ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

I've flown at my desk since Jane's Fighter's Anthology (1997); and this one is a keeper. The only critical thing I can say is the HUD isn't a HUD. You can only read it 60% of the time. A color adjustment slider from white to black would have been peachy. The game is fun. It is challenging at the casual setting. I'm sure every skill level will be equally rewarding. I've never considered using communication gear, and group playing; but I am now. I'm currently dying on mission 16. I have bought the additional games and planes. It's worth it.

爽！！！

noice

There are many things good and bad that I could say about Ace Combat 7, so I hope I do not sound too rambley as I write this. I'll try to avoid spoilers, too. Ace Combat 7 was my first introduction into the Ace Combat franchise, and I went in relatively blind as I had never seen anything related to it online before, except for a meme or reference here and there. So, I was completely clueless during my first hours, and somehow channeled my inner AIM-9 and crashed straight into the enemy in the first missions a couple of times. Despite how comically bad I was at the beginning, it was still REALLY fun and thrilling in a way that only makes sense once you play the game for yourself. Getting the hang of flying and maneuvering through dogfights mission after mission feels incredibly rewarding by itself, and the wide variety of aircraft and special weaponry gives plenty of room to experiment and find a playstyle you prefer. Graphically, the game is absolutely gorgeous, wallpaper-worthy, even, yet the game still runs consistently over 60 FPS at max settings on relatively low-end computers like mine. The musical score by Keiki Kobayashi is nothing short of a masterpiece, some personal highlights of mine being Faceless Soldier, Lost Kingdom, Hush and Enchanter I. The entire soundtrack is beautiful and really helps bring the atmosphere of the game to the next level. However, this is where I have to yap about my gripes with the game. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but they'll be marked as such. First, the story. GOD, the story. On the surface, it is fine, right? Only if you don't think about it too much, its saving grace is that the atmosphere and almost everything else is so good you just stop caring about how comically bad the story is. The deeper you look, the more plot holes you find. The more the game tries to show you, the more it leaves completely unexplained (Lore outside of the game itself does not count. Who reads the in-cutscene magazines that appear for like a few seconds?) (Minor spoilers ahead, nothing too specific) [spoiler] Erusea having been allowed to keep all of its territory and gather strength when the Continental War happened barely 15 or so years ago is beyond me. The IUN's sheer incompetence is... accurate to the real world, I suppose. Osea not knowing how to destroy the superweapons THEY themselves built until the end of the game. [/spoiler] And so, so much more I can't bring up off the top of my head. The DLC. It's fine! Three missions, a decent side quest, and more awesome music. To me, the Ten Million Relief Plan mini-campaign is a glimpse into what Ace Combat 7 COULD have been had it not been in the development hell it was in. I love the portrayal of the Captain as a vague counterpart to Trigger, Strider and Cyclops squadrons got some MUCH needed character development, Trigger gets to aurafarm some more. And General Resource got their "I too am in this episode" moment with [spoiler] Mimic Squadron, which were a fine mini-boss, but I wish we could've gotten more of them. They had good potential, but there wasn't much to work with in just the two missions. [/spoiler] Now, the multiplayer. God, the multiplayer. Just wasted potential, not a lot more I can say, because there just isn't that much to talk about. There is only two gamemodes, both PvP: Team Deathmatch and Battle Royal. Public lobbies are, 9 times out of 10, total nightmares. Cheaters, EML/TLS snipers, UAVs, PLSLs, QAAMs. The lack of any sort of anticheat and a netcode worse than fighting games means having a good time in multiplayer is incredibly rare. That being said, playing in private lobbies with friends, or in lobbies with cost limits (preventing superplanes and such from being used) helps alleviate the problem, but its a bandaid on a bullet hole. I can only hope Ace Combat 8's multiplayer will be better, as there is just not that much to do once you finish the campaign in Ace Combat 7. TL:DR - It's good, it's great if you turn your brain off. Don't think about it too much. Buy the TGM Edition and DLC missions when it goes on sale.

Overall, I’m satisfied with Ace Combat 7. The flying and combat are enjoyable, and the game is pretty solid overall. My main issue is that some mission objectives and progression milestones are not explained clearly enough. There were several moments where I was already in the middle of a mission but still felt unsure about exactly what I was supposed to do next. Clearer objectives and better guidance during missions would make the experience much smoother. I also wish the game gave the player more control over their pilot character. It would have been nice to choose or create a person as my avatar and feel like I was actually developing that character throughout the campaign. As it is, I don't feel much personal connection with the protagonist, and a lot of the character side of the experience feels outside of my control. Having some character customization or progression would have made the campaign feel more personal and immersive. The story itself is decent, but I would describe it as moderate. It has some interesting moments, but the storytelling, character development, and overall presentation could have been better. Despite these issues, I still enjoyed the game and am satisfied with the experience. Recommended, especially if you enjoy arcade-style aerial combat.

do i even need to say anything