Ace Combat 2

PlayStation exclusive

Ace Combat 2 serves as the follow-up to Namco's Air Combat, a combat flight simulator for the PlayStation. In this sequel, the player steps into the shoes of a mercenary pilot, determined to thwart a global terrorist conspiracy. With 30 challenging missions ahead, your triumphs will enable you to acquire weapon upgrades, parts, and various enhancements, mirroring the mechanics of the original game.

Released: 30 May 1997
Platforms: PlayStation
Genres: Flight simulation Shooter Simulation
Developers: Namco
Publishers: Namco
Series: Ace Combat
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person Third person
Themes: Action Warfare
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E ACB G
Languages: English
Entry: #2 in Ace Combat
Time to beat: 7hwith extras15hcompletionist

About

Ace Combat 2 is a 1997 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to Air Combat and the second in the Ace Combat franchise. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions with certain objectives to fulfill, such as protecting a base from enemy fire, intercepting a squadron of enemies, or taking down an aircraft carrier.

Conceived by Namco designer Masanori Kato, Ace Combat 2 was created out of Kato's dissatisfaction with the original Air Combat, feeling from a technical standpoint it was severely lacking. Along with a small group of others, Kato set out to create a follow-up that greatly improved on the original, featuring improved graphics, a variety in missions, and providing a true sense of flight for the player. Missions were created to be exciting and fun to play, with the gameplay itself being designed to mimic the typical style of arcade games.

›Story

In May of 1997, a number of prominent heads of state in the continent of Usea were away on a diplomatic task with an unknown objective, rumoured to be about the impact of the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid in a year's time. During this period, a high-ranking military corps, codenamed "NA-P2700" staged a coup d'état, rapidly establishing their hegemony over the entire continent. Their quick advancement led them to capture several high-importance areas in each sector, as well as a weapon of mass destruction known as an "Extra Powerful Cruise Missile". As a last measure, the pro-government troops, known as Unified Command, call upon the services of the 92nd Special Tactical Fighter Squadron "Scarface", a group of mercenary fighter pilots led by an ace called Scarface One. With hardware and logistics support, the Scarface Squadron sets out to fight the Usean Rebel Forces and liberate Usea.

With the assistance of the Scarface team, the government forces engage in full combat with the URF, slowly reclaiming various territories across the continent. The mercenaries strike various high-importance parts of the rebel forces' infrastructure, such as air bases, oil refineries and naval ports. ". As well, they engage a number of prototype vehicles controlled by the Usean Rebel Force, such as the Dragonet-class submarine and the massive XB-10 "Big Bad Mama" experimental bomber.

After retaking most of Usea, Unified Command launches a large-scale invasion operation to gain strategic superiority. In order to confuse the rebels, the mission is divided into two major operations, "Alphaville" and "Bellissima". The operations end with the destruction of many vital URF targets and sites, granting Unified Command the upper hand in the conflict.

Eventually, the government forces push the remnants of the coup back into their headquarters at the city of St. Ark. Prepared to end the coup d'état once and for all, the Scarface Team is dispatched to destroy the surviving rebel forces within the city, as well as their central HQ. The mission ends in success, and St.

Ark is freed from the URF. At this point, the story concludes with the Normal ending.

Keywords

modern warfare
combat flight simulator
flight simulator
death
military
flight
artificial intelligence
airplane
pilot
modern military
polygonal 3d
mirage

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Ace Combat 2 is a combat flight simulation game but it is presented in a more arcade-like format than other flight-sim games of the era. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions, each having different objectives to complete; these include intercepting a squadron of enemies, destroying a specific aircraft carrier, or protecting a base from enemy fire. Completing missions awards the player money which can be spent on new aircraft in their personal hangar.

Beginning at the game's fourth mission is the ability to allow a wingman to fly with the player, which provide additional support and will help them in completing the objective. The game begins in a mostly linear format, with branching mission paths being available later on. A fuel meter acts as a time limit and will deplete as the player flies around the level and attacks enemies; the mission will automatically end if the meter fully depletes. New to this game are "aces", elite enemy pilots that can be fought to unlock special medals and their special aircraft for play later. Two difficulty options are present, "Novice" and "Expert", with Expert allowing for realistic aircraft maneuvers such as rolls and high-g turns.

Development

Ace Combat 2 was the creation of Namco designer Masanori Kato, who previously worked on the game's predecessor Air Combat, and a small team of others. The idea for the game came from Kato's dissatisfaction with the outcome of Air Combat, which he saw as incomplete from a technical point of view. Kato and his team decided to create a follow-up to make the best use of the PlayStation's hardware as possible, with an emphasis on graphics and making the player feel as if they're really flying a fightercraft. One of the first things the team wanted to improve on were the graphics, doing technical research on how many polygons the console could display.

The team created a program that was able to output as many polygons as possible without causing strain on the hardware, which allowed the graphics to be of significantly higher-quality than most other games. The team also looked into including a large variety of missions, as opposed to Air Combat's two mission types. Missions were designed to be exciting and fun to play, and when new fighters were added the team determined if they would make the missions more interesting or not. The gameplay itself was designed in the style of an arcade game instead of being strictly a flight-simulation game, which they felt made the game much more fun.

Reception

Ace Combat 2 was a commercial success; in May 1998, Sony gave the game the "Gold Prize" award for selling over 500,000 copies in Japan. It won several awards from video game publications, including the "Silver Hall of Fame" from Famitsu, "Editor's Choice" from IGN, and "Game of the Month" from Electronic Gaming Monthly. It holds an 83 out of 100 on reviewer aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The game was well received by critics. Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly applauded the draw distance, while Computer and Video Games called it "the most intense flight experience to ever grace a console". Next Generation said that it would "keep a whole bunch of weekend warriors strapped in to the TV", while IGN labeled it "one of the best flight simulators ever to come to the PlayStation" and said that Namco went "all out" with its visuals. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly felt the game's strongest point was its variety, with multiple planes to choose from and unlock and widely varying mission objectives.