The long awaited, frequently delayed Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has finally launched, bringing with it a selection of PlayStation VR exclusive challenges. Known as the ‘VR Missions’, this gameplay feature has been a hot topic of discussion amongst the virtual reality (VR) community for several months, and now we can finally say that the quality of the experience delivered has been worth the wait. It would be remiss not to begin by adding a significant caveat to the opening statement in that while the gameplay is indeed top notch, it is very short lived. The rather diminutive VR campaign – engrossing as it is – will likely take just a single evening to complete for the first time. Additional playthroughs are of course encouraged by way of the ranking system, but nonetheless Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown’s VR element is most certainly an addition to the core videogame, opposed to feeling complete in its own right. The VR Missions are structured very similarly to that of the core campaign, as you might expect, but aren’t necessarily intended to follow after. The opening mission presents enough hints in its gentle introduction that players could very well jump straight into the VR Missions without needing to head through the basic tutorial, though doing so may see a few downed planes or ally bases being caught unawares. The increase in difficulty is harsher than that of the non-VR campaign due to its brevity, but the core Ace Combat audience will undoubtedly revel in having a new way to experience a real challenge. Using the DualShock 4 controller the standard non-VR gameplay offers two control schemes aimed at casual players and ‘experts’, but in the VR Missions segment of the package only the latter is available. It may seem like a strange design decision but is undoubtedly due to the first-person default, more immersive nature of the VR gameplay. Of course, there’s always the option of utilising Thrustmaster’s T.Flight Hotas 4 flight control stick, but VRFocus will save jumping in-depth on this for another day. It’s that added level of immersion that the VR Missions capitalise upon. All of the cockpits you will enter have been specifically redesigned from the ground-up to make full use of the PlayStation VR; simulating aspects of flight control that would otherwise be impossible on a videogame console. The attention to detail is simply phenomenal, and certain encounters will undoubtedly get your heart racing at times; collisions with enemy craft or the first time you experience cloud bursting. In addition to the missions themselves, which are offered at three difficulty settings, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown includes two other VR modes unlockable through continued play: Free Flight and Air Show. These are simple additions that present further gameplay opportunities but lack the depth of the core experience. Worthwhile as contenders for showcasing VR to aeronautical enthusiast friends and relatives, these gameplay modes remain unlikely to hold your attention for too long beyond the basic assortment of missions. Inherent to the package, then, the VR Missions are most definitely an add-on opposed to a core principle of the videogame. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a wonderful addition to the PlayStation VR’s software catalogue, but is undeniably limited. Those who had already decided to purchase this latest edition of the beloved series will find the VR Missions a perfect accompaniment to their non-VR experience; however, it would be extremely hard to recommend that anyone purchase Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown based on the strength of the VR element alone.<doc-sep>Ace Combat 7 (PS4) – high flying The only combat flight simulator left on consoles reinvents itself as one of the most unique action games around. Amazon mocked for AmaZen mental health 'cry closets' set up on factory floor One of the problems with modern, high budget video games is that companies cannot afford to specialise. You can make a game where you pilot a boat or fly a jet fighter but only if that’s one part of a larger game. Although their numbers are much reduced from previous generations, driving simulators can just about get away with a game devoted solely to car racing but most would never dream of making a dedicated flight simulator, outside of specialist indie developers and… Bandai Namco. The Ace Combat series has a lineage that stretches back to arcade game Air Combat in 1993 but even then, the subsequent PlayStation versions were still seen as a novelty for consoles. There are a number of obvious reasons why, but the main one is that flying a plane in real-life is difficult and complicated and it’s hard to streamline the experience enough to make it fun enough for ordinary gamers. The other issue is that modern jets can launch fire and forget missiles from miles away, when an enemy aircraft is nothing more than a blip on your radar. So being realistic isn’t necessarily a good idea anyway. But even if you pretend you need to be close by there’s still the problem of creating varied enough missions, and to stop them all just becoming ‘shoot down X number of enemies’. All intractable problems which Ace Combat 7 tackles head-on and with impressive results. After the abortive attempt to reboot the series with a real-world setting, in 2011’s fun but shallow Assault Horizon, Ace Combat 7 returns to the fictional world of the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Erusea, whose anime-influenced melodramatics account for a lot of the game’s popularity in Japan. But while the plot is frequently confusing, and ultimately very silly, it’s told with some impressively cinematic cut scenes and a lot of earnest effort. The short version of the story is that Erusea has surprised Osean with a Pearl Harbor style attack using unmanned drones, while much of the narrative focuses on an aircraft enthusiast caught up in the struggle and forced to help out. There’s a LOT more to it than that, which we won’t spoil here, but much revolves around the fact that this isn’t the real world and while the game features lots of real, licensed planes there’s also fictional ones too and a modest amount of near future sci-fi weaponry that means you’re never quite sure what to expect in any given mission. At the start at least you’re flying around in familiar American jet fighters like the F-16 and F-14, with the game offering either a ‘normal’ or ‘expert’ control system when you start. Normal simplifies the controls so that left is left and right is right but expert controls handle more like a real aircraft and force you to pitch and roll too. It’s really not that difficult though, especially if you’re used to something like Star Wars: Battlefront II, and we’d advise just starting off on expert even if you’re a flight novice. The game does a very good job of easing you into the concepts involved, including what to do if you stall and the simple lock-on system for missiles. Each aircraft has one special weapon (the first allows you to lock on to multiple targets at once, like After Burner) and you can unlock two more as you progress by spending experience points on a vast skill tree that gates access to new aircraft and equipment. We were a little disappointed to