Ace Combat 5

[Hikuro]

Last dozen games I've bought have pretty much been out on street dates, Gamestop was pretty good on that till now.

[Caufield]

I pre-ordered the bundle from EB, up here in Toronto. Won't be in till the 27th.. I can't wait to feel the difference of playing AC5 with the joystick/throttle instead of the game pad. must wait.

Play some more AC4 till then.

[Hikuro]

It better be here today at noon or there will be hell....yes.......THERE WILL BE!

[Coota0]

Can somebody with the joystick give us a review of the josytick vs. the pad in game play?

[Hikuro]

I will I call dibs! If its in that is...

[Hikuro]

I got the bundle.......ummmmmm....... yeah best to sum it up is

The flight stick is HUGE my hand is able to fit around it, but m y thumb can't reach the D Pad and Toggle switch on the top 0_o....

Your looking at a HUGE base as well, its amazing! The throtal is espically eye pleasing with a pleasent grib around the hand with alot of switches to change pitch, and rudders by seperate buttons for sharper turning and course corrections.

The throtal has a cable which is a Parrelle port that connects to the flight stick which has a USB cable which will connect to your USB port on your PS2, you'll probably be able to make adjustments to the controls since this is a pressure sensitive control system for better piloting.

Also I got a gigantic Wardogs patch which I'll probably slap on my leather jacket it looks like its ironed on but I'm not sure....but I wanna know where the hell are those lil badges?! Shouldn't I be getting those as well?!

[Fatalist]

Should we be able to get the flightstick bundle anywhere or is it an online order thing only?

[Hikuro]

Gamestop and or EB Games exlusive I believe.

[mikeszekely]

Should we be able to get the flightstick bundle anywhere or is it an online order thing only?

We have the bundle for sale in-store. (Gamestop)

[Hikuro]

I'm sure give it like a month or two like Steel Batallion and your bound to see used versions around Ebay or Gamestop or EB Games for a bit less...and maybe a few months from now there might be some left over from over stock and those not picking up their orders.

I think my next target after Zeta Gundam comes in, it'll be Steel Batallion...yes....YEEEEEESSSSs....but right now I REALLY REALLY wish I could go home and play the game.

Also the game has 14 lessons to help you learn how to play the game properly, from simple meanouvers to commanding your wingmen.

Personally, I can't wait to give this a try...I only wish I had a better place to play this.

[David Hingtgen]

Wha, no one's actually played yet?

On mission 10, just got F-14. You're stuck with your initial plane for quite a while, so get used to it. F-16 and F-18 take many more kills to upgrade than F-5.

Yes, you do need to buy planes for everybody. If you buy 1 F-16, then only 1 person gets to fly it. I currently have quite a mixed squadron thusly.

Planes are modeled better--F-16 and 18 finally have differential stabs. Will report F-4 and F-14 once I fly them some more. (Busy trying not to get shot down to do much checking)

Mission 3 (4?) ROCKS.

There are several LONG missions, or 2 missions in a row with no saving. Don't think you're done when you get a "mission complete".

My big overall advice: conserve missiles. Gun everything you can. You will run out. Often. If possible, use 1 missile on a plane and then gun it down. 2 missiles is a waste, only use for critical targets.

Also--"disperse" doesn't work well, they won't go TOO far away from you.

Sorry Graham, haven't tried A-10 yet. Mission 9 would be great for it, but I flew the F-16C trying to upgrade it. (I think it's an early Block 30 or so, but the main thing to tell Blocks apart are very subtle and hard to see in real life--polygons only make it harder).

[VF-19]

Got my copy today at Wal-Mart and I must say I'm impressed. Wingmen aren't too bad, at least to me.

Graphics are awesome.

Planes are awesome!

But I really want some of the more advanced planes... NOW!

[VF19]

Nah, the Wingmen AI is actually REALLY good. THey will fight just like you, and know how to shake stuff off.

The Gameplay is ASTOUNDING. Fast Paced, and IN FEET instead of Meters. Missiles move faster, better, and smoother, and the smoke trails rock. Explosions are awesome, especially big ships.

All in all, this game is AC4 after it grew balls. Realistic, but just enough sci-fi to keep you wanting more.

