Ace Combat Assault Horizon: Enhanced Edition

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 191 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 191
  2. Mixed: 52 out of 191
  3. Negative: 63 out of 191

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Ciocolici
    Jul 31, 2023
    4
    Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition offers an enjoyable experience initially, but unfortunately, it loses its appeal over time. The gameplay, particularly the combat, is the primary concern and falls short of expectations. As someone who wasn't a fan of this genre and lacked experience, I found the gameplay repetitive and frustrating, often resorting to circling around enemiesAce Combat: Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition offers an enjoyable experience initially, but unfortunately, it loses its appeal over time. The gameplay, particularly the combat, is the primary concern and falls short of expectations. As someone who wasn't a fan of this genre and lacked experience, I found the gameplay repetitive and frustrating, often resorting to circling around enemies just to catch a glimpse of them briefly. While I am uncertain if this is the typical Ace Combat style or a deviation from its predecessors, it still proved exasperating for me. Additionally, the poorly executed dog fight mode and basic helicopter and machinegun missions felt like filler gameplay, contributing to the overall disappointment.

    The story in Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition left much to be desired, following the cliché "russians are bad, americans are good" narrative, which failed to captivate my interest.

    Regarding the graphics, they were decent, with satisfactory airplane explosion effects. However, the terrain textures were noticeably low-res, which could have been improved for a more immersive experience.

    On the subject of controls, I strongly advise against using a keyboard and mouse setup, as it proved to be inadequately optimized, causing further frustration during gameplay.

    Despite having high expectations based on the reputation of the Ace Combat series, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition. Although the first few hours provided some fun, the overall experience left me disappointed, leading me to eagerly anticipate the end of the story campaign.    … Expand
  2. arakui
    Jun 29, 2020
    1
    This is a genuinely pathetic and awful excuse for an ace combat game. AC:AH's story is generic at best, the DFM is utter **** and takes control away from the player almost entirely. The graphics are passable for the timeframe it was released in but are very very very poor by present standards. There is NO fun to be had here, this game plays itself. Go play AC7 or literally anything else.
  3. andrelol3
    Jan 17, 2016
    0
    It's a crappy game that plays itself. I bought because I own the 3DS version and that version is awesome. I also wacthed an AngryJoe and he said the game was excellent.

    Well, turns out AngryJoe is just like any other reviewer out there: he gets paid by the publisher to review games. And the 3DS, that is great, is actually a remake of Ace Combat 2, so it's a completly different game.    It's a crappy game that plays itself. I bought because I own the 3DS version and that version is awesome. I also wacthed an AngryJoe and he said the game was excellent.

    Well, turns out AngryJoe is just like any other reviewer out there: he gets paid by the publisher to review games.

    And the 3DS, that is great, is actually a remake of Ace Combat 2, so it's a completly different game.

    Anyways, don't buy this piece of crap. There's ZERO gameplay in this game. You just to a cleck, select a enemy and the game kills it for you. Really, the game locks on the enemy and that's it, you got you kill.

    It's pretty much an unplayable game in the sense that you don't play it.    … Expand
  4. Sjalka
    Nov 16, 2014
    4
    Ace Comat is nice to watch - but fairly boring to play. That is because it sort of plays itself ... either that.. or it runs on rails ( semi rails ). It felt much like a Call of Duty in the skies - and hardly ever did the sky feel ... that small.

    Watching it is like watching an action movie - and like many action movies - they became a bit stale and repetitive. After the first    Ace Comat is nice to watch - but fairly boring to play. That is because it sort of plays itself ... either that.. or it runs on rails ( semi rails ). It felt much like a Call of Duty in the skies - and hardly ever did the sky feel ... that small.

    Watching it is like watching an action movie - and like many action movies - they became a bit stale and repetitive. After the first excitement wears off though... one spots muddy ground textures under rather sparse enviromental modelling. In fact the places look like an older flight simulator.

    The plane models are ok, but also do lack detail.

