"Prepare for a challenging thrill ride..."

Several years ago, Namco ventured into the world of the PS2 with its popular Ace Combat series. After two successful games, Namco has given us the predecessor to all the Ace Combat games: Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. With expectations even higher than ever, Namco delivers the goods yet again. However, like the previous games, there are signs of imperfection. Yet, even these do not take away from a good game.

Story: 8

The story of Ace Combat Zero takes place 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5. During this you fight through the war as a mercenary working for the country of Ustio, which is under siege by Belka. You are Cipher, the newest in the long line of traditional silent protagonists in the series. You team up with another mercenary pilot nicknamed "Solo Wing Pixy". The story is told from the perspective of the pilots who flew in that war and got to know (or fight against) you; your callsign is Cipher. The story will change depending on your actions in the game. The story in some ways equals Ace Combat 4's storytelling. The only difference is that Ace Combat Zero is not just the tried and true, simple and direct tale about good versus evil (like in AC 4); it shows the duplicity in mankind and the true dark side of war (something that AC 5 tried and some ways failed). It does not rely so much on contrived plot twists like AC 5's story line. In short, one could say the story is Namco's attempt to go back to its roots in AC 4; however, it could not fully break out of the "Tom Clancy complex" that made AC 5's plot so murky. However, the plot of Ace Combat Zero feels somewhat flat and you feel detached from it every now and then. That is not to say the story is a bad one.

Gameplay: 8.5

This is the bread and butter of the game. This is a vast improvement over previous games; however, in some respects it is a little flat...like in the other games. One new addition is one that affects the focus of the storyline: Ace Style. You can be a Mercenary ace; a pilot that lives for money and pride. A Knight ace on the other extreme, lives by a proclaimed code of aerial chivalry and will not attack neutral targets (new targets that are in yellow on the radar; they are of low priority). A Soldier ace lives for his fellow soldiers and will attack the enemy relentlessly, cover his buddies, but will hold back every now and then. Every time you destroy a neutral target, help a ally in need, or ignore a "neutralized" plane (a plane that is damaged and not destroyed, also a yellow target), your ace style changes and it is viewed by a sliding bar which changes after every missions. This determines what aces you fight thought the game. One of the best improvements to the game is the significant increase in enemy AI. The rival aces you fight are very tough, smart, and each has their own tactics. They can turn your own tactics against you. Your ally, Solo Wing, is not a slouch in combat either. Wingman AI as also been improved and for the first time they shoot multiple missiles (unlike in AC 5 where they only shot one). The only problem is that you cannot change your wingman's plane. But Pixy flies an F-15 and he does this for story reasons. Even though the F-15s a good plane, it still is a bit of an annoyance. There are also individual enemy aces in the levels and they vary by level and difficulty. The regular enemy AI is also improved, and they will shake off your missiles and turn into you much better than before; even regular enemy jammer aircraft are much better. And speaking of difficulty, Ace Combat Zero is much harder than all the other Ace Combat games have ever been. Surface to air missiles are now have longer range, faster firing rate and more damage capabilities. Flak guns, previously mainly seen in Ace Combat 4, are back and they are very damaging. AA guns fire at a faster rate. You absolutely cannot get complacent playing this game, even on Normal difficulty. You must truly earn your money's worth.

You have a good selection of planes to choose from, 36 in total. However, unlike in the past, not all planes are given over the course of the game. Some planes are given and some have to be unlocked by shooting down enemy aces. This is both good and bad. AC 4's system was the best way to go in the overall scope. But one major gripe about AC 5 has been fixed: the return of special weapons. Each aircraft has three, and they have been improved in the past. However, the issuing of these to each plane is, in some cases, unbalanced. For example, the F-117 has QAAMs available for purchase which makes no sense considering that it's almost solely a strike aircraft. A SAAM would have been much more appropriate.

There are only 18 missions in the game. This is the only let down of the AC Zero. Some levels are short, and some are very entertaining. But Namco still insists on recycling certain types of missions (like tunnel and canyon ones) but these are not very well done in AC Zero. There are also branching missions where you get to choose what mission you want to fight in. They consist solely air to air and air to ground elements, or a combination of both. However, that is not to say they are not challenging. Because of the increase in enemy A.I, a level may seem deceptively easy only to turn around and hit you with a major surprise. The big upside to the lack of missions is the lack of fluff which plagued AC 5. There were simply too many boring missions in that game. There are few boring missions Ace Combat Zero but they are challenging nonetheless. Multiplayer has also returned after a needless hiatus in AC 5; it has a variety of games for two player and several levels based off former AC levels. However, there is no online mode. The lack of online mode is irrelevant to some gamers, but a major letdown to others (in my opinion, online gaming is overrated). I will not cover too much about multiplayer since I rarely play with others.

Controls: 8

Not much has changed with the controls since AC 4. There are a few new features such as the ability to hold triangle to track a locked on enemy; this will automatically pan the camera around to the enemy target. The new, innovative feature is the boresight mode. This allows you to concentrate on a target in front of you. This is very useful as you can focus on one target without filtering though every target. There is one problem with this: the button placement. It is L3 which is also the button used to move the aircraft. A lot of times you'll end up entering boresight mode unintentionally. The handling of the planes though is more realistic than in AC 5.

Sound: 10

This is the other major plus to the game. The music is amazing; some tracks start out flat but improve over the course of the track. A lot of the music is based off Spanish guitar and flamenco music mixed in with electronic, rock, and classical. Each track captures the feel of the level and all the action going on in it. Rival aces have their own music which really tells you that you're in for a tough fight. One of the most important improvements from AC 5 is the return to professional, less whiny dialogue. The dialogue was utterly atrocious and unprofessional in AC 5. However, there is still the hint of the dramatic, so it does not surpass AC 4's dialog. However, what counts is that it's vastly improved. The voice acting is very good, with at least one returning voice actor from AC 5. The lines are well delivered by the actors.

Graphics: 9

The graphics in Ace Combat Zero, like in most AC games, are superb. The graphics seem brighter and the planes look much nicer than in previous games. The draw distance is very good and the interface is more user-friendly. However, it does not quite capture the beautiful, photo-realistic effect that AC 4 had. The terrain is very well done, but looks clunky if you go low to the ground. However, this is not a very big issue. You'll be too busy avoiding a SAM or setting up for an attack to notice. There are a few glitches that have appeared in previous Ace Combat games, such as planes flying through the ground. But these are minor; for the most part the game is very polished.

Other Stuff: 8.5

The cut scenes are very nice and there are also many things to unlock. When you shoot down an enemy ace, their data goes into the Assault Record. There you can read their bios and see their information. There are also many paint schemes to be unlocked, which can be gained by shooting down aces or completing the game. After battling a rival ace, you eventually get to see an interview with them talking about your character. There are also medals to unlock and other things. You can check your plane data like in previous games. Because of all these things(combined with the ace style and rival aces), the replay value is good but not great. There should have been more things to unlock, the interviews could have been longer; but as it stands, these do not hurt the game too much.

Final Verdict: 8

The game is a short, but sweet thrill ride to challenge the gamer into improving his AC skills. However, this game in some respects seems to cater to the hardcore, die-hard AC veterans. Some new gamers will be put off by the difficulty. However, this game is not a true savior to the franchise like Resident Evil 4 or Devil May Cry 3. In retrospect, it never needed saving at all. Ace Combat Zero is more like a rollercoaster than a long-time gaming experience. That's not to say it's not a bad game. This game is one of the best Ace Combat games ever; but it is not the greatest game of the year.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/14/06