By the way, Dave, What's the real life difference in all the of Block F16s, and what exactly does Block mean? I was never a particular F16 buff.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

DAmn it gamespot near campus was crowded and had way too many peolpe working crowding the counter. New manager seemed cool though., UNFORTUNATELY they only had the flightstick bundle left. UGH. MAn I so would have bought the game only. sheesh. hopefully tomorrow they get it.

Guys is replay system better than AC4? Ac44's replay was awesome for its time but kind of bored me near the end.

And david, is F-14 wing sweep more like the AC5 demo instead of AC4? I didnt like how in AC4, above 300kt the wings would automatically sweep all the way back. In the 5 demo you gotta be past 600...which i like. SAdly I had a nightmare it reverted back to AC4 wing sweep LOL>

replays....

AFDS vs AC5

which has more entertaining replays?

[VF19]

AC5 OWNS Replays. Remember the slight twitching the AC4 replay system had? Gone. The angles are AWESOME, and the sense of speed is ungodly.

[VF-19]

The Gameplay is ASTOUNDING. Fast Paced, and IN FEET instead of Meters. Missiles move faster, better, and smoother, and the smoke trails rock. Explosions are awesome, especially big ships.

Technically, if you're using Russian jets, you should be in meters of altitude and kilometers per hour. But that's only if you want to be nitpicky.

Anyways, more AC5 for me!

[Druna Skass]

Hey is just me or does Wardog Sqd, bear a strong resembelance to the 08th MS team?

Blaze = Shiro

Nagase = Karen

Chopper = Eledor

Archer = A less annoying Michel

[David Hingtgen]

Start off with F-16C Blocks (1 through 20 are the F-16A/B)

Block 25: Basic F-16C. Same engine as F-16A, the PW F100-200. Basically, an F-16A with a new antenna. Neat new cockpit, all high-tech. (Despite being FBW, an F-16A has an old "dials and gauges" cockpit like an F-14 or F-15.)

Block 30: the "real" F-16C. GE engines, the F110. Way more power. Your "standard" F-16C.

Block 32: A block 30 with an improved PW engine, the F100-220. Still inferior to the F110.

Block 40. F-16CG (or DG, if it's a D). The bomber/strike variant. AKA "Night Falcon". Most often seen with bombs, and lots of LANTIRN pods. Special HUD for night-flying/FLIR, like the F-15E has. Stronger, can pull more G's with a given load than the earlier ones, but the stronger frame is heavier, thus worse power/weight than a 30.

Block 42: PW-powered version of the Block 40. F100-220 engine still. Notably slow as F-16's go. Many being retrofitted with -229 engine, see below.

Block 50: F-16CJ/DJ. A "2nd generation" Block 30, emphasis on SEAD/Wild Weasel. Most often seen with the HTS pod on the intake for HARM's. Also decent bomber/fighter. More powerful F110 to counteract yet another weight gain.

Block 52: PW-powered Block 50. New F100-229 engine. Power now equal to the F110---well, the early F110's. The block 50 has a better F110 than the 30/40, so it's still better than the 52.

In short---there's really the 30/32, 40/42, and 50/52. 0 means GE, 2 means PW. And GE's always better than PW. The 25 is kind of an "interim" F-16.

Now, Block 60 is the big huge change. CFT's, IRST, avionics spine, etc. Lots of neat things. Makes it ugly though. Name was changed to F-16E/F, but only VERY recently, so the game still says F-16C Block 60, instead of F-16E Block 60.

The Block 62 doesn't exist yet, but it will as soon as someone orders PW engines for an F-16E or F-16F.

Edited October 27, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, game stuff:

I've encountered two mission branches. Got "A" both times--anyone know how they get picked? Random? How you did on previous missions?

Mission 14: I used the Tornado GR1, and just owned everybody. Won mission with an S in like 3 mins. BDSM's rock...

Mission 15 is hard. You will either fail, or get an S. It's all about figuring out what to do when, and where to be. Spoiler free tips (because it took me several tries):

1. Do not locate the homing beacon first thing. This activates "part 2" of the mission. If you do it first, all the enemies will still be around, and will toast the good guys who come for "part 2" you need to protect.

2. So, go around and spend 2-4 minutes taking out GROUND forces. And any planes you can get with minimal time. Especially stuff in the SE/center part of the map.

3. THEN go "home in" on the beacon. Now, there should be few/no ground forces, and only half the enemy planes in the area when the good guys come in. Timing is tight, I only had 30 secs left when I found the beacon on the time I won.

