[h1]This is the first honest positive review for this game![/h1]
Firstly, unlike everyone else here:
I am [i]not, nor have ever[/i] served in the air force.
Secondly, I have [i]never[/i] airstruck a place of worship, a place of healing, or a place of social gathering, or murdered someone with complete apathy.
So that puts me in the bottom 0.0001% to begin with.
I have played various plane-games and spent an unhealthy amount of time flying VRC aircraft, but otherwise, I am not the demographic for this kind of game.
If you are, or have been a combat pilot and possess a full HOTAS setup with pedals and head-tracking then you’re set and this is a must buy.
This review is for [i]mortals[/i], like myself.
So if you’re of the three deadly S’s (Stubborn, Stupid, Civilian), then this a cautious pick.
Don’t listen to anyone who says that this not a simulation and that it’s ‘slightly’ more hardcore than Ace Combat. This game is the Starcraft 2 to Starcraft 1, Valorant to CS:GO, or driving automatic on a train to stick on an 18 wheeler.
Simplification does not mean ‘ease’. While you may not be clicking all the buttons, the systems are still being simulated under the hood which means the game is best played with a full flight setup, or keyboard/mouse.
While the devs claim the game can be played with a controller and have made some paths towards that claim, take note that this game is in [i]very[/i] early access. Controllers don’t even work on the menus and not all flight functions can be mapped onto the pad, although the d-pad does open a very handy submenu.
For general flight, I’d say using a controller is just fine. The aircraft have true mass, personality and function. The simplified controls make even dogfighting mostly functional.
However, on the same note, VTOL craft suffer the most due to their complexity. The automated systems make assumptions based solely on velocity and nose angle rather than on the intent of the pilot. This can result in situations such as trying to land an STOL causing the jets to activate, leading to a reverse 120 degree hover.
In the same vein, the Blackhawk analogue has turbofans in the rear that kick in when the helo flies at a high enough velocity to overshoot and oversteer when least expected.
On an extreme, the Tarantula tilt-wing plane does not fly like a helicopter in VTOL mode because the entire wing tilts, not just the source of thrust. Thus it actively fights against forward momentum, until it eventually turns full-forward.
Ironically, the only VTOL with no gimmicks, the Chicane, demonstrates why IRL a Commanche-type helicopter needed a co-gunner. While it brings me much nostalgic joy from the game [i]Commanche 3,[/i] the act of balancing the collective, nose tilt, rudder, and weapon targeting is a lot to handle and would have actually benefited from auto-levelling. VRS (a state caused by a helo sucking its own downdraft when flying too low and thus being pulled towards the ground) is highly aggressive in this game, and the many close air-support aircraft do a far better and easier job, especially if you’re using a controller. As I like to say, Stealth doesn't matter if everyone can see you.
Onto gameplay and the real reason this game deserves your time.
Once the tutorials are completed, [b]DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT[/b] play the numbered missions.
They are boiled pigs’ vomit and are challenge maps that are designed mostly to piss you off with terrible scripting and unbalanced design. At least one reviewer quit the game because they are just [b]unfathomably bad.[/b]
From trying to attack AA vehicles with machine guns, to trying to drop tanks in a dense urban environment when your VTOL is larger than a house, to trying to solo-attack an aircraft carrier when they are designed to hard-counter your arsenal, to flying the Chicane (period) against AA. Just save yourself the effort.
[h2]Play the real game.[/h2]
There are four unique missions, named Altercation, Confrontation, Escalation and Terminal Control. Altercation is ideal for beginners as it limits you to basic aircraft and weapons. Confrontation is broader still, while Escalation and Terminal Control are the full-course. Whichever you play, they are truly engaging “missions” that deserve their own category.
Instead of scripted porcine puke, they offer amazing emergent gameplay that I shall go over in detail.
The match is split into two armies, the BDF and PALA. (One are the bad guys fighting for good reasons, the other are good guys fighting for bad reasons. Which is which I cannot say!)
The objective in the missions named above is to either capture or destroy the opposing team’s bases. Like a MOBA, your base and the enemy will send minions that will engage defences and attempt a capture. In this case, the minions are tanks, AA vehicles and other unique vehicles such as mobile radar, long range artillery, ammo trucks etc.
Your role is to select your ‘hero’ aircraft and to quote Darth Vader “this is where the fun begins.” You are given full choice in how you want to proceed. Whether that is CAS where you protect your minions by destroying theirs, or anti-ship assault, high level bombing or low level saturation runs. Even logistics is simulated and the larger battlefields have many avenues of attack where ground vehicles can provide nasty surprises.
The navy has varying influence depending on the scenario but even the smallest enemy ship can be a nasty menace if left to bombard your bases or block the airspace around your territory, while protected friendlies offer clear airspace early warning potential and even spawn locations via carriers.
You are quickly rewarded with skill points for supporting your team through intel, kills, jamming, resupplying allies etc, while also receiving money over time.
Most matches start with only humble aircraft like the Cricket (an overpowered crop duster) available to fly, and as you rank up, you proceed to unlock more advanced aircraft. The caveat being that they may be more powerful, but they also demand a skilled pilot to master their potential.
Money can also be used to buy a plane and loadout above your tier, but it is on you to make sure your investment doesn’t literally explode in your face.
Aircraft availability is limited to the production levels of factories near your airbase. This loops around to the emergent gameplay. Taking or destroying an airbase not only cripples the ability for the opposing team to spawn, but the loss of factories limits the replenishment rate of airframes. Tank factories limit what kind of ground vehicles can spawn. Radar provides detection. Safe carrier departure requires strong support vessels.
It is all highly engaging, customisable to some degree and the unique soundtrack to each aircraft elevates the game into something more than “play-by-numbers”. I haven’t played multiplayer since being gang erm...banged by professional pilots isn’t my forte’ but apparently if that’s your thing, by all means.
The Nuclear Option itself is a mid to late game ability and is not always a game-ender. For a start, nuclear weapons are expensive and layers of anti-air defences can counter even artillery shells, let alone cruise missiles or semi-guided parachute bombs. Thus defences need to be penetrated or at least distracted long enough for a nuke to hit and when it does, it is simply glorious.
As mentioned before, the game is in [b]very[/b] early access so if you’re on the fence, I’d suggest waiting until a few more aircraft and patches drop. As it stands, expect a UI from the early 2000s with all the jank that entails. So far even mid-mission saves aren’t in.
Also, kudos to the devs for creating a downright [i]tiny[/i] Unity Engine Game. However be aware, that it also is a little janky because of a graphics memory leak.
If this affects you, set your frames in the gameplay menu to 60, then use this command line in the launch options.
-limitframerate 60
