Ace Combat 5 is a incremental installment of Namco's as-close-to-real-life-as-most-people-will-get fighter jet simulator. It boasts over 50 realistic and licensed aircraft from several manufactures and just like with AC4, almost 30 missions of usually intense, sometimes corny, action. The game has two modes, although it should have only one. Campaign Mode is why you buy the game. Arcade Mode is a waste of time. Meant to put you into the action like a quarter-muncher at the arcade would, this mode is boring at best. Ignore it and move on to where the fun is, Campaign Mode. Alas, no online mode in AC5. Namco promises Ace Combat 6 will sport an online mode and will most likely be a release on the PS3.

Ace Combat 5's biggest upgrade was the inclusion of wingmen that you are able to control via simple commands issued by the direction pad. Simple commands like 'cover' or 'use special weapons' and the ability to answer questions posed to you with a 'yes' or a 'no'. And the wingmen are useful... no kidding. There were times when I needed my ass pulled out of the sling... gave my wingmen 'cover' orders and in a few moments, the bogey on my six was fish food. Now keep in mind, these assistants are there to help, not to do the mission for you. They will take out minor targets and help take down a bogey chasing you, but they rarely fire on mission-critical targets. Still, the help they do provide is noticable, something not always seen with computer-controlled helpers.

The game's overall controls feel tighter than its predecessors. It feels a lot more fluid, more like a 20 million dollar plane should. The story is a bit hokey at times, but the action some sorties push out make up for it. There were several occasions I really felt I was part of a team working to change the tide of the war. There were also several "Top Gun" moments for which the series is known for. Tight banking manuvers, three missles left, plane's all shot up, ten enemy planes, most of which are on your tail... and you're pulling 3Gs in a canyon trying to lose them. Very intense. The background music really pulls you in as well. Puddle of Mudd's [SOMETHING] really was an excellent choice for the mood of the game. I only wished they would have used it more often.

Cut scenes are now fully rendered instead of still images, which moves the game into a more modern era of gaming. Ace Combat 4's stills were still very engaging, but there's so much more gained by animating the characters. And well, too. Namco doesn't just do planes very well... their characters were very believable as well. Not Final Fantasy level, but still nothing to be ashamed of.

While the improvements in the game since the last version are many and well executed, there are some glaring problems that keep this game from being perfect. First, targeting has gotten weird. AC4 was perfect. If you were bearing down on 5 SAMs in a cluster, your radar would pick up on the closest one first. You fire at it, then hit the cycle button to move to the next closest target. In AC5, the cycling doesn't always happen as expected. Your radar will usually target the same bad guy again, even though its .31 seconds away from being turned into toothpicks. It's manageable, but annoying... especially in missions where missiles are at a premium.

There are also some missions that after the "mission accomplished" indicator comes up, enemy planes will continue to fire at you, even though they don't show up on the radar nor can you target them with your missiles. I lost a mission once that I successfully completed because the jackass enemy was still firing at me. Again, it's manageable, but still annoying.

Finally, there's the conversations being had in the game. While sometimes its incredibly helpful at pulling you into a hectic battle or showing you how serious a situation is, it is usually ridiculous banter, out-of-place and, quite frankly, childish and whiny. Unfortunately, there aren't only a few examples I could site. The entire game is riddled with "Man, I hate shooting down the enemy" or "So Captain, why do you hate war and the evils it brings forth"? The best, however, was when my youngest wingman Grimm asks, in the middle of a 4-on-218.6 air/ground battle, "Captain, have I ever told you about my brother?" and it's a yes/no question you are supposed to answer. Keep in mind you have 11 of your ten fingers busy at the time... When you do finally answer, he goes on to tell you that "if he's ok, he should be participating in today's action". Like I give a fuck. Later in that battle, you hear a ground soldier say something about his kid brother being "up there" today. Ugh. It's war, people! Let's kill some Yuks and get on with it, not hold hands and recant stories of youth lost.

Keep in mind I know what Namco was trying to do... humanizing war makes it personal and therefor, more involving, but come on... there's a limit to how much bullshit one can swallow and Ace Combat 5 almost strives to find it. The corny conversations are the only reason I can't give the game a perfect. If Namco could only find a way to make the dialogue not complete horseshit, they'd have an overwhelming awesome game, instead of just an insanely awesome one.

All in all, I'm glad I got to play this game. It's got some interesting new ideas along with the same classic quality the series has delivered for the last four installments. Surreal graphics, unbelievable plane detail (both visual and in their control), awesome situations, the game is worth every penny, regardless if you paid $50 or $5. Hopefully Namco will get Ace Combat 6 online... it'll make the series the Gran Turismo of flight simulators (not that they have much competition). Oh, and fire the script writers. If I never have to hear an enemy plane scream "Taste the irony!!" again, it'll be too soon.

Written: 07.06.2006