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The demo features two complete missions from the game, one of which features you as a pilot of an attack helicopter and the other in the cockpit of a fighter jet. Chopper missions are a new entry in the Ace Combat series, and I was a little hesitant to see how they would fit into the arcade-action shooter. My worries have been put to rest as piloting the attack chopper feels great. It’s noticeably shakier than piloting planes in the previous titles, but you get used to it quick. You can raise and lower altitude, move side to side smoothly, and you can even perform a counter-maneuver flip by pressing the two bumpers simultaneously. Keep that in mind when a missile is headed your way, especially if you can’t shoot it down before it hits.
The chopper mission drops you in a small urban area and you have to take out various enemies including SAMs, Anti-air guns, and even soldiers with RPGs. You have access to two special weapons in the chopper demo and once fired you have to wait for the special meter to recharge. So use them when they’ll be most effective. You’ll have to do some quick trailing behind enemy technical and take them down with your machine guns or special missiles. Guns are extremely effective and by holding the left trigger you’ll zoom in and automatically lock-on to nearby enemies or placements which is extremely helpful when dealing with multiple targets.
Once you take the cockpit of a fighter you’re going to learn that Ace Combat has undergone a few changes or upgrades as I prefer to put it. First off, the old games used to let you turn the plane sideways and remain in that position. Now, if you’re in the middle of a turn you and you let go of the stick, you’ll go back to a flat position. This slight change makes a surprisingly large difference in the experience of flying the plane, amd after having some practice I was pretty happy with it. However, if you prefer making flips, flying upside-down, and other crazy antics then you can switch back to original controls that allow you to roll.
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The next addition is known as “Dog Fight Mode” which is referred to as “DFM” in the game. DFM was shown off in a gameplay video a few months back, but experiencing it first hand is completely different. Once you get behind an enemy and at a close enough range you’ll see a circle appear around your enemy. A quick tap of the bumpers together will enter you into DFM and it pits you in a partial cockpit view following closely behind the enemy. You have limited control in dog fight mode and machine guns are heightened in power, though missiles can still be fired. The game becomes a partially on-rails experience until you either take out the enemy or he escapes your range. You’ll see some truly awe-inspiring explosions in this view and it’s incredible to see eruptions from the ocean when battling it out close to the surface of the ocean and debris and bullets pierce its surface. Dog fight mode can be activated against regular enemies, but it’s most effective against ace pilots which are now marked by “TGT_LEAD”. Other planes can initiate DFM against you, but if you manage to line up the red and green circles and hit the bumpers, you can perform a counter maneuver and flip the plane to end up behind them. It’s pretty sweet, and I can’t wait to have more opportunities to use it.
The demo takes 25-40 minutes to complete, a solid amount of time compared to most demos. However, it left me wanting more. The beautiful backdrops and once again incredible soundtrack seem to be back, and the new gameplay features are a definite improvement over past entries to the Ace Combat series. Although I was slightly disappointed in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, I’m extremely excited to get my hands on the full version of Assault Horizon as it looks to offer steel carnage at its best.
Try the demo yourself by visiting the Xbox Marketplace to queue the download.
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