Ace Combat 7 #hype

Last year, Bandai Namco introduced Ace Combat 7 during the PlayStation Experience, promising not only a faithful follow-up to its hit game Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, but also an unprecedented VR experience, which works with Sony’s PlayStation VR headset. This weekend, lucky attendees of the PlayStation Experience event will be able to check out the VR demo game before its release in 2017, but the publisher was kind enough to allow us to fly the unfriendly skies just in time for the show.

First off, the VR demo was rather brief, running only about a few minutes or so. The final experience, which will tie in with the full Ace Combat 7 game, will be a bit longer, enabling players to feel like Maverick from Top Gun, sitting right inside a fighter jet of their choice. Of course, the full experience revolves around a new storyline, which we still have yet to get details on. Very soon, we assume.

Anyway, the demo started with us sitting in the jet and being moved up to the flight deck by a conveyor belt, and then getting the word for when we could take off. With a simple press of the R2 button (for acceleration), we were in the air, feeling the rush of the environment surrounding us and enjoying the view from all sides. (You can look around the cockpit just like a real aviator would.)

You have like a quick moment to get used to the gameplay, which actually uses your VR visor for aiming assistance when it comes to your missiles. You can lock on to an enemy by moving the visor directly over them, and, when you’ve “got tone,” you can fire away a couple of homing missiles to destroy them. It’s a neat system, though it takes some getting used to, since your machine gun automatically fires straight ahead no matter where you look. (Fortunately, there’s a targeting system so you can still line up your shots for any enemies that come into your crosshairs.)

Through the demo, we got to face a few waves of enemies. The first two fighter jets we were able to take down were pretty easy, flying at a maintainable speed that allowed us to follow and lock on with ease. The three fighter jets that followed were a slight bit trickier, moving at a somewhat faster speed, but we cleaned house on them fairly easy as well.

However, the final wave for the demo introduced UAV drone planes, and their maneuverability was much more unpredictable than enemy pilots, with quick turning and slight evasion from missile lock-ons. It took a little more effort, but we were able to finish them off and return to base in just the right amount of time for the demo.

The gameplay feels like vintage Ace Combat, with great controls when it comes to flying, slowing down to corner faster, and getting out of a “stall” if you end up going too high too quickly. (You probably don’t want to crash in VR, just saying.) The targeting system adds a nice touch in VR, though it’s bound to be more traditional within the main Ace Combat 7 game. Still, it’s a nice demonstration for the PlayStation VR, if you’re into those sort of experiences.

As for the visuals, they looked very good, running at a steady frame rate in the headset (they looked great on the TV monitor as well, indicating that the game will keep that frame rate with the full release), and the explosions are highly detailed as you swat enemies out of the sky. The sound wasn’t bad either, with some rock tunes playing in the background (the Ace Combat tradition!) and solid voice chatter with your co-pilots.

The voice acting leaves a little bit to be desired. It’s not every day you get to hear someone be so incredibly calm when they’re shot out of the sky (“I’m going down.”), but fortunately, Bandai Namco said it’s working on improving for the final release.

While we would’ve liked to have seen more of the full Ace Combat 7 game in action, the VR demo definitely feels like a strong entry in the series, and could lead to bigger things to come when the final game arrives for PlayStation 4 in 2017. We’re not sure if it’s coming to other platforms yet (without the VR demo), but it’s certainly possible.

In the meantime, if you’re at the show this weekend, make sure you check the demo out. You don’t even need a flight jacket (though it helps).

My greatest concern regarding Ace Combat 7 is that I’ll get way too into it when it comes out. After a short time with the PlayStation VR demo, I was craning my neck around in the hopes of getting a better look at the bogeys I had been sent to knock out of the sky, putting myself in real danger of falling out of the crappy hotel chair I had long since forgotten about. After playing EVE Valkyrie, I think virtual reality seems to be the ideal format for dogfighting games. I’m happy to report that Ace Combat 7 does little to disabuse that notion.

Okay, here’s an actual, no-bullshit concern: the demo I played was literally four minutes long. A good four minutes, mind you! But there’s no way my experience with the game could have been representative of the full game experience, even moreso than most trade show demos. Unless there’s something deeply wrong with the way the game is structured, the demo I saw was little more than a proof of concept.

My three minutes with Ace Combat 7 was spent as follows: about thirty seconds of setup, thirty more seconds of feeling queasy, and then three minutes of some delightful Top Gun-style action. I’m fairly sensitive to discomfort in virtual reality, so I’m happy to report that I became acclimated fairly quickly, with no eye strain or nausea beyond the initial burst. PlayStation VR is easily the most comfortable of the available headsets -- so this doesn’t come as a surprise -- but it’s still nice to get confirmation.