find no squadron commands, as there were in previous games, but we can understand the desire to keep things simple for this entry. Ace Combat 7 (PS4) – VR mode is worth the price of admission on its own Ace Combat has always tried to address the problem of mission variety through sci-fi opponents and problems, but more than once it’s gone too far in that direction and Ace Combat 7 is careful not to repeat that mistake. So while there are some giant-sized boss battles there’s also plenty of variety to be had in set pieces like sneaking through a desert canyon and fighting through a thunderstorm. Some of the missions are duds, usually the ones we’re you’re searching for something, but the clear attempts to offer as much variety as possible are welcome. Many of the battles also add an extra tactical element by allowing you to choose how and in what order you deal with a mission’s objectives. You’re not just following a checklist but can choose to chip away at defences first, in order to make later encounters easier. The only downside to that is some very ungenerous checkpointing, that may frustrate newcomers to the series. The other way the game tackles the problem of just endlessly shooting down little dots in the far distance is the surprisingly fantastic graphics. This is a gorgeous looking game and the attention to detail – in everything from the condensation on your cockpit, when flying through a cloud, to the air streams bending around your fighter’s wings – is fantastic. The clouds in particular also make a difference to the gameplay, as you use them to ambush enemies and avoid missiles. And then there’s the VR mode, which is absolutely sensational. It’s entirely separate to the main campaign, and has just three unconnected missions, but the tech works perfectly. Being thrown around inside a jet fighter cockpit should have you puking up your lunch within seconds but somehow it’s entirely nausea free. Not only that but being able to track opponents visually by just moving your head enhances the gameplay immensely. Ace Combat 7 is an impressively well-rounded package with a surprisingly option-filled multiplayer, although obviously we haven’t had much opportunity to play that pre-launch. But even beyond the VR, the game’s greatest achievement is that it manages to make the aerial combat exciting, accessible, and relatively varied. It may not have much in the way of competition but this is definitely top gun when it comes to modern day flight sim action. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown In Short: A successful return flight for the veteran franchise, with highly entertaining aerial action that remains accessible for new fans and old. Pros: Excellent controls and combat, with plenty of options for both veterans and newbies. Fantastic graphics, promising multiplayer, and plenty of content. One of the best VR experiences ever. Cons: There are still unavoidable problems with variety in mission design. The plot is both confusing and not very interesting. No squad commands and ungenerous checkpointing. Score: 8/10 Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC Price: £49.99 Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Developer: Bandai Namco Studios/Project Aces Release Date: 18th January 2019 (1st February on PC) Age Rating: 12 Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter<doc-sep>
What is Ace Combat 7? Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a dogfighting simulator for the PlayStation 4 that follows on from the other games in the franchise. It has a huge overarching story that elevates from your average flight sim. The Ace Combat universe is similar to ours in many ways though with a lot more advanced technologies for you to play with. In this installment, you play "Trigger", a former pilot of the Osean Federation who has fallen on some hard times and has been demoted to a penal squadron. We can only assume we will be fighting our way up to being the best, as happens in all these games. It has a VR mode! While the whole game is not available in VR, it does give you two different PlayStation VR-only modes. The first mode is called Airshow. Essentially, it's a 360-degree experience where you can watch the game give you an airshow with all the different planes. You can move around anywhere in the show but you can't actually interact with anything, making it more like a YouTube VR video than anything else. VPN Deals: Lifetime license for $16, monthly plans at $1 & more The second mode is the one you want though. Ace Combat 7 comes with several VR exclusive missions that aren't connected to the main storyline but seem awesome in their own right. The gang over at PlayStation Underground have a great video showing what you can expect from the VR mode, and honestly, it looks pretty epic. The VR mode is said to lose some of its graphical fidelity to keep the game above 60FPS, but from the gameplay I've seen, it still looks amazing. It's HOTAS compatible Ace Combat 7 is, of course, HOTAS compatible. For those who don't know, HOTAS stands for Hands On Throttle And Stick, and it's a type of controller that allows you to immerse yourself into flight simulators like never before. Using a HOTAS in the normal game mode will help you be the best dogfighter you can be, but using it in VR brings a whole new level of immersion. There a lot of HOTAS controllers out there, but our own Essa Kidwell as put together the best HOTAS you can buy right now. If you have the money, I would recommend you grab one before the release of Ace Combat 7. Does it have multiplayer? Good news: Not only does it have multiplayer but it comes in a lot of variations. Not only do they have normal team deathmatch you would expect from a dogfighting game like this, but they have also included a Battle Royale style multiplayer mode for those who like that sort of thing. After all, Bettle Royale is all the rage right now so why not include it? The multiplayer is only up to eight players, so don't expect 100 plane sky battles. Even so, that should be more than enough to create mayhem in the skies above Strangereal (especially in a free-for-all mode). Bad news: there is not going to be any VR multiplayer. As an avid VR player, this makes me a little sad. Imagine having 8 player dogfights in VR where you can talk to each of your opponents, it would be amazing. We can only hope that as VR and the PlayStation VR, in particular, become ever more popular, we will see more full VR games instead of just small VR modes and VR experiences. The clouds are more cloudy In previous Ace Combat games, the clouds were two dimensional and just there for decorations. In Ace Combat 7, however, the clouds have really taken on a life of their own. Thanks to the Unreal 4 engine the game uses, the clouds are now dynamic and have their own flight paths, turbulence, and even lightning storms to make flying through them more difficult. One video I saw showed a player fly through a storm cloud. Their visibility reduced to near zero as the rain hit the screen and lightning flashed all around and you could see them struggling with the stick in the high turbulence. This kind of additional obstacle is a great way to make the game more exciting, especially if you can work out how to use it to your advantage when playing against others. When and where can I buy it?