Striking that fine balance between "insane AfterBurner-style arcade game" and "full-on flight sim," the Ace Combat series has appeared in arcades, stayed a flagship title for the PS1, PS2 and PSP, and finally went multiplatform with Ace Combat: Assault Horizon on PS3, 360 and PC, and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy on the 3DS. The series returns with Ace Combat Infinity, a free-to-play game that aims to bring the series back to its roots.
At this year's Namco Bandai New Year's Kickoff Event (where I was also able to learn more about Dark Souls II), I got the chance to speak with Kazutoki Kono, a fixture of the Ace Combat series, and director of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, and the latest in the series, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. He talked about his intentions for Ace Combat Infinity, the flexibility of the free-to-play model, and more!
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere on the original PlayStation
Ace Combat is a really long-running series, and Infinity is the 18th title in the series, counting arcade and portable versions. Is Ace Combat Infinity being designed with longtime, hardcore series fans in mind, or will it be more welcoming to newcomers?
KAZUTOKI KONO: We wanted to keep the core mechanics familiar for fans who have played the game for a long time. However, for new fans, we should make the learning phase easier. Since it's free-to-play, that early learning phase is aimed more at newcomers, but longtime fans will feel right at home.
Overall, Ace Combat has done a good job of balancing this fun, easy-to-get-into arcade feel with a more hardcore simulation feel. How do you decide what elements you keep to make the flying feel more "real," and which ones do you cut so that it doesn't get frustrating?
KK: The most important thing to us is getting users to "get" the feel of the controls, and that feeling of accomplishment when they understand or eventually master it. We really want users to have that 360-degree feeling of flight. It can't be too arcade-like, because then you're on rails and it takes away the feeling of freedom. But it can't be too much like a simulation, because flying a real plane is difficult and you'd crash all the time. It's a very difficult balance to achieve.
The series has never skimped on plane selection. Everything from F-4s to F-22s can be flown, and some were even available in games before they actually became active in military service. Can you tell us if we'll be seeing any experimental or upcoming planes, like the Sukhoi PAK FA or the US' sixth-generation fighter concepts?
KK: At launch, we won't be having anything new like that (although the Sukhoi PAK FA is in the game), but since Ace Combat Infinity is free-to-play, we can add new content or updates so that you'll be able to fly new planes aside from what's included at launch.
On that same note, we were able to fly helicopters and large planes like the AC-130 in Assault Horizon. Will we be seeing other aircraft aside from fighter jets in Ace Combat Infinity?
KK: Not at launch, since this is about bringing the Ace Combat series back to its roots. We want to bring a strong Ace Combat experience like the classic games, focusing on dogfighting and flying. Too many choices, such as helicopters, might cause problems early-on in the game for new players, so for now, we want Infinity to be a more focused game.
Some of the more recent games have let us see our pilot, hear his voice and follow his story, instead of just having a silent protagonist and getting mission briefings. Will we be able to customize our pilot in Infinity?
KK: Because Infinity is about going back to the roots of the series, we're going with the mentality that you are the pilot. You're able to customize your planes to some extent, but no, you will not be able to customize an individual pilot.
Over the course of the Ace Combat series, we got a chance to see some really impressive superstructures, from flying fortresses to gigantic cannons and missile structures, and fight them all in massive aerial battles, sometimes with what felt like hundreds of planes. What influences the creation of these superstructures?
KK: We have to think about several things, like "what kind of battle do we want to have in this mission?" or "what kind of gameplay do we want the player to experience?" We also think about what kind of features or aspects would be exciting or fun during the gameplay, but we also have to think about how "real" it could be, and how to design them that way. Really, though, a lot of it is up to the designers and what they think would be cool, but that's pretty much the whole process.
This last one's just a personal question: there aren't as many recently, but there are plenty of great movies and anime that focus on pilots and dogfighting. What are some of your favorites?
KK: Well, for my generation--you might be too young to remember this--our definition of a cool pilot in movies came from Top Gun, and Tom Cruise's "Maverick" character. As for anime, there's one that many on the team love, and that's Macross. (Note: I'm 31. I watched Top Gun as a kid. Thanks, Kono-san, you made me feel younger.)
Getting a chance to play Ace Combat Infinity, the Namco Bandai rep asks me what plane I'd like to sortie in. I flip-flop--my personal favorites (the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet) aren't available, so I almost go with the F-4 Phantom, the starting plane for every Ace Combat game (and a relic from the '70s). "Are you sure?" he asks, and I finally decide on the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The mission is simple: there's a huge aerial battle going on over Tokyo, so I'm going to play against another pilot and try to get a higher score by taking out designated air and ground targets. Starting the game, I'm immediately reminded of the first time I played Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies on the PS2, wowed by the graphics and the freedom of flight. Tom Clancy's HAWX was pretty cool, and felt like an aerial Burnout, but flight felt a little too easy in that game--I have to pay attention to my pitch and try to keep from stalling, but it's just arcadey enough that I can focus on dogfighting.
While there's a lot of information on the screen, it doesn't feel cluttered at all--you get the same HUD whether you're playing in cockpit view or the much more exciting rear view. Soon, I'm aileron rolling past mid-air explosions and weaving between buildings to rain missiles on AA guns and SAM launchers, and I feel right at home--this is the Ace Combat I grew up with! I even make a joke that Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" should be playing right now, but neither I nor the Namco Bandai rep have "Danger Zone" on our phones--he does, however, have Cheap Trick's "Mighty Wings" (also from the Top Gun soundtrack), so that's good enough!
The mission ends fairly quickly with my loss, but it's safe to say that I had a hell of a lot of fun. I ask the Namco Bandai rep about how often I'll be able to play when the game launches, and he talks about the Fuel Sortie System, only allowing you so much fuel every couple hours for about two missions, and if you want more fuel you can pay for it. So basically, this is Candy Crush Saga or with warplanes and explosions.
Even with that said, I think Ace Combat Infinity is a cool way to continue the series, and bring more people into the fold for when a true next-gen Ace Combat is brought out. I'm looking forward to taking off and shooting down some bogeys when the game launches later this year--what about you? Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think!
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