"New Ace is good, but there's been better."

After enjoying the previous installments I was practically drooling with anticipation for AC Zero. While I enjoyed the game, and some nice enhancements with it, overall I was disappointed. Then, I had high expectations. On with the review!

Graphics: 9/10
AC Zero really cleaned up in this department. The game is every bit as beautiful as Ace Combat 5 and then some. Not only do the planes and color schemes look great, the ground textures in this game are better than ever. No more square patches of land below, every thing is nice and smooth and the terrain is varied and detailed. Also, all animation is fluid and you really get a feel for being way up in the air. The only reason I didn't give this a 10 is because the improvements over the last game are minimal, but then, I expect this one is really pushing the PS2 hard and it keeps a smooth frame rate through all of it.

Controls: 10/10
The controls are top notch, with a few variations, including an option to set controls to the previous title's settings for those used to playing AC5. Nice touch there. Other than that, it seems to be standard flight game fare, thrust and brake on the triggers. My only complaint is that the touch sensitivity on the face buttons, particularly for the map is a bit wonky, but its a minor complaint.

Sound: 7/10
Everything sounds good, explosions galore, and the whole thing sounds fantastic on a 5.1 surround system. However, the engine and gun sounds could use a bit of variety, I know, its petty, but would really make the experience more immersive. The ability to tweak different sounds, such as music, voice, etc. are really a boon since by default the engine and music volume makes the voice chatter practically inaudible. After a bit of tweaking though, everything sounds great.

Gameplay and Features: 7/10
Don't misunderstand this score. I love AC and can't seem to get enough...but that's just the problem here. There's not enough. After playing AC5 with almost twice as many missions (and well coordinated missions at that), this almost feels slapped together. Only 18 missions and not a lot of variety, this really just feels like more of the same. One welcome change is that this game is a bit harder than the last and the AI is smarter, particularly the aces. The new lock on system on the L3 button feels like a gimmick. I never used it intentionally, though I did hit it by accident a lot. I also miss the arcade mode, which is nowhere to be found here, so no extra missions in this one, the free mode and new game+ are still available. I should mention also, the menu selection screens are not quite as intuitive as in other AC games, particularly when buying a plane and optional sub-weapons.

One redeeming factor is the rewards/medals system. The medals aren't anything that haven't been done before, but now you're treated to a kill list of total squad kills, personal kills, and wingman kills. And of course there the new two player mode. I say new because its much improved from the versus in AC4, and was not even available in AC5. Versus dogfighting is realistic and the game has provided some nice extra games in versus; this does give the game a bit more replay value. One request Namco: Co-op! Please! Unfortunately there's none of that this time around.

The new aces feature is great and actually puts a face and a name to many of the aces and pilots you shoot down and really personalizes the whole thing. It was my favorite new feature. With this game, you're basically in for more of the same. In my eyes, that's fantastic, but I was expecting a longer campaign.

Story: 4/10
I'm sorry, this was garbage. I love the story of the Demon of Razgriz from the last game. So where did the Razgriz part go? Now its just "Demon Lord." Also, the story sections were primarily FMV live actors on CG backgrounds, tech that was discarded with the advent of decent CG, and discarded for a reason. At the very least Namco could have hired better actors. The voice actors were great in-game, but the actual scenes (not the same actors, but dubbed with their voices) were poorly lip synched, poorly acted, and brought me no attachment to the characters or the main character Cypher (IE - you).
Only Redeeming quality: The commentator, the one who's actually doing the reporting and searching for info...he's cool. He sounds good and at least seems enthusiastic.

So here's the rundown:

Pros:
+ same great AC gameplay
+new aces feature is great
+Smarter AI and more difficult in general with the aces
+slightly improved graphics
+ A few selectable control schemes
+fun new versus modes

Cons:
- not much you haven't seen before
-Very poor story compared to other AC games
-Not enough missions
-may be a bit too difficult for those new to the series
-no cooperative gameplay
-Did I mention the story? The FMVs? The bad acting? The HORROR?

Overall, this one gets a 7/10.

I'd say this is a good addition to the Ace Combat series, particularly if you've owned previous games in the series, but AC 5 trumps it. If you're new to the AC series, pick up Ace Combat 5, you'll get a lot more for your money.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/06