Ace Combat 7 also works outside PlayStation VR, but I prefer virtual reality for dogfighting games, so I’ll likely keep the headset strapped to my gourd the whole time. I didn’t get the chance to try the game on a standard TV, but the game controls just fine on a DualShock 4 -- the only change is the way you move the camera. But that additional immersion really makes a difference for me, and if you own a PlayStation VR, I’m willing to bet you feel the same way.

I thought it was fairly amusing how the game did its best to avoid attaching its central conflict to any particular force. You’re flying a very very near-future jet for an international peacekeeping force, shooting down UAVs in the hopes of regaining “air supremacy.” The voice acting is crummy, and I doubt the game’s story will thrill anyone. Best case scenario, you’ll get some cheap glee from the shlock.

The game looks fine. What do you want from me? It’s a VR game, it’s on the cheapest available headset. It’s slightly pixellated, but the lighting is fine, but the textures are rough, but not so rough that they’re actively painful to look at. I still think virtual reality games should lean towards stylization -- make up for resolution with art direction -- but Ace Combat’s realistic visuals don’t make it the ugliest game in the world. It’s fine.

I will take any chance I can get to dogfight in video games. I partially bought Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare on the strength of some space dogfighting, the first Oculus game I really loved was EVE Valkyrie, and I’ve spent most of my time in Star Wars Battlefront flying X-Wings and TIE Fighters. Put me in a plane and have me shoot down other planes, that’s all I want from video games-- and life! Ace Combat 7 promises that exact concept, and you can play it in VR. The incredibly short demo worries me, but the quality of the demo itself assuages those worries. Consider this a very tentative recommendation -- the dogfighting is very good, but don’t get too excited until we know more for certain.

Ace Combat 7 VR Demo Play Report

Various Innovations were Shown in the Trailer, but the controls feel like PS2-style?

On 3-4 December 2016 US time, Bandai Namco Entertainment held the world premiere playable display of Ace Combat 7 for PlayStation 4 at PlayStation Experience 2016, a game event that is held in Anaheim. In this article, we'd like to deliver the play report.

This version is labeled as a "VR DEMO", and the demo is only available with the PlayStation VR. The demo ends when either you can shoot down all appearing enemy aircraft, or your plane crashes, or 10 minutes have passed.

In past Ace Combat series, you could choose between 3 POVs of Behind [aircraft], HUD or Cockpit, but playing with PS VR will necessarily limit you to the Cockpit POV. The Cockpit view in past games was nothing more than 'User interface of HUD view added with canopy details and interiors', but in this game it reproduces the actual 'Pilot's POV', and if you look down you can even see your own body.

(Image: You can see your own arms & legs in the cockpit)

However, the in-game pilot holds the control stick with his right hand and throttle lever with left hand, while the player is holding the DUALSHOCK 4 with both hands. For that reason, there ends up being a slight gap between vision and bodily senses. When the writer was focusing on the battle I didn't really care much about it, but during times like takeoff I want to have a Flight Stick-type controller.

Also, 'Radar' and 'Remaining amount of missiles' are shown half-transparently above the instruments, but the focal points are being set in a position close to the eyes, so the writer feels it's a bit hard to see with stereopsis (That's why during the play, when looking at own plane's conditions the writer has to close one eye and give up on stereopsis).

(Image: The user interface required in the game is shown above the instruments like a holography)

The demo in this mission is 'Takeoff from a carrier with wingman, and annihilate the enemy squadron' which is an easy thing. The enemy aircraft are shown in the HUD as SU-30M2 and MQ-101. The former is an actually existing model number of a Su-30 with improved mobility, but the latter is a fictional aircraft. Speaking of MQ, it is for multipurpose UAV from the US forces and others, and 101 reminds me of the old plane F-101 which is known with the nickname "Voodoo". Perhaps it could be a Voodoo that gets refurbished into a drone.

(Image: The usual dogfight where you make free use of afterburner and airbrakes to aim for enemy's back. Even with VR view, series fans should be able to cope immediately)

The controls in this game are "rather heavy" in the Ace Combat series, and the play feel is close to Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. If the writer is to express a direct impression, its 'The PS2-era AC has returned with bringing the latest equipment that is VR!'. I think this is going to be brushed up even further, and as a fan I'm extremely looking forward to its completion.

It has been actually 10 years since a numbered title of Ace Combat series was last released. It seems like time has further progressed in the game's world, and in the newest trailer, various elements never seen before can be confirmed, such as a facility that seems to be the foundation of an orbital elevator, energy-based weaponry, and the Kingdom of Erusea ([which used to be] Federal Republic in past games).

What kind of story and gameplays can be enjoyed, will have to wait until more information [comes] in the future. Oh, and I am personally also wondering whether the Idolmaster collab aircraft, which has now become an established practice, will be released in this game as well.
(Image: By the way, in Thrustmaster's booth which is located nearby the Ace Combat 7 booth, a flight stick for PS4 is being displayed. If possible, I'd like to play with a device like this)