    What bothers me the most is the flight models. - NEVER did it feel like flying a plane; there is no weight - and the agility of the jets is ridiculously over the top.

    to top it even more - those "lead" planes can only be taken down in the dogfight mode - and while that mode spices the monotony up every now and then - there are simply too many lead planes - making that chase mode very very stale - very quickly.

    to close that review - the story and characters are quite forgettable. It is sad that there are only really two games of that genre on PC - HAWX and this - and they are both fairly bad.    … Expand
  5. SiAScORCH
    Nov 4, 2014
    3
    The only thing that stopped me from giving this game a lower rating was the simply fact that they don't have many flying games around, especially with modern planes. The series is an awesome one, but the last two titles they released have been the worst of the series by far. I wouldn't play this game if it was given to me for free, unfortunately I wasted money buying it without doing someThe only thing that stopped me from giving this game a lower rating was the simply fact that they don't have many flying games around, especially with modern planes. The series is an awesome one, but the last two titles they released have been the worst of the series by far. I wouldn't play this game if it was given to me for free, unfortunately I wasted money buying it without doing some researching before hand. Shame on me for assuming this game would of been great, since the graphic advancement I wanted so badly to play this game on PC.

    The horrible thing is the DFM(Dog fighting mode) which on bosses means you have to get close to them to enter this mode and it just ruined it. I mean why would you tamper with a game which has been dominating flight games since PS1. I just don't get it, and for that I'd honestly have to say don't even bother playing this game. While the graphics are amazing, the game just is crap and they shouldn't of introduced that into a game, or rather they should of at least given an option to disable it if you didn't want to play with it on.    … Expand
  6. jld89
    Aug 10, 2014
    0
    The worst Ace Combat by far. DFM mode is stupid, no skill involved in this game. It is a disgrace to all the other acecombats. This isn't call of duty FFS. No need for a NPC+hollywood **** story. I want my money back.
  7. Wulfen73
    Jul 28, 2014
    2
    A disappointing watered down version of Ace Combat, dog fighting has been reduced to a rail shooter set up, planes can 'Heal' Damage. And a series that was once famous for a relatively realistic depiction of modern fighter combat now has me watching in wonder as a plane continually fires 6 missiles at me while I sit on its tail hitting it over and over to seemingly no effect.

    The DFM    A disappointing watered down version of Ace Combat, dog fighting has been reduced to a rail shooter set up, planes can 'Heal' Damage. And a series that was once famous for a relatively realistic depiction of modern fighter combat now has me watching in wonder as a plane continually fires 6 missiles at me while I sit on its tail hitting it over and over to seemingly no effect.

    The DFM mechanic was an unnecessary and unwelcome addition to the game that left me with headaches and no small amount of frustration, I am armed with heat seeking and radar guided missiles, why am I forced to continually close to guns range, this isn't exciting its tedious, there is no variation in the battles I found myself in. Be warned, there is no real control of your fighter in this game, there is no XYZ axis controls, you will be taking massive loops if you ever miss anything, there is no rudder or aileron control, you will be flying in straight lines until you get to the rail shooting and only the most basic moves will be available to you.

    The quick time event DFM creates also seems a little buggy, sometimes it works, and sometimes I'll be hammering the button while my fighter gets shot to pieces. Some missions contain frustrating beginners traps forcing you to wade through it again and again until you figure out what you are supposed to be doing.

    Story is lackluster and predictable, the Unsung War this is not not, the narrative is broken and disjointed, the characters are generally flat, and you know nothing about them. The attempt to build up the main villain is silly, either the main character is an honest to god psychic, or his opponent is beaming it into his mind. Otherwise this match up makes no sense, they have no reason to personally hate each other, they've never met. The final boss fight is a giant disappointment, teeth grindingly frustrating due to the forced DFM usage, there is no real climax, the plot just kind of meanders with no rhyme or reason.

    Overall: Play the Unsung War if you want to play a good Ace combat game, leave this in the bargin bin    … Expand
  8. Nereus11
    Jul 27, 2014
    0
    I decided to play this game over the course of two days due to steam free weekend. Here's my take.

    This is a shockingly bad game. To call it a game is being generous, it is an insult to my intelligence. The missions are entirely scripted, checkpoints are bafflingly placed at times, and I found myself repeatedly having to turn all sound off, because hearing the same bad Russian accent    I decided to play this game over the course of two days due to steam free weekend. Here's my take.

