ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

Didn't expect to like this nearly as much as I did. I knew that the soundtrack would be amazing, but the game was all around very fun to go through.

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I've had a fascination with Ace Combat since I played Electrosphere on the PSX when I was a wee lad. The fact is, that fascination never really went anywhere for years, as I've never played another Ace Combat or similar games (Luftrausers probably doesn't count) again... until now. And while I definitely can handle small doses of such a game at a time, I really enjoyed my time with Skies Unknown. In the patented Ace Combat world of Strangereal (lol), yet another war pops up when a politician is shot down and out main character is framed for it and get sent to aerial penal colony. The war revolves around the control of the Space Elevator, an absurdly impossible kind-of-space station, but it gets progressively more involved and complex, also focusing on unmanned drones and the clash between humanity and technology in the skies. The story I fully expected not to care about, and that was mostly true. The storytelling is a bit of a mess, for starters, as plot is strictly told through cutscenes (corny as hell), mission briefings (fine) and radio banter during mission (very hard to listen to and/or read when I'm flying for my life). The dialogue is cringey and a bit pretentious, pure Japanese style, and the various factions and nations are super confusing, but the characters are strangely endearing and I was interested in how they would turn out. The themes presented within the game, though not explored in depths, are also quite interesting. In general, a mixed bag here, but it's not like I wasn't expecting it. The gameplay is very fun. Ace Combat is a mix between simulation and arcade flying action, so it's well suited to pretty much anyone, but I had the unpleasant feeling all the way through I was never fully, 100% in control of what I was doing. In particular, anything involving high precision (unguided weapons, flying through very narrow spaces) I struggled to do up until the end. Even defeating the more maneuverable enemies felt like it came down to "shoot 3000 missiles and some will hit eventually", though I'm sure there are indeed strategies you can adopt. That said, the basics of the control scheme aren't hard to grasp, and most of the time, you CAN feel like a badass ace pilot. That's really what it comes down to: Ace Combat gives you a primal kind of satisfaction and adrenaline, and it's supremely effective. Dodging a missile last second, flying between two mountain and landing a tricky shot, exploding a bridge just in time to prevent you crashing into it... the high the game gives you in these moments is kind of unparalleled. It helps that there is a healthy variety of missions, and they're all mostly fun (except the sandstorm one, ugh). Some of them, like Mission 19, are absolute masterpieces and really get you hyped up, making you feel like nothing else. Of course, the looming threat of crashing to the ground and losing 15 minutes of progress is always there, and it's why I had to play the game on and off over a few months, but it was worth it in the end. There is an enormous variety of aircrafts and parts to buy with currency gained by completing missions and scoring high, and I wasn't really interested in that, but I know some people that would literally get sparkly eyed over it. Of course, there is benefit in buying stronger planes and different special weapons depending on the mission, and that's what I did, but there is a wealth of customization for the aircrafts enthusiasts. There are also titles to earn, higher difficulties, S ranks to chase, multiplayer... none of that is for me, but it's potentially a highly replayable game. The game also looks amazing. Of course, the terrain has some pop in and low resolution textures, but it's not often you have to actively go near the ground (and those instances are higher quality, naturally): the sky looks spellbinding, with the light of the sun, the stars, the clouds and all the various weather effects. Flying at night is almost meditative, flying into a thunderstorm is terrifying and awe-inspiring, and so on. Aircrafts are also maniacally detailed, as one would expect. Very, very beautiful where it counts the most. The audio is great, with amazing sound effects (and brain-searing warnings), but it's the music which takes the cake, easily one of the game's crown jewels. Though not terribly varied, as it mostly iterates upon a few main themes, it is OBSCENELY epic, heart-pumping and atmospheric. It single handedly makes moments legendary, and again Mission 19 is as good as it is mainly due to the music, how it syncs to the action and makes your hair stand up like it's nobody's business. Truly a stellar soundtrack. Ace Combat won't ever be 100% my thing, as there are many aspects of it I am straight up not interesting in ever exploring, but it was a pleasure to play through Skies Unknown. It's still something unique you don't find anywhere else, and worth experiencing.