Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception is a video game for the PlayStation Portable handheld console. It is the seventh installment of the Ace Combat video game series, the first for the PlayStation Portable system, and the second for a portable console. It was released the United States on October 24, 2006.

Plot
Aurelia is a peaceful nation located on the southern edge of the Osean Continent. A mild climate and vast underground resources have kept Aurelia out of war and conflicts for many decades.

In 2020, however, the neighboring country of Leasath, under the command of Diego Gaspar Navarro, launched an invasion on Aurelia, using advanced technology such as the Gleipnir flying fortress. The Leasath attack was in retaliation for Aurelia's supposed involvement in promoting civil war in Leasath by aiding their enemies and providing supplies. However, it is eventually discovered that Leasath had an alternate motive for attacking Aurelia. Reduced to a single operating airbase, the remnants of the decimated Aurelian military banded together to strike back at the Leasath forces occupying Aurelia. At the forefront of this crusade is Gryphus Squadron, one of the last remaining Aurelian squadrons. The responsibility falls on Gryphus One, a secret Aurelian air force pilot whose call sign is The Southern Cross, to liberate Aurelia and restore peace to the land.

Gameplay
The player plays the role of the flight lead in Gryphus Squadron, of the Aurelian Air Force. Ace Combat X also includes a multiplayer mode, using wireless Ad Hoc for up to four players. There are two modes: Cooperative Mode, versus 2-6 A.I. controlled fighters, and a versus mode. The versus modes include Dogfight-Survival, Dog Fight-Shoot Out, Base Attack (attack/defend), Air Superiority (King of the Hill), Beacon Battle (Capture the Flag) and Escort Mission. The wingman command system is no longer available because of the limited number of buttons on PSP. It is one of the easiest games on PSP to pick up the controls but there are advanced controls for masters of the game and those who like a challenge on a game. After meeting certain game conditions, the player can choose 4 different paint schemes for each unlockable aircraft. Certain planes may be "tuned" for improved performance by unlocking and purchasing parts in Campaign Mode, examples of which include thrust-vectoring nozzles, advanced canards and higher-powered engines. The HUD is almost the same as the other Ace Combat games, except the player is allowed a visual of the target on the upper-left of the screen, and a Multi-Purpose Gauge on the upper-right. Medals are awarded by completing various objectives in Campaign Mode and Multiplayer.

Players gain money by destroying enemies, points being converted directly into credits. Once the mission objectives are complete, the player is awarded bonus money for performing above and beyond the requirements of the mission objectives. With missions that require landing or refueling in mid-air, bonus money can be earned by completing said tasks quickly.

There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and the unlockable Ace level. The difficulty mode affects how many enemies are in a stage, how smart/accurate the enemies are, how much damage the enemies can take, and how much damage the player's airplane can take. On the Ace difficulty level, a single missile from the enemy will deal approximately 95% damage to a standard-defense fighter (if not take it out immediately), whereas on the easiest level it would deal about 20%.

Like other Ace Combat games, the player can choose their own route through the campaign, which affects how the game progresses. There are 3 points where missions branch out into multiple paths, marking segments of the game; the longest campaign a player can undertake requires the completion of all 17 available missions, while the shortest amounts to a count of 10 (medals are awarded accordingly for meeting both of these conditions).

Most of the missions in the game are laid out as simply "search-and-destroy", where the player must engage a target and destroy it within a time limit; the only variations to this layout depend on whether the targets are air-to-air or air-to-ground. The variety of mission-altering factors include but are not limited to:


 * Escort (where the player must protect an ally from destruction by enemy craft)
 * Air Restrictive (where the player must remain below a certain altitude/speed)
 * Jamming (where the player's radar and lock-on will be hindered or disabled)
 * Assault on Base (where the player must attack/destroy an enemy stronghold)

Two or more of these factors may be combined during certain missions.