    This is a shockingly bad game. To call it a game is being generous, it is an insult to my intelligence. The missions are entirely scripted, checkpoints are bafflingly placed at times, and I found myself repeatedly having to turn all sound off, because hearing the same bad Russian accent shout the same tired line for the 30th time was really getting on my nerves. The game's script faults lie in a number of places - events you only get one shot at, like doing a bombing run flawlessly first try, otherwise you have to reload checkpoints and do all the other bombing runs prior to it, over and over and over. Other areas are even worse, the final mission has you in dogfight mode until a certain number of scripted events happen. The enemy you are dogfighting is invulnerable, but you are not. Missiles come at you from all sides, but missiles you shoot at him will not hit until the whole script is over. I will not spoil the mechanic for how this happens, but I can assure you, actually outplaying the games AI only to have it cheat is immensely frustrating. I never finished the final mission as I just couldn't stand to repeat that script any longer. Frequently, enemies would double back and fly directly through my plane, probably breaking a couple rules of physics. This frustrated me for two reasons, some of the scripts are reliant on you remaining in dogfight mode, and I occasionally used one of my few special weapons, only to have the enemy double back immediately and pass right through them.

    Sound is good. That's about the only thing that is, however. My graphics card is currently experiencing overheating issues, this game did not give me any problems. Why? Well, the game's not very pretty. It isn't very ugly, but it's not pretty. For some people who play action games on the PC, this matters. For me, I prefer the narratives and gameplay, gameplay we've covered. Well, the narrative. The narrative isn't bad. It isn't good. It's forgettable, which is arguably worse. Many missions I just tuned out the scripted voices of my 'co-pilot's. Some aspects are so cliche they made me cringe - low grade machismo underscored with cold war era racism and predictable twists. You get given control of your characters head in most areas, so you can look around, during some of the more cinematic moments but nothing more. It doesn't impact the game in any way and as pretty much everything is taking place in grey military bases, there isn't a lot to see to begin with.

    I experienced an occasional crash to desktop, but the game is pretty good at returning you to your last checkpoint. I feel like this has been a waste of a couple days, and I did not pay money for the product. I would not recommend anybody else do so. If you do, play it on easy, because you really don't want to be playing this game for its aerial combat.    … Expand
  9. havingar
    Jul 26, 2014
    3
    not a good ace combat game this game was the end of good a good game that was alot of fun. the problem is this ace combat changes up the fighting and camra so much that it just ruined the game for me not to mention the story isnt the best it could be alot better seeing the past storyline. the combat in this game changed so much since ace combat 6. it changed into a more arcade type gamenot a good ace combat game this game was the end of good a good game that was alot of fun. the problem is this ace combat changes up the fighting and camra so much that it just ruined the game for me not to mention the story isnt the best it could be alot better seeing the past storyline. the combat in this game changed so much since ace combat 6. it changed into a more arcade type game were it just felt like point and shoot. in ace combat 6 the combat came down to skill,knowing your aircraft and would often have you replaying partss you messed up on or felt need work, it just felt like after completing the story you were fufilled with a sense of skill. the story in ace combat 6 speaks alot more were as in this ace combat its just action now story later. if you can buy ace combat 6 dont waste money on this even if its on sale its really not worth it… Expand
  10. iansarmy1
    Jul 24, 2014
    1
    I'm usually not this harsh on most games but it is not even worth paying 5 bucks for this game in the current Steam Sale. It's a step backwards for the Ace Combat franchise in every possible way. The flight controls have been atrociously dumbed down and every plane has the same cartoonish feel. The combat system constantly forces you into annoying pre-scripted quick time sequences. TheI'm usually not this harsh on most games but it is not even worth paying 5 bucks for this game in the current Steam Sale. It's a step backwards for the Ace Combat franchise in every possible way. The flight controls have been atrociously dumbed down and every plane has the same cartoonish feel. The combat system constantly forces you into annoying pre-scripted quick time sequences. The story boils down to cliche American bros fighting evil Russian terrorists who somehow have a super advanced air force. Oh and the graphics are horrible. It would be like Activison trying to make "Call of Duty with Planes" and farming out the development to the most incompetent studio they could find.… Expand
  11. BellinoP
    Jul 24, 2014
    0
    We are PCers either great simulations or nothing. keep your Xbox, PlayStation arcade games where they belong, on consoles........Long live IL-2 type games, now that's a game
  12. gaming_delight
    Jul 21, 2014
    2
    I have been a long time fan of this series, but any true AC fan should avoid this game. The music is great as always. Graphics are good, but that isn't a qualifier of a good game. The main reasoning behind this awfulness is the implementation of a new combat system, DFM, or dog fight mode. Sounds cool right? Ace Combat has been around for a long time, they must know what they are doing!I have been a long time fan of this series, but any true AC fan should avoid this game. The music is great as always. Graphics are good, but that isn't a qualifier of a good game. The main reasoning behind this awfulness is the implementation of a new combat system, DFM, or dog fight mode. Sounds cool right? Ace Combat has been around for a long time, they must know what they are doing! Wrong.

