Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (エースコンバット アサルト・ホライゾン Esu Konbatto Asaruto Horaizon) is the latest installment of the Ace Combat flight simulation series. Set in the real world, it is arguably the most revolutionary Ace Combat game to date, featuring revamped gameplay, physics and a brand-new storyline.

Gameplay
Assault Horizon boasts several radical changes to the standard Ace Combat formula. For the first time in the series, the player will alternate between piloting fighter jets, helicopters and bombers as the story progresses; for example, some missions will have the player being the door gunner of an MH-60 Blackhawk, while others put them in the role of a B-2A Spirit stealth bomber.

The game runs on a revamped game engine allowing for destruction in a scale never seen before in Ace Combat, and indeed in a flight simulator. This engine allows for real-time deformation: as an example, sustained gunfire on an enemy fighter will rip off its tail, while more severe damage will either tear off the wings or (in more extreme cases) even completely disintegrate the airframe as a whole, spilling the aircraft's oil across the sky and forcefully ejecting the pilot from the cockpit. As mentioned before, buildings and other structures are now subject to combat damage, and will deform in real time. Scenery damage will be often combined with Close Range Assault to provide a cinematic feel to gameplay-- for example, stray fire in a pursuit will hit nearby buildings, forcing the player to evade the debris while remaining in hot pursuit.

Controls
The game provides players with two control schemes, "Original" and "Optimum". The 'Original' control setting is similar to the controls known as "expert controls" in the previous Ace Combat games. As expected, it gives full control of the aircraft, with the left stick making it roll (not turn) when you push right or left. On the other side, the new "Optimum" control scheme -the default mode and the one used in all the trailers released so far- is NOT the equivalent of the usual 'beginner/novice' control style of the series. It prohibits one from doing full rolls but this is to gain the stability needed to get the best of the new ‘Close Range Assault System’.

High-G Turns are still available by pushing triggers together, as well as Autopilot if both shoulder buttons are depressed. A new feature called "Flight Assistance" provides comfortable options to players like Auto-leveling, Automatic Collision Prevention, Automatic Stall Prevention, sight assist and Automatic forward Target Selection. These options can be turned on or off.

Plot
In early 2015, an insurgent group named "SRN" surfaces in Eastern Africa. Quickly overwhelmed, the region's nations request the United Nations for help, which in turn calls upon NATO to deal with the situation. The insurgence has the advantage of guerillia warfare and unusually advanced weaponry, which allows it to rapidly move through the entire African continent. Seeing how the situation worsens, NATO comissions a special unit named the 108th Task Force, an international military unit comprised of aircraft pilots and military commanders from, amidst other nations, the United States, Russia and France. Furthermore, NATO has discovered that the rebels are in command of a weapon of mass destruction - an special cruise missile named "Trinity". To make things worse, it has been confirmed that the SRN is being assisted by a group of Russian mercenaries led by Colonel Andrei Markov, a feared ace pilot and former Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Air Force. Soon thereafter, William Bishop, leader of the 108th, sees himself and his comrades involved in an escalating race between NATO and SRN for the control of Trinity.

USAF

 * William Bishop
 * José Gutierrez
 * Janice Rehl
 * Magic


 * Doug Robinson
 * Jack


 * Tiger 1
 * Nomad 61
 * Nomad 62

NATO

 * Pierre La Pointe

Russian Air Force

 * General Ivan
 * Major Illich

Enemies

 * Andrei Markov
 * Eclipse
 * Nocturne

Multiplayer
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will feature online multiplayer capabilities, similar to its 2007 predecessor. As of August 2011, only one mode has been confirmed: Capital Conquest, which has players from both SRN and NATO either attacking or defending cities such as Paris and Washington.

A new addition to multiplayer is the "SkillShot" system, which allows players to customize their aircraft's statistics to suit their game style, in ways such as stealth, mobility and weapons. Another addition is the "Friendly Assist System" (FAS), which allows up to four three to carry out a simultaneous CRA assault.

As seen in one of the trailers, the cockpit is now 3 dimensional, instead of a 2 dimensional image that moves sideways when you look sideways.

As seen in the Capital Assault trailer, aircraft can be customized by changing their colors, and the missile's smoke trail color.



Aircraft
Assault Horizon allows players to fly a variety of aircraft, ranging from fighters to helicopters and bombers. Available aircraft include long-runners like the F-16C Fighting Falcon and the F-22A Raptor, while also including new designs like the Sukhoi PAK FA and the Su-24MP Fencer-F. Currently, there are no known downloadable aircraft planned for post-release, except for the F-X, a fictional aircraft designed by Macross creator Shōji Kawamori in cooperation with Namco Bandai.

Limited Edition
First announced in July 2011, the Limited Edition of Assault Horizon is available exclusively to certain European retailers. It comes with the following items:
 * A copy of the game itself
 * Folded box
 * Game DVD
 * Original Soundtrack
 * Notebook signed by the Namco development team
 * Exclusive online code to unlock the F-4E Phantom II (This is also available from United States retailer GameStop as a pre-order bonus)

Trailers
Video:Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Announcement Trailer|Announcement Trailer

Video:Ace Combat Assault Horizon Debut Trailer|Debut

Video:ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON - PS3 / X360 - Behind the Scenes|Behind the Scenes trailer

Video:Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Featuring Close Range Assault|Close Range Assault Trailer

Video:ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON - PS3 / X360 - Theater of War|Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Theatre of War

Video:ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON '108th Task Force'Trailer|

Video:ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON - PS3 / X360 - Online Assault |Capital Assault Trailer (Tokyo Game Show 2011)