Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

"Flight Sim Supreme."

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, is exactly the kind of flight sim Namco needs to keep making. It reminds me so much of Ace Combat 2, one of my favorite games of all time, but vastly improved. In simple terms: the best Ace Combat ever to grace a console.

Graphics: 10/10: My fantasy/reality line is forever blurred. The PS2 makes Ace Combat what it should have always been; a heart stopping, finger mashing air war on your TV. Little details emerge (note the light and shadow on the planes) and make this game sparkle. The ground, too, is very real, and so are the aircraft, modeled to startling perfection.

Gameplay: 10/10: Simple, but satisfying. The controls are easy enough for anyone to learn, making this a good multiplayer game as well. Tutorial missions shorten the learning curve, and help new pilots hone their skills.

Sound: 10/10: Ace Combat fans, behold endless and refreshing radio chatter, just as it would be in a real dogfight. Hear the engine of that favorite fighter rumble as you apply afterburners. Hear the explosion as you eradicate another enemy plane. Notice the woosh as a missile is sent to strike a target. What more can you ask for?

Music: 10/10: Wonderful scores. They almost sound like the soundtrack from an RPG, not a flight sim. The music really sets the pace and adds an atmosphere to each and every mission.

Story: 9/10: It's almost two stories at once; yours as the pilot, and the boy's in the interlude scenes. But then, at the end...you'll have to see for yourself. AC04 gets 5 for even having a story...seeing as they removed the one from AC3, which is still making me mad to this day.

Replay Value: 10/10: Secrets abound as usual in Ace Combat 04, and you'll have to play the night away to get them. The missions are never the same twice; something new always seems to thrust itself out every time you play.

Overall: 10/10: Indeed, the soul of Ace Combat is reborn in Shattered Skies. It takes the great Ace Combat 2 and kicks it up a few hundred notches. The characters seem so real, and the emotion is contagious. It's like BEING Tom Cruise in a new Top Gun. Buy a PS2, if, for nothing else, to play this game. Namco has created a brilliant game, and I can't wait for AC5.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/02, Updated 03/14/02