    DFM takes control away from you. In the game, there are 'normal' enemies, and than there are 'leader', otherwise known as 'aces' in all the other games. The tough guys that took a bit more maneuvering and skill to take down in all the other games. In this game, the only way to defeat these guys is to enter DFM. Once you get close enough to them, you press a button, and your plane automatically starts tailing them. You have some control; your speed and limited movement. Just enough for you have to aim, but not enough to feel like you are flying. The only purpose for this is to make it look a bit flashier, but it wears off really quickly. Its poorly executed mechanics to excite children and CoD jocks. (which is probably the only reason there are some good reviews of this game)

    The enemy also has the opportunity to initiate DFM with you as well. Once again, it misses the mark. It consists of speeding up, slowing down, and hitting a button.

    The skill of this game has been replaced by cheap parlor tricks to make it look flashy. They dropped the focus on a great story, and put their efforts into changing the game so its not even recognizable a Ace Combat game. They changed the way the game is played after multiple titles, so its now just a shell of its former self that is riding on the coat tails of the franchise name. Its not the Ace Combat you grew to love. Its a cheap air combat simulator that stole the name of a great series.    … Expand
  13. DrBlackheart
    Jul 3, 2014
    0
    Ace Combat in name only.

    Not set in the AC universe - instead you play as variety of American pilots and consequently character development suffers.

    But worst of all 'Dogfight Mode' reduces A-A combat to a pathetic QTE.

    Utterly awful.
  14. Flash_Over
    Oct 19, 2013
    3
    Worst Ace Combat game I have ever played. I will first start by saying the positive and that this game is pretty solid and bug free, runs well, even for a console port. However my gripe is with the god awful gameplay. This whole game is on rails. Not sure how you can manage to put a aircraft game on rails, but they do. First off the mission maps are small (The ones where you can actuallyWorst Ace Combat game I have ever played. I will first start by saying the positive and that this game is pretty solid and bug free, runs well, even for a console port. However my gripe is with the god awful gameplay. This whole game is on rails. Not sure how you can manage to put a aircraft game on rails, but they do. First off the mission maps are small (The ones where you can actually fly around.) I am not expecting a flight Sim, this is Ace Combat, but basic flight characteristic should be present as in other Ace Combats. 2 speeds, Stall and afterburners. Oh you think you can fly and dog fighting using your own tactics like in other ace combats??? LOL No. Everything forces you to use this stupid (DFM) mode. Which is pretty much a roller coast auto pilot, where your airplane pulls UFO maneuvers as you try to try to shoot down the enemy... and your pretty much not even flying the plane. So you can fly through Hollywood explosions... Plus for some reason some targets dont even die and 8 direct hits unless you enter Rollercoaster on rails Mode. So stupid! Think you can fly a stealth aircraft and fly through radar undetected? lol... According to Ace Combat you need to fly at low altitude through a radar screen.... Why? I have a B-2 that can fly through it at high altitude. In fact, you would be more vulnerable to be detected from your engines being heard from that low... I dont mind Arcade aircraft games, but that DFM Rollercoaster-cant-kill-anything-without-using-it mode is by far the worst idea to be used in a aircraft game!… Expand
  15. Lancestrike
    Oct 17, 2013
    4
    Okay, this sham of a game is not worthy of an Ace combat title, it has pulled so far away from what it was to become a "modern" FFPS (Flight FPS). The gameplay is cringe-worthy, your actual skill means very little in a dogfight and as a result i lost interest very quickly. I played with controller and that worked as good as one can hope. But Pulling instant 180's and trying to maneuver aOkay, this sham of a game is not worthy of an Ace combat title, it has pulled so far away from what it was to become a "modern" FFPS (Flight FPS). The gameplay is cringe-worthy, your actual skill means very little in a dogfight and as a result i lost interest very quickly. I played with controller and that worked as good as one can hope. But Pulling instant 180's and trying to maneuver a circle over an enemy will never be a flight simulator. I can't say as a game it is bad per se but if you were expecting a return and improvement of the games previous look elsewhere, this is a CoD fan-base grab and the lack of depth skill and story reflects that.… Expand
  16. t3hk0d3
    Oct 15, 2013
    2
    I'd say very poor implemented console port.
    Graphics struck in 2008, controls....forgot about controls, plot is look's like composed out of mental clinic patients graphomany attempts. Require Windows Live.

