Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies

Things don't start out too well. Early in the game you're saddled with what amounts to a flying brick, and are forced to fly a few boring mud-moving missions. Stick with it, though. By the end of the game, you'll have earned enough money to buy a hangar full of incredible aircraft, each with special weapons, capabilities, and shortcomings. The F-14, for example, has a slow roll rate but can engage multiple targets at long range. The A-10 is horrible in a dogfight, but is devastating down low. You'll need to familiarize yourself with all the planes, as picking the right plane for the job always spells the difference between success and failure in the later missions.

The game is nearly perfect in the audio department, with booming engine noises (taken from recordings of the planes' real-life counterparts) and constant radio chatter during missions. Graphically, it's a bit of a letdown, especially the anemic explosions. Up high, everything is picture perfect, and the plane models are gorgeous, but close to the ground the terrain melts into a pixilated mess. This is offset somewhat by the inclusion of dense urban areas and twisting canyons that are thrilling to fly through. All things considered, Shattered Skies is the best mix of simulation and arcade action ever burned onto a disc. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Photorealistic terrain (at least when viewed from high altitude)
• Nonstop action backed by an engaging story
• Intense dogfights, sometimes involving dozens of planes

• Scripted mission design doesn't give players much freedom
• Pathetic explosions
• Terrain that loses detail when viewed from a low altitude

The gameplay sits somewhere between simulation and arcade. Personally it's a perfect balance. I find simulations (Jane series on PC for example) too steep of a learning curve. The massive amounts of micro-management required to fly a plane is a bit daunting, if anything, definately not 'fun'. On the other end of the spectrum, arcade fliers are too simplified with unrealistic physics, dumbed down controls, and gameplay mechanics that offers nothing but a mindless blast-a-thon. Shattered Skies is not a shoot-em-up. It offers an incredible sense of flight with controls that anyone can pick up after little practice.

Only drawback...18 missions seems awfully short. But short games seem to be the trend with these next-gen console games . The missions, however are varied enough, and since you can revisit them with any of the 21 air crafts (each with a distinct style of flight), the replay value can be arguably good.

Bottom line - finally, PS2 games are starting to show off the system's capabilities. AC4: Shattered Skies is no exeption, even the controls take excellent advantage of the analogue buttons. Dog fighting, bombing missions, avoiding anti-aircraft gun fire, shaking off missle locks, etc. etc. etc. everything you'd expect and want in a title like this, you will find. And all of this is presented in a style that is polished and, for a lack of a better term, very slick. If anything, for the genre of the game, it is Fun. Blissful and Gleeful in immersive flight.


Yowza!   November 2, 2001
Bob Manson (Berkeley, CA United States)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

Unlike the rather disappointing US version of Ace Combat 3 for the Playstation, AC4 is awesome. If you like arcade flight sims, this one's an easy purchase. I originally set myself up for a disappointing experience, but I've been playing it for the last three hours and I'm one happy camper.

It has a (amazingly) comprehensible story with enjoyable narration--something that was sorely lacking from AC3. The battles make some amount of sense; there's a definite flow and feeling of achievement after each mission, although it's still fixed in terms of the actual events that occur. (There were aspects of AC3 that were cool, but the whole branching storyline made no sense without any cutscenes--it was just weird.)

The money system is a great idea, especially since planes in AC3 seemed to show up at the whim of the designers or as a result of contrived storyline events. You earn extra money for shooting down additional planes and earning higher mission grades, which can be used to purchase alternate weapons and new planes. It gives some real motivation to do a better job on the missions other than just getting an "A" beside your name.

The difficulty levels are a nice change as well--there's a "very easy" level that is reasonably easy to play, but still presents a bit of a challenge. There's also a tutorial, which isn't that great but at least it's something--it was rough for beginners to get started with AC3. (The biggest problems with the tutorial are that the text goes by too slowly, and there's not much in the way of feedback. I was hoping for a way to practice various things like missile usage and bombing, but no such luck.)

Graphics: beautiful. They're good enough that I don't pay any attention, and that's precisely where they need to be. I haven't noticed any anomalies at all in fact--no funny popup problems, weird blurring effects, slowdowns, whatever. The sounds are quite good as well, tho the "pilot chatter" can be annoying at times...it's also useful (warns of enemy planes etc) so it's acceptable.

