In 2001, Namco's Ace Combat series of flight combat games hit a high point with Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, which was the series' first installment on the PlayStation 2. Featuring incredible visuals, responsive action that captured the thrill of high-flying (and low-flying) aerial dogfighting, and a surprisingly complex and well-told narrative, Ace Combat 04 was a real winner. Now Ace Combat is back in another game bristling with beautifully modeled real-world jet fighters and cinematic cutscenes. Ace Combat 5 isn't the huge step for the series that Ace Combat 04 was, but it's still a great flight combat game, featuring grueling arcade-style action and plenty of surprises both in its mission design and its story.
Like its predecessor, Ace Combat 5 takes place in an alternate reality, much like a near-future version of our own, in which war is being waged between two great nations. In the game's campaign, which spans more than two-dozen missions, you'll play as a pilot who goes by the call sign Blaze. His relationship with his fellow pilots and the truth behind the war gradually unfolds during the course of the story, which unravels during the actual missions as well as in beautifully produced cinematic cutscenes between the missions. The story can be difficult to follow, since so much of it rapidly comes across in the heat of battle via radio transmissions. The narrative technique here is also more straightforward in comparison to Ace Combat 04's story, which focused on a main character who wasn't the pilot you played as. Nevertheless, Ace Combat's continued devotion to good storytelling is ultimately one of this game's best strengths, since the presence of so much plot helps to give the missions a sense of genuine significance and cinematic drama. The high-quality voice acting, constant radio chatter, and stirring, dynamic music combine with the action very well, giving Ace Combat 5 an epic feel.