    I love Ace Combat series on PS3 and PSP, but that is insult for PC gamers.
  17. RelicRuined
    Aug 6, 2013
    1
    this is just real garbage. I was excited about this game after watcihng some videos. But man, this is not a real plane game. It is ONRAIL SCRIPTED IMBA SUPER ARCADE CASUAL CRAP. What a deception. $7 wasted.
  18. Frast2013X
    Aug 2, 2013
    4
    Kombinacje pomysłów zawsze nie wychodzą na dobre. Namco miesza samoloty, helikoptery, AC 130 i zwykłe strzelanie, tak aby wyszła z tego papka, za przeproszeniem, gówna. Słaba grafika, niedopracowana, nudna, i trudna.Tak można opisać 3/4 gry, co więc jest w tej 1/4? Samolot. Sterowanie samolotem, uniki, to jest coś co chciałbym widzieć przez całą tą grę. Twórcy muszą jak zawsze jednakKombinacje pomysłów zawsze nie wychodzą na dobre. Namco miesza samoloty, helikoptery, AC 130 i zwykłe strzelanie, tak aby wyszła z tego papka, za przeproszeniem, gówna. Słaba grafika, niedopracowana, nudna, i trudna.Tak można opisać 3/4 gry, co więc jest w tej 1/4? Samolot. Sterowanie samolotem, uniki, to jest coś co chciałbym widzieć przez całą tą grę. Twórcy muszą jak zawsze jednak pokombinować i zrobić coś co wychodzi innym twórcom znacznie lepiej w innych samodzielnych grach. Muszę przyznać że to jedna z najnudniejszych gier w jakie grałem. Proszę Namco, następnym razem wpakujcie tylko elementy z samolotami. Moja ocena 4/10… Expand
  19. fedediss
    Jun 18, 2013
    1
    I'm flying a jet or i'm driving a boat after a mix of drugs? I won't finish the game, it makes me too disappointed, frustrated... I know the game is not a simulator, but there's a limit... Not funny at all, not like old Ace games, I won't write all problems, there are a lot of review about them! Simply don't buy this game...
    Ps. I'm talking to you Microsoft, to you and your "Games for    I'm flying a jet or i'm driving a boat after a mix of drugs? I won't finish the game, it makes me too disappointed, frustrated... I know the game is not a simulator, but there's a limit... Not funny at all, not like old Ace games, I won't write all problems, there are a lot of review about them! Simply don't buy this game...
    Ps. I'm talking to you Microsoft, to you and your "Games for Windows Live": Get the hell out of my games!!!    … Expand
  20. asy8492
    Mar 25, 2013
    1
    A total disgrace to the entire Ace Combat series. Especially the DRM mode. I have no idea why they decided to put on that stuff. Plus the cut scenes of chase are absolutely linear and boring. Exciting in the first time but on the second time you go through the same chase cut scenes, it definitely bores me off. Ace Combat has always been known to me as a casual arcade air combat game whereA total disgrace to the entire Ace Combat series. Especially the DRM mode. I have no idea why they decided to put on that stuff. Plus the cut scenes of chase are absolutely linear and boring. Exciting in the first time but on the second time you go through the same chase cut scenes, it definitely bores me off. Ace Combat has always been known to me as a casual arcade air combat game where missiles can be fired off a distance at any styles or stunt but this new DRM feature, it certainly throws them off. I just can't seem to think how after I've gone all through the loops and stunts to shoot an enemy in DRM mode, the plane simply levels off perfectly flat as if there were no sense of logic at all. Totally ridiculous. And by the way, the story line sucks. I prefer to stick to the former story line of Ace Combat featuring the fictional continents. I find AC5's story line to be much better than this one. There are fewer missions in this game than previous one & again, it stresses me out having to use DRM all the time. That's the feature that threw me off this game. I gave a point for the graphics though. No doubt it's much better but the rest 9 points are lost due to game mechanics and story line.… Expand
  21. a9249
    Mar 23, 2013
    0
    Great to see an old and dearly loved franchise on the PC, though they did ruin it by incorporating ridiculous control schemes, and quick-time events. Ace combat is a fighter simulator.... stop trying to be everything else. It isn't working. I gave up halfway; the helicopter controls are unplayable on a joystick.
  22. OnlyOneWing
    Mar 11, 2013
    1
    I am a huge fan of the Ace Combat series. This installment was a step in the wrong direction. I am really disappointed by DFM. Seriously, what is the point? Dog fighting with machine guns like we are flying biplanes. Where is the fun in that? If I wanted to play a WW2 pilot game I would do that.
  23. Disliker21
    Mar 2, 2013
    2
    This game is an experiment gone horribly wrong. I wonder what the developers were thinking, did they think we, loyal Ace Combat fans will like these new nonsensical additions? DFM especially, the scripted dog fights takes no skill at all. Adding DFM is bad enough, the game makes it worse by forcing you to use it, if you don't, you can't complete missions. Enemies that I could have takenThis game is an experiment gone horribly wrong. I wonder what the developers were thinking, did they think we, loyal Ace Combat fans will like these new nonsensical additions? DFM especially, the scripted dog fights takes no skill at all. Adding DFM is bad enough, the game makes it worse by forcing you to use it, if you don't, you can't complete missions. Enemies that I could have taken down easily with missiles become immune to them, planes only susceptible to bullet damage, I say.… Expand
  24. Loucetios
    Feb 8, 2013
    0
    Terrible game.

