Ya...what he said!
User Rating: 7.8 | Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War PS2
Well mainly because I am late to the party regarding Ace Combat Zero and also because most of the reviews tend to say the same thing, this will be a short review. I loved this game mainly because I am a big fan of the Ace Combat series and they didn't change much if anything at all sans the storyline and missions. But this is also where my only knock lies. While I do not subscribe to the idea of changing a working formula esp. when it is kicking much a**, I do believe in the concept of adding new ideas and keeping things fresh. I think Namco could have easily added a few "twists" to the series...nothing big or revolutionary...but a few small add-ins or changes is always good. I know the following analogy is probably a little dramatic, but it works nonetheless. A sucessful game series, I think, should be treated like a sucessful marriage! For reals! A healthy long-living marriage only exists if there are constant positive changes and fresh new ideas are always being introduced. Yup, you got it...like role-playing and swinging! Okay---JOKING. Back to my theory and more importantly my review. While I doubt anyone from Namco is reading this...let alone anyone at all...I would hope that they (game makers and producers) realize that (and this is coming from an Ace Combat fan) they are going to have to mix in some new things for future Ace Combat titles. Oh and better AI! I mean, let's put it this way, this was the first Ace Combat title since pt.II that I did NOT purchase on the day it was released! I waited over a YEAR! Why? Because I had read in too many trusted publications and talked to too many trusted friends who all said that it was exactly the same as part(s) 4, 3, and basically 2. So I waited. I'm rambling. Here's the good and bad of the game. The gameplay, level design, controls, aircraft attributes, and graphics are all freaking great and once again, a pretty cool storyline keeps things interesting between levels. Let's put it this way: If you're new to this series and you even just KINDA like flight-sims...prepare to fall in love! This game is fun and pretty to look at especially if you have a thing for combat jet-aircraft (which I happen to be). My only knocks would be the following: first and foremost---and this cannot be considered a knock because it's an issue of a personal type---I am now at a level with Ace Combat where I am hoping it starts leaning a little more to the 'Sim' side versus 'Action' game. As I said a moment ago, this really isn't a "knock" per se as it is probably just my own personal tastes changing. But I think it would be cool to have an extremely tough flight-sim/action game where the sim to action ratio would be something like: 65sim/35action. The real knocks on Ace Combat Zero would be, it's basically just more of the same which is actually a bad thing NOW...we want some new stuff. In AC:0 they even set-up something that could have been turned into something fresh and new and that would be the rating you get at the end of a level. Make that mean something and there you go---something new! Uh what else? Could have made the levels more "choose-your-own-adventure-ish" where the outcome and gameplay became drastically different based on your choices in combination with your performance in the air. I don't know, if you really went out there and just destroyed fools with a quickness while sustaining none to barely any damage from your enemies, then make it so that not only does the enemy fear you more in later missions but they'll also throw different forces and better jet-types at you. Basically, new and upcoming mission requirements and challenges would be greatly based on your performances! This would also raise the games re-play value. Look, all-in-all, this game is worth buying. If you're a newbie--it's great. If you're a vet...it did it's job. I consider it filler for a better Ace Combat down the road. That said, if the next Ace Combat is just more of the same...then I am pretty much looking for a new flight sim to spend my money on. 