4. Fight like crazy at that point. Enemy choppers are faster and nastier than you might expect, they are a fairly high priority then. Hope your wingmen go after the fighters. They simply need to harrass them , not destroy.

5. Speed is everything, long-range missiles are next. Thus, recommend F-15C or F-14A. You need to get places FAST. And zap enemy planes quickly from afar.

If you get the reference, think of this like a (PC) X-Wing or TIE Fighter "protect the weak guy from the bad guys" mission. Kill everything, everywhere, really fast, with a tight time limit. While trying to find something.

Edited October 27, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[David Hingtgen]

I think I'm doing something wrong, as I'm finding the replay not as good as AC4. Frankly, too many camera postions/controls. Any tips/suggestions? I'd like some long-range overview shots, etc. (Like you see in the trailers--planes zooming around the city, etc)

(sorry for 3 posts, but I figure it'd be better like this than one MASSIVE multi-point post)

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

How about the light controls and wing sweep on tomcat tornado?(refer to my above comments)

[David Hingtgen]

Only used F-14 once so far. Exactly the same as the demo. That includes no differential stabs. Same for the Tornado. It's especially annoying that the Tornado DID have differential stabs in AC4! It's like they totally start from scratch every time, and never fix/improve how the plane's controls move. AC2 actually had the Tomcat's tail work right. Of course, AC4 had the F-117's rudders backwards, will have to check that out at some point.

F-16 now has differential stabs, F-14/15 still lacks them. Sigh, could somebody write a big nasty letter to Namco telling them that just about every fighter since 1960 has differential stabs for roll control? And that many planes rely on them as their PRIMARY roll control? It's the rare plane that doesn't nowadays. I doubt the AC5 Flanker will, even though (like every other plane from the past few decades) the real Flanker uses stabs for supplemental roll control.

[VF19]

Dave-

The one you probably want is "All." It's all the way on the right side of your selections. Also, Pass on the first box is pretty good too.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Only used F-14 once so far. Exactly the same as the demo. That includes no differential stabs. Same for the Tornado. It's especially annoying that the Tornado DID have differential stabs in AC4! It's like they totally start from scratch every time, and never fix/improve how the plane's controls move. AC2 actually had the Tomcat's tail work right. Of course, AC4 had the F-117's rudders backwards, will have to check that out at some point.

F-16 now has differential stabs, F-14/15 still lacks them. Sigh, could somebody write a big nasty letter to Namco telling them that just about every fighter since 1960 has differential stabs for roll control? And that many planes rely on them as their PRIMARY roll control? It's the rare plane that doesn't nowadays. I doubt the AC5 Flanker will, even though (like every other plane from the past few decades) the real Flanker uses stabs for supplemental roll control.

So I take it wing sweep is more like AC5 demo than AC4? Because AC4 wing sweep for the big cat SUCKED big time. Same with tornado. So are both planes having more accurate win sweep this time around? AC4's winfg sweep suystem was absurd!!

[Druna Skass]

I think I'm doing something wrong, as I'm finding the replay not as good as AC4. Frankly, too many camera postions/controls. Any tips/suggestions? I'd like some long-range overview shots, etc. (Like you see in the trailers--planes zooming around the city, etc)

Man the replay here SUCKS compared to Delta Strike.

Hey does this game have multiple endings?

[mikeszekely]

Ok, game stuff:

I've encountered two mission branches. Got "A" both times--anyone know how they get picked? Random? How you did on previous missions?

Okay, I looked at the strat guide... and while it gives detailed tips on how to get through each mission, it fails to explain what (if anything) determines whether you take an A path or a B path.

Well, I've only played the first six missions. Kinda want to take my time, since it's still two weeks until Halo 2... but anyway, so far, I've only flown the F-5E. Now, the strat guide seemed to suggest that by the first mission where you can start buying new fighters and assigning them, that I should have the F-20A unlocked... but actually, I have maybe half the kills I need to get it. I did unlock the A-6E, F-4E, MiG-21bis, F-16, and F/A-18C, though. As I'm not hugely fond of any of those, though, I'm thinking I might just keep flying the F-5E and go for the Tigershark (although it might be fun to to buy the F-16C, fly that a hell of a lot, and get the F-16XL, which is my favorite F-16... but then again, if I stick with the F-5E, after the F-20A comes the X-29A... decisions, decisions...). It's just a shame that the game's halfway done before I'll get to fly the Gripen, and I'll almost have it beat before I'll get the F/A-22 (Sorry, David, I do like the YF-23 a lot, but I'm also rather fond of the F/A-22).

