed to unlock new vehicles, weapons and parts in the aircraft tree. It would also helpful to have a way to change your loadout without having to exit the campaign entirely in the event a different special weapon would be more useful.Ĭampaign difficulty aside, this is definitely something that will only be an issue for some players. I understand why, but it still added a lot of time to those missions in particular. It’s a little frustrating to spend nearly 15 minutes doing this and suddenly getting shot down, only to have to start from the beginning. Other missions required reaching a quota of destroying various targets under a time limit. Some moments felt like a checkpoint, only for me to die and end up starting the mission from the beginning. While I would get shot out of the sky from anti-air missiles or various other fighters sometimes, I wish this was the majority of my deaths.Ĭheckpoints might be a bit of a crutch, but it wasn’t as consistent as I would’ve liked. While I got significantly better with the controls throughout the campaign, I still found moments where I would crash due to various circumstances. Having to use a controller for a game where a flight stick is typically preferred, I ended up fighting my own piloting skills than anything else. Like I said before, I’m not an expert in flight simulators. This is one of the strongest points of the game, doing well to present new challenges to the player.ĭespite the great variety across missions, the checkpoint system could be a bit more lenient. In another, you’ll be fighting a sandstorm to find targets that occasionally show up on your radar. In one mission, you’ll be avoiding satellite detection by remaining under the clouds. Of the 20 missions, the majority of them introduce new elements and requirements to make them feel unique. Mission variety in Ace Combat 7 is actually pretty solid. Working with several other pilots with criminal history, the player goes on various missions as the plot thickens. Trigger, despite his skill in the skies, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, being court-martialed and forced to work in what is basically a “Suicide Squad”. Other pilots throughout the plot do have names, but you spend so much time hearing their call signs, it’s almost useless to try and remember their real names. The player is a pilot from Osea that uses the call sign Trigger, but otherwise has no other name.
Finally, there is the story presented during the actual gameplay, which is also easier to understand. Mission briefings are a bit easier to follow, even with all the military verbiage. It plays out like a Japanese drama, and while the presentation is beautiful, the bouncing narrative and monologues can make things difficult. There are many cutscenes that are told from a variety of perspectives, including a mechanic, a princess, and a scientist. The story is presented in a few different ways. This sparks a war-driven plot that has Erusean forces start invading Osea. An Osean politician creates a monument in Erusea to boost their economy, much to their dismay. The country of Erusea (part of Usea) has brokered peace with the continent of Osea, but unfortunately, peace cannot last. Following the story of 2004’s Ace Combat 5, Skies Unknown focuses on the aftermath of a peace treaty. It has different continents and countries, but there are still comparisons we can draw. Skies Unknown takes place in the series’ fictional world of Strangereal, an alternate universe that is very similar to ours.
#ACE COMBAT 7 PRINCESS SERIES#
Veterans of the series may process the information better, but the game feels like it might be a little much for newcomers.
#ACE COMBAT 7 PRINCESS SIMULATOR#
Not being a flight simulator expert, I was a little overwhelmed by the presentation of Ace Combat 7. Having played through all 20 missions in the campaign, as well as the handful of VR missions, I’m left a little conflicted. I’ll admit, I’ve never finished an Ace Combat game until finishing Skies Unknown. While there have been other games in this genre, none have quite the same promise of quality as Ace Combat. It took a bit of time, but Project Aces has finally brought their flight combat series to this generation of gaming. Why this matters is because the story from Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation continues on in this years sequel, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. While there have been several games released over the years, the last numbered entry in the franchise was released in 2007. The journey that the Ace Combat franchise has gone through has been an interesting one.