Of course it's still Ace Combat: flight isn't terribly realistic, near-insane amounts of ammunition, surprise storyline changes, an amazing array of airplanes to choose from. That just makes it all the more fun...sure, realistic flight sims have their place, but that isn't what AC is about and that's OK.

Don't be scared off if you were unhappy with AC3 for the Playstation--this is a totally different animal, and well worth it.


Beautiful, fast, and best console fighter combat game ever.   November 4, 2001
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Before i start i would like to thank namco for releasing this gem of a game. I've played every game in the series, and always was thankful for them, since they were the only good fighter combat games out there. But this game goes above and beyond anything in the previous 3.

First off the graphics are absolutly beautiful. The ground no longer looks pixelated, it's now perfectly blended. Although the cities look mostly the same as they did, with sky scrapers coming up and other buildings shown flat on the ground, it's still effective. But this time there's just so much more going on on the ground, guns firing at you are shown much more realistically. In the ground support missions tanks, artillery, and pillboxes are all shown perfectly as they fire on your landing or advancing troops. Coming down from 35,000 feet, through clouds onto land targets is still as exciting as ever.

But the greatest addition to the series is the story. In the others in the series i didn't really care about it, i just wanted to get to the blowing stuff up parts, but in this the story is very captivating. It's shown through a mixture of movies and still pictures narrated by a civilian who is living through the war. This makes it very interesting as he interacts with the enemy you are fighting.

Overall this game should take it's place in your collection of games simply because it's the best flight sim out there on any console, and i doubt x-box or gamecube will have anything better for a while or maybe not at all. If you like aerial combat or have an interest this is the game for you.


Great Arcade Fun   March 26, 2002
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Ace Combat 4 is a perfect example of what video games are supposed to be. It's an arcade style fighter jet game, where you engage in dogfights, and various bombing missions in enemy territory. It also has an interesting storyline. But HERE are the details.

The Controls: VERY simple. Each action has it's own button. You fly with the analog joysticks. Target Lock, Shoot, Accelerate, and Decelerate with seperate buttons. Give yourself 5 minutes and you'll have mastered the controls. The rumble pack is especially great for this game, shaking when you hit the afterburner, or take a missle in the rear end.

Graphics: Very nice. People who don't think these are good graphics have been playing too many computer flight sim games where the graphics are borderline insane (Jetfighter 4).
This is PS2 on your TV, the graphics are smooth, and the explosions are fun to see.

Sound: Great music. It's intense. Plane sounds are top notch. Missles wizzing by your plane sound great also.

The Game: FUN. It is NOT a flight simulator. You don't have to land, take off, or fly 15 minutes to your target desination. You put the game in and there you go. Pure arcade style fighter jet fun.

Extra Info: There are 18 missions, all of which are different. You can also purchase new, better planes, and more advanced weapons as each mission passes, and you obtain more money.

If your looking for a good fun game, this is for you. If you want a complicated flight sim, look elsewhere. Enjoy!


Engage, Mobius 1!   January 12, 2003
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

The Erusians have built a weapon of mass destrution, Stonehenge. ISAF is at war because of this cannon. Stonehenge was originally built to shoot down astroids but Erusia discovered it could be used as a anti-aircraft weapon. So you, Mobius 1, must fight for the mainland. Buying fighters of speed and weapons of destruction you defend the Independent Allied Forces. Dog-fight the fearless Yellow 13. Buy F-15s and SU-37s. Use Quick Maneuver Missiles and Advance Air-to-Ground Bombs. With 18 combat missions you drop bombs and fire missiles. With 18 jets to buy from you are totally in the action. With a great replay you can watch yourself defeat the Erusians. With radio transmissions you can hear SkyEye and other fighters talk throughout the missions. I have beaten AC04 five times now. I recieved it last Christmas.

Rating AceCombat 04: Shattered Skies

Graphics 10/10
Jet Details 9/10
Mission Difficulty 8/10
Realistic Controls 10/10~
Realistic Environment 10/10*

~There is also a EASY MODE for the control.
*Realistic Enviroment includes explosions, buildings, etc.