[David Hingtgen]

The F-16 takes a BUTTLOAD of kills to upgrade. I like the 16 more than the 18, and have flown it for twice as many missions, yet have less of the bar filled for the 16 than the 18! Super Hornet's easy to get (though I don't yet, because I spent all my time on the 16).

Theory:

Bar fills at a rate dependent upon how many new versions are immediately unlocked. I think the F-16 will unlock Block 60 and XL and F-2 all at once, thus it fills slowly--because those are all derived from the C, not each other. As opposed to F-14A to B to D. And F-18C to E to G.

I'm done playing for the night, rest of the house is asleep--if I can't play it with the music loud, I don't want to play.

I did notice right before the end I was getting some "shakiness" in the debriefing screen, and slow-down in the next mission. Think my new PStwo got too hot from being on almost all day (though did stop for an hour for lunch), or that was just a really intense mission. Still don't like new PStwo controller, may buy a transparent blue on or something. (Unless I can find a guaranteed "old" black one MISB). Newer controllers are built cheaper.

[areaseven]

Should we be able to get the flightstick bundle anywhere or is it an online order thing only?

We have the bundle for sale in-store. (Gamestop)

Yeah. I sold two of them today. If only I had my own PS2...

[Skull Leader]

my few minor gripes first:

It is just me, or do your wingmen REALLY like to fly close to you/in front of you when you're flying in formation? You really have to accelerate away from them before making any turns, or you risk turning in to Edge or Chopper (Archer, holding the rear, isn't much of an issue)

The fat commander-guy who gives most of the mission briefings sounds like a total fruit...

The whole asking a question during the mission thing can get annoying... especially if it's just conversational stuff... it always seems to happen when you want to order your wingmen to do something. Great way to "seem" involved though!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for the good stuff:

The F/A-18C kicks ass again! A huge improvement over the AC4 version I think.

The aircraft all seem to behave in a more controlled fashion... the F-15 has an uber-acceleration rate! I hope the GE-powered tomcats are the same way....

Many missions are very much target-dependent... you have to assault specific targets to avoid the mission being terminated early, so sometimes it pays to do a bit of a threat analysis with your mission objectives... just because it's labelled 'tgt" doesn't mean it's a priority... it's got to be a SPECIFIC "tgt"(s).....

The story is pretty good... I already have my suspicions about the true story of Captain Bartlett. However, even after "White Noise" (the last mission I've played), I've still got a while to go before any of that gets confirmed.

Edited October 27, 2004 by Skull Leader

[mikeszekely]

The F-16 takes a BUTTLOAD of kills to upgrade. I like the 16 more than the 18, and have flown it for twice as many missions, yet have less of the bar filled for the 16 than the 18! Super Hornet's easy to get (though I don't yet, because I spent all my time on the 16).

Theory:

Bar fills at a rate dependent upon how many new versions are immediately unlocked. I think the F-16 will unlock Block 60 and XL and F-2 all at once, thus it fills slowly--because those are all derived from the C, not each other. As opposed to F-14A to B to D. And F-18C to E to G.

I'm done playing for the night, rest of the house is asleep--if I can't play it with the music loud, I don't want to play.

I did notice right before the end I was getting some "shakiness" in the debriefing screen, and slow-down in the next mission. Think my new PStwo got too hot from being on almost all day (though did stop for an hour for lunch), or that was just a really intense mission. Still don't like new PStwo controller, may buy a transparent blue on or something. (Unless I can find a guaranteed "old" black one MISB). Newer controllers are built cheaper.

Another thing to consider (although I doubt that you bought too many of them), is that you supposedly get kill points from your wingmen, too. That is, you may fly and F-16C, but if you've only bought one but bought four F/A-18Cs, and so give one to each of your wingmen, then you'll get points toward both the F-16 tree and the F/A-18 tree.

[Hikuro]

I think I'm on the 4th Mission, which ever one where you FINALLY get to take off from the strip and I had fun with that! Sadly, after knocking out a drone, I was pulling up cause I was pretty low to the floor and WHAM! My nose rammed into another drone just above me.

