Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2019
Ace Combat 7 has been lying in my purchased list since Xbox One X. Having played all the mainline iterations; the PS1 trilogy, review here, the PS2 “holy grail” trilogy, review here, and finally Ace Combat 6 from the Xbox 360, review here. I decided it was time to play the seventh one from 2019. Finally completing my series playthrough!
It’s a franchise I’m pleased to see revived by Namco-Bandai, Ridge Racer next please, and my first impression was positive. Having completed it, I’m not quite sure if my excitement is quite as high in hindsight. It’s a neat flashback to the classic Ace Combat design, for sure, but at the same time I feel it doesn’t renew itself to catch the attention of inexperienced players. Selling itself a little too hard on the nostalgia for Ace Combat veterans.
There are dated game mechanics that shine through the pretty exterior, with annoying retries needed for rigid mission objectives. Visually it’s pretty at first, but the simplicity and budget limit it on a deeper level.
Let’s take to the skies for a closer look!
By now we’re perhaps a little too familiar with the sombre, anti-war stories of this franchise. Although we received the action-packed, modern warfare inspired Assault Horizon in-between, AC7 returns to the "war is bad and sad" theme. The voice overs and depiction of the story is high quality, a huge leap from the awkwardness of AC6, yet it feels like a story that repeats itself in the franchise. We get it, war is hell, and the pilots are emotional whiny brats that never can shut up about it during missions.
For the sake of familiarity though, the story depiction and music score are solid and right up the Ace Combat fanbase alley. The sound effects though, lack the loudness, crunchiness and smashing glass like AC6 and Assault Horizon. Both which felt more powerful and dramatic when engaging close aerial combat and exploding aircraft.
That said, the explosion and fire effects are neat visually, utilising modern effects and smoke, but they just don't feel as big and impactful as AC6. The lighting, on the other hand, is miles ahead of the older titles and really make the landscape beneath your aircraft pop. Although the ground textures are detailed there's just less stuff on the ground, feeling a barren at times.
Gameplay is just as expected; arcade styled flight controls and minimal worries about aircraft stalls and turning angles. New to the mix, which is a neat addition both in terms of visuals and handling, are weather conditions. Which make an impact on aircraft characteristics. Speeding through a volumetric cloud will cool down your aircraft where freezing might affect your handling. Same goes for lightning strikes, which put your aircraft in a dangerous stall. Cool effects like water droplets and frost on the cockpit glass are a welcome addition too!
In an attempt to renew the aircraft and weapons purchase system, they've added a level tree. Here you can spend points to get hold of weapons and aircraft, a cool and potentially deeper progression system. The result, however, is a confusing level tree which is a grind to reach what you genuinely want to buy. Everything is locked behind endless other purchases that require replaying missions repeatedly. It's an unwelcome design and locked me out of getting my hands on anything more than a couple of aircraft as a result.
Going back to the PS2 “holy trinity” of Ace Combat releases, AC7 returns with 60 fps. Although I didn’t feel the severe need for it in AC6, or the PS1 games for that matter as it’s all slow moving high above ground anyhow, it’s a neat to see it target this framerate. Be aware that it's only a feature for Xbox One X and PS4 Pro users on console, with the Series X and PS5 taking the benefit of the same.
Responsiveness is better as a result, although the sharpness typically seen in 60 fps titles is lost somewhat in the heavy motion blur. Probably a trait as it was designed for 30 fps on the lower-end consoles, XB1 and PS4, back when it released. Resolution stays at a serviceable 1080p, considering it was optimised for last generation, but why it hasn't been pushed to 1440p is unknown. A trait of lower budget and especially many Japanese titles using the UE4 engine. I do, however, enjoy the amount of detail and general feel the cockpit view gives though, aircraft models are pretty too!
As mentioned, the landscapes you fly above are technically more modern and at first glance quite appealing, but they can't shake this generic Unreal Engine look. As if they're from a drop-down menu, pre-made in the engine. It lacks the uniqueness of each environment from the older titles. In addition, there are far fewer targets and smoke trails pouring over the screen compared to the insane amounts in AC6. Resulting in a barren look, which becomes apparent when moving from AC6 to AC7, regardless of image quality.
The campaign follows a typical AC structure, with various mission tasks and environments to fly above as the campaign progresses through an escalating war. AC7 expands upon the mission lengths, with complexity and objective variety, however it stumbles upon doing so. Resulting in confusing mission objectives combined with a difficulty curve that is extremely uneven.
The player is punished with a "mission over" if you’re not doing the exact goal the developers intended. It feels like a constrictive, pre-determined system that lacks a dynamic feel. It's a massive contrast to the moving battlefields of AC6, which at least felt dynamic and different when you replayed them.
While I'm not claiming to be any kind of Ace Combat pro, I've played the franchise extensively and I had multiple times restart from checkpoints. Punishing me by sending me far back, only to do the same mistake again because the mission objective wasn’t clea, feels annoyingly rigid.
Adding to the frustration is the complete absence of wingman help; they're clearly flying about but they don’t take down a single enemy aircraft or vehicle. Not even one. It’s almost a joke compared to the older titles in the seriest. Commanding them in the older titles gave an extra layer of strategy and it's completely removed in AC7.
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My end feelings for AC7 aren't as high as I hoped for. While it is indeed fun to play, it feels restrictive and annoyingly punishing at times. Sure, it's visually more modern and appealing, but it doesn't push the technical envelope as far as AC6 so brilliantly did early on the Xbox 360.
The result is a sense of b-tier, further emphasized by the generic Unreal environments and underwhelming optimisation, absent wingman support, confusing mission objectives and grinding level tree. Most apparently; it just lacks the insane amount of ground and air targets AC6 would throw at you across the landscape!
While I do support Namco-Bandai returning with a new instalment for a classic franchise like this, I just wish it had spent some more time polishing it and not cutting back the boundaries the earlier releases made. It feels like a watered-down Ace Combat that ignores advancements earlier iterations added.
That said, it's by no means a bad game. There's a modern looking, simplified and solid addition to the franchise to play here, but it will likely alienate newcomers with its difficulty curve.
