Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Playstation3 Game NAMCO BANDAI Games Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Playstation3 Game NAMCO BANDAI Games

Pros: Game arrived as advertised in great shape and brand new condition. it was still n the original wrap and everything.

Cons: New egg used DHL to mail me this package. not only did they get my package sent here late but they (DHL) sent my package from New Jersey, right past were I live in Pennsylvania, to Maryland were they gave my package to USPS who brought it back north over to my house. I just think it would have been better to give it to USPS or UPS instead of DHL. That is the only reason I'm taking an egg off of this review.

Other Thoughts: I LOATH DHL as much as I hate Fedex.

Pros: um graphics

Cons: poop controls who ever heard of a fighter jet that cant barrel roll

Other Thoughts: the planes dont barrel roll. if your a fan of ace combat 4 or 5 from ps2 you will hate this game and the dogfight mode is poop, waste of money im extremely disappointed :(

Pros: The game's fun, no caveats there. Specific opinions delineated for old and new Ace Combat players for ease and context.

Applicable to both:
1) Much improved ground environment, less of the hazy ground floor of previous games.
2) Environmental damage to an extent is a welcome addition.
3) Immediately intense to play
4) Flight computer sounds are revamped. I was in a Mirage, I also know French. To my surprise it gave me audible warnings in French along with HUD warnings in your language of choice. I fly low as much as possible as often as possible. It never stopped haha.

For old AC players:
-see cons-
If you've played before, you know what to expect and you probably want to know the cons more than some rehashed pros from a professional review.

For new AC players:
1) "Flight assistance" aggressively keeps you from cratering if you're new to the genre.
2) Variety, your mileage may vary but breaking up the flight bits with "other" missions makes some sense
3) Characters actually "exist" in a more believable manner than previous games. As a result, it's much easier to become emotionally attached to characters as the plot progresses.

Cons: Cons are minor, almost personal quibbles. Again separated by whether you've played previous entries before.

For old Ace Combat players:
1) DFM/ASM - The system is cool, the things that happen while in it are cool to watch, the realization that you actually aren't doing any of the cool stuff yourself isn't. I found, in the tutorial level for example, I chased a target between buildings but found as long as the acquisition circle was present I could turn into buildings and the game avoided for me.
-It can however be bypassed, but doing so makes the game twice as difficult.-
2) Faux "excitement" - driving rock music, over-the-top cinematic effects (slo-mo, really now?), and the like are entertaining. Look deeper, and you notice you're just waiting for auto-aim to kick in.
3) Non-flight segments - I personally found the Helicopter controls klunky, the on-rails shooting segments felt more Modern Warfare than Ace Combat.
4) Real-world setting - I miss the old world, putting things in our world is fine but as the story progresses the inanity of it resulted in me not. caring. at. all. about any character, plot twist, and etc.
5) DLC planes and multiplayer skills - Old players, myself included, knew it was coming. List includes: ASF-X Shinden II, F-15S/MTD, Tornado GR.4, Su-37 Terminator, CFA-44 Nosferatu, AV-8B Harrier II Plus, YF-23A Black Widow II, Ka-50 Hokum. The skills aren't a big advantage, they're only marginally more effective versions of existing (non-dlc) ones.

For new Ace Combat players and applicable to both:
Honestly, judging the game on its own merits I only see minor issues:
1) Slight inconsistencies with texturing and aliasing. Most evident in the helicopter cockpit view, I couldn't stop noticing the severely jagged lines on the cockpit braces and the relatively low quality textures as I zoomed in.
2) Still waiting for auto-aim in many instances. Non-flight missions especially. You can zoom in and hold R2 for most of the helicopter missions.
3) Placing the setting in the real-world legitimizes the interactions between characters, however the frenetic arcade gameplay seems so at odds with the realistic setting that the eventually inane story feels more of a "convenient reason to put airplanes and explosions together".

Other Thoughts: First off, the game is loads of fun as all AC games have been.
Second, your opinion of the game will likely be a direct relationship on your opinion on Tom Clancy's HAWX series.
Third, I always use cockpit view and flight assistance off. Always.
Fourth, I am strictly limited-to-no DLC and singleplayer.

Now that that's out of the way...
The game IS good. I rattle off cons just because this was such a departure from previous games. Personally, the biggest faults are subjective:
1) Having a cast of characters rather having a "nameless main character" isn't my thing; it feels like some melodramatic military TV drama.
2) Real world? not my cup of tea either. Story and setting don't add up together in a way that makes sense. I won't spoil things, but Markov goes from "interesting, but rather generic" bad guy to "what bad action movie am I watching" generic bad guy.
3) I hate helicopters after this game.
4) I hate console shooters because my thumbs are moronic with analog sticks. Thanks are in order for such aggressive auto-aim. Otherwise, I probably would have to not play such an entertaining game.

And honestly, that's it.
DFM/ASM, you can opt not to use it. Unlike in HAWX, your craft maintains the same controllability as without. Better yet, it doesn't force an outside camera. So I honestly don't have an issue with it.

Online play. Haven't tried it. But if I do, it'll probably be co-op. My PSN name is identical to the name as it appears here if you're so inclined to search for me.

Pros: This is a game with great graphics and a fairly decent story line. It's fin to play and gives the player a modern day aerial combat experience.

Cons: Unlike its predecessors, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon's takes place in the real world. It loses some of the AC originality and could have done better.

Other Thoughts: A nice attempt for the first Ace Combat title for PS3.

Pros: great gameplay
great graphics
good storyline
get to choose between planes or choppers
good online play and connection
awesome dogfight system

Cons: for some reason, you just get tired of playing too quickly
there are better games
in the long run i realized it wasnt what i was expecting BUT it still is a good game, perfect if this is your first flight-combat game