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Tasunkawitko's Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
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| [March 6, 2008 01:11:23 AM]
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ENTRY 2
GAMEPLAY
As the game progressed the levels became much more intricate and much more challenging. Along with the increasing in difficulty came an upgrade in the player’s abilities. This came in the form of new planes. There are numerous planes that the player is able to ultimately choose from, and they are unlocked when the player destroys an enemy plane of that type. After purchasing that particular plane n the store, the player can then use it in a mission. The planes all have varying characteristics; some are better at air to air combat, some are better for air to ground combat, some turn faster or accelerate more quickly or carry a larger supply of missiles. Each plane also has a number of secondary weapons to choose from. The secondary weapons are important, because their damage potential is much higher than regular missiles, though there are far fewer of them. They can take the form of cluster bombs or advanced air to air missiles that can be fired four at a time, or various others.
There are two primary types of missions. There are missions in which the player must destroy certain targets to attain victory; and there are missions were the player must gather a certain amount of point by killing enemies within given time limit. In the former the number of targets may range from one or a few to several dozen, and they may be ground targets or flying targets. In the latter each type of enemy has a different points value, so the player must decide which to pursue as the most efficient use of his precious time. These two mission types are often times both used in a single mission resulting in a single mission with various phases. This adds an element of suspense as the player does not always know when his mission is over.
DESIGN
This game really gives the player a sense of freedom in exploring the gameworld. Each mission takes place on a separate map. Each map is very large and open in all directions, so much so that it would take several minutes to cross a map at the player’s top speed. In addition everything on the map fits to scale fairly well. Because of this the player can fly low right along the coast of an island or high up past the clouds and have it seem reasonably realistic. These large maps also allow for a lot of flexibility in level design, enemy bases can be clustered together or spread out very far, causing the player to manage his time more carefully.
The reward system for this game is simple but it certainly does the trick. After every mission the player gets a certain amount of money based on the number and type of enemies he destroyed. Obviously this gives the player incentive to destroy as many enemies as he can in a given mission. With the money he has accrued the player can purchase new planes that are more maneuverable or have a larger armament, or the player can purchase new secondary weapons for the plane he already has. Also, at the end of each level the player receives a rank according to the number of points he scored. There are four ranks, from lowest to highest they are: C, B, A, and S. The higher the rank the higher the monetary rank bonus the player receives. Also, if a player can get rank S on all of the missions he can unlock secret experimental aircraft. This instills further motivation to do well, and provides some replay value.
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| [March 6, 2008 12:13:10 AM]
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ENTRY 1
SUMMARY
Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies, is a combat flight simulation game for the Playstation 2 created by Namco. The player assumes the role of Mobius 1, a pilot in the ISAF (Independent States Allied Forces) which is trying to retake the mainland that has been conquered by the behemoth country of Erusea. The player engages in a variety of missions using an assortment of different fighter planes and weapons.
GAMEPLAY
This game is engrossing right from the beginning. This game tests the player’s reflexes and 3D spatial awareness. The air to air combat portion of the game is very entertaining and oftentimes quite intense. The goal is to try and get a good angle on the enemy plane so that one’s targeting system can get a clean lock on the enemy so that the player can shoot it down with a missile. One on one this can be a fairly simple process, though not always, sometimes the enemy pilot is quite skilled. However, when the player faces multiple enemies (sometimes numbering over ten), the game becomes much more challenging. With missiles flying everywhere the player is trying simply to avoid being hit, but he must also attempt to simultaneously shoot down those that are shooting at him. In such situations certain camera controls can be very useful. The player can control the 3D camera looking in any direction he chooses. He also has the ability to lock the camera on the currently targeted enemy as viewed from the player’s plane. This gives the player a very good sense of where the enemy plane is with respect to his own.
The story for this game comes in short installments, but gives the player a very good sense of the conditions within the gameworld. The cut scenes between levels tell the story of a young boy living in a town occupied by Eurusean military forces. These provide more depth with respect to the enemy forces and some of the main characters associated with them, namely the enemy aces Yellow Squadron. The rest of the story is portrayed through in-game dialogue between the other members of the player’s squadron, HQ and various other associated figures. Mobius 1 never actually speaks. Through this interesting narrative setup the player gets to see both sides of the conflict.
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Tasunkawitko's Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 5 March, 2008
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