Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War is a semi-realistic flight simulation game developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is part of the Ace Combat series of games. In Europe and Australia this game was released under the title Ace Combat: Squadron Leader. The flagship Aircraft of the game is currently the F-14A Tomcat.

Game premise
In Ace Combat 5 's Campaign Mode, the player takes on the role of an Osean Air Defense Force (OADF) trainee named Blaze, flying in the year 2010. After an attack on a routine training flight that resulted in the death of two instructors and numerous trainees, Blaze is bumped up to being an active member of the Wardog squadron. The Sand Island Detachment of the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron, or Wardog Squadron, includes Kei Nagase (Edge), Alvin H. Davenport (Chopper), and squad leader Captain Jack Bartlett (Heartbreak One). Osea is subjected to strange recon activities by an unknown nation, believed to be the nearby Union of Yuktobanian Republics (more commonly referred to as Yuktobania), a massive superpower that matches Osea in military might. Tensions rise between Osea and Yuktobania, and the Wardog squadron is sent to investigate. Soon, Yuktobania declare war on the Osean Federation.

But this war, known as the "Circum-Pacific War," was not instigated by Yuktobania, as is believed early in the game.

As the game progresses, the player eventually discovers that Osea's eastern neighbor, Belka, engineered the conflict as revenge for its loss at the hands of Osea and Yuktobania in The Belkan War of 1995, which is often referred to in the game as "the war 15 years ago."

Gameplay
During the course of the game, the player has the opportunity to buy 53 different planes (although sometimes the player and his wingmen are restricted to flying one preset aircraft), from real-life aircraft to prototypes and fantasy planes. All planes have alternate paint schemes, gained by meeting certain goals in missions, such as shooting down "ace" pilots. There are a total of 32 missions in the campaign mode, but due to multiple mission paths, only 28 of these are flown in a single campaign. The planes are unlocked through an experience system, where the player must fill up a bar through his target kills to access the next level in the plane's 'tree.'

The difficulty setting affects the number, artificial intelligence, and the damage threshold of the enemies present per stage, as well as the amount of damage the player's airplane can take. On the hardest difficulty level a single missile from the enemy will destroy the player's airplane, whereas on the easiest level it takes several missiles.

The player ultimately gains control of a squadron of his own, and must purchase up to four copies of a certain aircraft for squadron members using the money earned from destroying enemies. When preparing for a mission, the player gets to pick the airplane that each squad member will use. Depending on the mission objectives, the choice of planes would determine whether the team can take on aircraft, ground targets, or both (shown in two meters at the right side of the aircraft selection screen). The wingmen can also object if the choices do not reflect the mission requirements.

During missions, orders can be given to wingmen through the Dual Shock controller's directional pads, such as whether to actively engage enemies, spread out, or use special weapons. The left and right buttons also help the player answer 'Yes' or 'No' to dialogue prompts. The answer can decide the next mission on some levels.

Once the mission objectives are complete, the player is awarded bonus money for performing above and beyond the requirements of the mission. With missions that require landing or refueling in mid-air, bonus money can be earned by doing them quickly.

Ace Combat 5 lacks the two-player mode present in Ace Combat 4, though this mode is reinstated in its successors, Ace Combat Zero, Ace Combat X, and Ace Combat 6.

Operation Katina
Ace Combat: Operation Katina is the arcade mode version of the game puts the player in control of Ace Combat 04's pilot "Mobius 1," the legendary Ace fighter pilot who brought the ISAF to victory singlehandedly. The player's mission is to play through a number of stages filled with enemies and defeat a certain number of them in order to advance to the next stage. As the player progresses the game naturally gets more difficult and the player will have to adopt new techniques for countering the increasingly aggressive enemies' attacks. The mini-game is split into four branches, levels 1-4: 1 being the least difficult and 4 the most challenging. "SkyEye", the AWACS from Ace Combat 04 returns as well to provide mission support for the duration of the game.

Unlike the Campaign Mode of Ace Combat 5, the player starts off with a low ammunition count and must carefully make his or her shots meet their mark. However, throughout the various levels there are different aircraft and ships that can be destroyed by the player to collect extra weapons from these special targets. The special target will be marked as for example, "C-130 M." In this case the C-130 is carrying extra missiles and shooting it down will result in the player being restocked with 10 missiles. The player can refill missiles and special weapons only; the machine gun uses unlimited ammunition.

Background
During the Usean Continental War (see Ace Combat 04) that spanned from late 2004 to mid 2005; the nations of Erusea and the ISAF (Independent States Allied Forces) fought a long and vicious conflict. Erusea was trying to crush the ISAF resistance and dominate the entirety of the Usean continent whereas the ISAF was struggling to liberate their constituent states from the Erusians' clutches. Eventually the ISAF were victorious, but at an enormous cost in lives. About a year after the ISAF's hard-earned victory, certain remnants of the Erusian military refuse to accept the surrender and attempt to instigate a general uprising across the land. After some time, they succeed in capturing an old military factory along with a very large quantity of weapons.

Alarmed by the danger of the new Erusean threat, the ISAF recalls the pilot known as Mobius 1, for a series of operations to finally silence the threat.

Reviews

 * GameSpot - 8.3/10 (great)
 * IGN - 9.3/10 (outstanding)