Developer : Bandai Namco
Release date : October 14, 2011
Synopsis :
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon[a] is a spin-off installment of the Ace Combat flight simulation video game series. It was developed by Project Aces and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms in October 2011. The game was later released on Microsoft Windows in January 2013 through Steam and Games for Windows – Live, with the latter notably being the final retail release for the platform shortly before its discontinuation.
The major new gameplay feature is a system called “Dogfighting mode” (DFM), which aims to increase the intensity and bring the action closer to the player. The game features two modes of control, named “Optimum”, which prevents the player from doing full rolls, and “Original”, which gives the players full control of the aircraft. Co-operative missions and free-for-all Deathmatch have returned, but two new modes named “Capital Conquest” and “Domination” were added to the game. This is also the first Ace Combat title with a plot mostly written by non-Japanese writers, with noted author Jim DeFelice at the helm. Set in 2015–2016, the game’s story mainly focuses on members of the United Nations’ 108th Task Force, a joint NATO-Russia military organization primarily assigned to quell a rebellion spreading over East Africa.
Assault Horizon continued the trend of Ace Combat games set in the real Earth rather than on “Strangereal”, the setting for most Ace Combat games. As a result, the game takes place in various regions, including Miami, East Africa, Moscow, and Dubai. The game received a generally positive reception upon release, with critics praising the game’s settings, graphics, and the soundtrack. However, some critics criticized the game for having repetitive gameplay and being overly-scripted. More than 1.07 million copies were sold worldwide upon release.
In the prologue, USAF Lieutenant Colonel William Bishop leads an American defense of Miami against Russian forces, but is shot down by a mysterious plane with a “shark mouth” motif; the entire sequence is revealed to be a nightmare. He later awakes and sees the survivors of a helicopter raid on an insurgent stronghold in East Africa being rushed in for treatment. Their force is wiped out after a large explosive device is set off on the stronghold by the SRN rebel group. The 108th regroups to rescue Maj. Sergei Illich, a Russian officer, serving with the task force who was shot down in an earlier operation. The SRN’s use of the powerful explosive leads the 108th to an SRN cave hideout near the archaeological ruins of Mogadiyu, but the 108th’s Russian co-commander, General Stagleishov, holds back his forces from joining the attack and even launch their fighters. On the way back, Warwolf receives a distress call from a city under rebel attack, but they are intercepted by the Russians. In the course of the battle, Bishop is shot down by Andrei Markov, a highly skilled Russian pilot who flies the same plane from Bishop’s nightmare. The Russians withdraw, and the rebels detonate a more powerful version of the mysterious explosive on the 108th’s base just as Warwolf lands.
The 108th identifies the new weapon as “Trinity”, a conventional explosive with the power of a tactical nuclear weapon and designed for various weapon platforms such as cruise missiles. The 108th’s survivors head to Dubai to defend the city from elements of the Russian criminal organization Blatnoi aiming to use the weapon on the city and intercept rebel cargo ships in hopes of finding Trinity weapons. However, this buys the Blatnoi time to launch a coup d’état in Russia with massive support from the Russian military. Under Stagleishov’s command, the so-called New Russian Federation quickly takes control of Moscow and its surrounding areas, while the 108th joins other loyalist Russian units to take on the coup forces. Illich, who was one of the Russian pilots to leave East Africa, assists in the counteroffensive but disappears as the 108th successfully shoots down a Trinity cruise missile and an ICBM targeted for the United States. A Trinity missile destroys much of the 108th’s strike force heading to Moscow, and Bishop leads Warwolf in shooting down a Russian bomber squadron bearing down on the capital; he also takes out Markov’s personal plane, and the pilot ejects. Seeing the futility of resistance, Stagleishov negotiates the NRF’s surrender by exchanging the final Trinity missile for political immunity, but Markov kills him and steals the weapon. It is revealed that Markov planned everything as revenge against the U.S. for an airstrike during the Bosnian War that killed his wife, with the coup as a decoy to lure many American forces out of the homeland and weaken its defenses.
Illich is revealed as Markov’s sleeper agent and betrays the 108th by joining his forces bound for the U.S. from bases in South America. The 108th and several American combat units reinforce and defend Miami against an onslaught by Markov’s forces. Bishop’s earlier nightmare comes to life, but Guts is able to protect him, and the Trinity missile on Markov’s plane is damaged in the process. Bishop then chases after an escaping Markov and Illich and encounters them in the midst of a Category 5 hurricane, Markov escapes while Illich covers his retreat after a long and challenging battle Bishop finally overcomes Illich. The 108th recovers and assists in defense of Washington DC against a larger Russian attack. In a final showdown, Bishop finally eliminates Markov and shoots down his Trinity missile aimed at the White House. Upon landing his plane at Reagan National Airport, Bishop is given a hero’s welcome while Guts is safely rescued.
Source : Wikipedia
