Ace Combat Assault Horizon
Shawana Godinho
The major new gameplay feature is a system called "Close-Range Assault" (CRA), which aims to increase the intensity and bring the action closer to the player, without the feeling of "shooting at faraway dots" commonly seen in flight games. In the game, it is named "Dogfight Mode" (DFM) for air-to-air battles and "Air Strike Mode" (ASM) for air-to-ground targets.[2] They are not optional, as certain planes and ground targets cannot be destroyed without CRA. To initiate DFM, the player taps LB+RB on the Xbox 360 or L2+R2 on the PS3 when they have gotten close enough to the plane they are targeting. ASM is initiated by pressing the same buttons at specific points around the map. Players will also pilot other aircraft types and assume other combat aviation functions; the game introduces the B-1 and B-2 strategic bombers and the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as player-flyable vehicles. Certain missions may call for players to act as Black Hawk door gunners or weapons officers aboard the AC-130 Spectre gunship.
Illich is revealed as Markov's sleeper agent and betrays the 108th by joining his forces bound for the U.S. from bases in South America. The 108th and several American combat units reinforce and defend Miami against an onslaught by Markov's forces. Bishop's earlier nightmare comes to life, but Guts is able to protect him, and the Trinity missile on Markov's plane is damaged in the process. Bishop then chases after an escaping Markov and Illich and encounters them in the midst of a Category 5 hurricane, Markov escapes while Illich covers his retreat after a long and challenging battle Bishop finally overcomes Illich. The 108th recovers and assists in defense of Washington DC against a larger Russian attack. In a final showdown, Bishop finally eliminates Markov and shoots down his Trinity missile aimed at the White House. Upon landing his plane at Reagan National Airport, Bishop is given a hero's welcome while Guts is safely rescued.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, released as Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble (エースコンバット 3D クロスランブル, Ēsu Konbatto Surī Dī Kurosu Ranburu) in Japan, is a 2011 combat flight simulation video game developed by Access Games and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Nintendo 3DS. Despite the game's international title outside Japan, it has little relation to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, and is instead a remake of Ace Combat 2.[2] The original Japanese version features compatibility with the Circle Pad Pro accessory.
Assault Horizon Legacy is a combat flight simulation game that is presented in a more arcade-like format in contrast to other flight-sim games.[4] Its gameplay has been updated to fit contemporary Ace Combat gameplay, including newer features from the games released since Ace Combat 2, such as the high-g turn maneuver from Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation and the enemy ace squadron boss battles from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
Story has always been a part of the series, but never its focus. The same holds true for Assault Horizon. Veterans of the series will quickly notice one of the major changes to the dynamic is that the game bounces around several different game play types as opposed to simply sticking with straight-up air combat. I actually really appreciated this, as it kept the pace of the game flowing fairly well. One mission may have you participating in a standard dogfight, while the next will have you mowing down enemies from a turret gun. The bombing run missions offer up a nice break from the tense aerial warzones, and the quintessential AC130 mission rounds out the diversity.
Unlike many previous Ace Combat titles, Assault Horizon does not set the story in the fictional world, but on a future Earth. The player gets to fly and fight over known seas and cities such as Miami (USA), Dubai (India) or Moscow (Russia). While the basic flying controls are kept, there are many new upgrades and innovations to the known warfare in the series. One is dogfighting where you can tail behind the enemy plane and keep it close to your machine gun. The tailing sequence remains active as long as you can keep up with the enemy fighter, until he is no longer visible on the screen. You can punch the thruster to shorten the distance and make your shots more accurate and destructive. There is also a way for the enemy plane to tail you, even when you are tailing another plane. In such case you can try to outmaneuver it or hit the breaks and make a spin to quickly come up behind it and switch the roles of hunter and hunted. Another addition is the bombing run which lets you enter the bombing zone for a more detailed and easier assault against the ground targets and vessels.