........41 kills that's pretty good considering I'm still trying to figure out the flight stick. It shakes nicely when I push the verniers to full not too mention you gotta really push and pull the throtal to get response.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

picked this game up last night, played for about an hour. I can't say that I can really rave about this game, maybe its because I haven't played enough yet. Ace Combat 4 kinda jumped out and grabbed me right away, this has yet to do that. One downside I see is having to confirm things either yes/no during combat which gets to be annoying when it happens over and over again. So far this feels more like a remake of AC4 then a whole new game.

Rob

[mikeszekely]

picked this game up last night, played for about an hour. I can't say that I can really rave about this game, maybe its because I haven't played enough yet. Ace Combat 4 kinda jumped out and grabbed me right away, this has yet to do that. One downside I see is having to confirm things either yes/no during combat which gets to be annoying when it happens over and over again. So far this feels more like a remake of AC4 then a whole new game.

Rob

You don't have to confirm everything yes/no. You have the option to ignore them. Depending on the situation, an reply of silence could mean you're busy, you don't know, you thought the answer was obvious, you really meant "no," but you didn't want to say anything that would lower morale, or you're just flat out ignoring them.

Anyway, 9 missions down, and I STILL don't have enough points to unlock the F-20! All I've flown was the F-5E... now I'd kinda like to start using the Tomcat... but I've put so much effort into unlocking the F-20, and I think one more mission ought to do the trick...

Oh, and I got three medals so far.

One thing that really stand out when I play AC5 is that, in AC4, you had your time limit, your primary targets, and then other stuff to blow up (or the occasional get xxxx points in the time limit). I knew where everything was right away, and I knew that I could take out all but one primary target, kill other stuff until I had enough points for an S rank (and more money to buy planes), then take out the last target right before time was up. In Ace Combat 5, things just seem more confusing and hectic (and, therefore, more realistic). There are enemies flying/sitting/driving/floating everywhere, new ones are constantly popping in, and it's not often that you have specific mission-required targets. You just kill what you can find, then look for more.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Mike I am on mission 4 or 6...whichever one comes after the ABL gets to teh arkbird. Anyways I unlocked the F-20 by the 3rd mission. What I did was kept getting my wingmen to do things while I got priority prey. I guess their kills supplement unlockability of new planes. I am nowhere near mission 10, right now I am defending the carrier fleet and hunting for some sub while the ABL snipes some of the sub's burst missles. Planes I have unlocked so far are

F-20, F-4E, F-4G, Mig-21BIs, F-16C, F/A-18C, A-6E.

My fhangar currently is 1 A-6, 1 F-4E, 1 F-4G, 1 F-20, 4 F-5E

BTW music is AWESOMe and arcade mode is a bunch of rock trakc.s

[mikeszekely]

Mike I am on mission 4 or 6...whichever one comes after the ABL gets to teh arkbird. Anyways I unlocked the F-20 by the 3rd mission. What I did was kept getting my wingmen to do things while I got priority prey. I guess their kills supplement unlockability of new planes. I am nowhere near mission 10, right now I am defending the carrier fleet and hunting for some sub while the ABL snipes some of the sub's burst missles. Planes I have unlocked so far are

F-20, F-4E, F-4G, Mig-21BIs, F-16C, F/A-18C, A-6E.

My fhangar currently is 1 A-6, 1 F-4E, 1 F-4G, 1 F-20, 4 F-5E

BTW music is AWESOMe and arcade mode is a bunch of rock trakc.s

Yeah, I went after priority targets too, but my wingmen are losers. After 9 missions, Edge was the only one with more than three kills. I order them to attack, they fly around. I order them to disperse, they fly around. I order them to cover me, and they fly around... while following me.

Wingmen kills do boost your kill points for whatever plane you're flying. Later, say you're flying the F-14, and you give F-16s to all your wingmen, you build points for your F-16 and your F-14.

I got to the first branching story path... the coin toss seems random. Mission 11b kicks ass, by the way.

Anyway, my current hanger is 4 F-5E, 1 F-16C, 1 F/A-18C, 1 F-14A, and one A-10A. I have enough points (finally) to buy some F-20As, I just haven't had a mission where I get to play in the hanger again yet.