    Probably one of the worst I have ever played. To start with the idea of DFM is terrible, it is just on rails lock them on and shoot. There is no skill to it. The flight model is a joke, the jets bend the laws of physics to their will a stupid amount. Missiles target you out of nowhere. The final mission is one jet shooting missiles backwards into you. Jets take a    Terrible game.

    Probably one of the worst I have ever played. To start with the idea of DFM is terrible, it is just on rails lock them on and shoot. There is no skill to it.

    The flight model is a joke, the jets bend the laws of physics to their will a stupid amount. Missiles target you out of nowhere. The final mission is one jet shooting missiles backwards into you. Jets take a stupid amount of missiles to takes down, and it must all be done in DFM mode.

    The story is me it's awful. Here's the entire storyline "YOU THE MAN NOW" followed by some russian chirping in "hue hue hue vodka".

    If you consider this an anywhere near reflection of real flying just please kill yourself now and do the rest of the human race a favour, the game is a joke. Honestly it's not even worth the time to play it, I wouldn't even bother pirating it.

    If you're willing to put aside it's flaws and just have fun, I doubt you will have even that. Honestly I would prefer my time back as opposed to playing this game. It will frustrate you to incredible heights as missiles from not existant enemies shoot you down for not using DFM. I have seen enemy planes literally warp in behind me, and ground units not appearing on the map, even though there's a green target reticle.

    Ignore the marketers and other members of the team giving it 10s and 9s. The game is a joke, paying money for it would be even more laughable    … Expand
  25. MadclownJack
    Feb 1, 2013
    4
    It irks me that i have to write such an unfavorable review to one of my favorite childhood games. I really wanted to like it and i did at first. But then came the "additions". Dogfights, Helicopters, loud and extremely annoying, somewhat-story-related nagging of the game NPC. Why? I mean, i REALLY don't get it, why would someone want to take a fan favored franchise, a guaranteed home-run,It irks me that i have to write such an unfavorable review to one of my favorite childhood games. I really wanted to like it and i did at first. But then came the "additions". Dogfights, Helicopters, loud and extremely annoying, somewhat-story-related nagging of the game NPC. Why? I mean, i REALLY don't get it, why would someone want to take a fan favored franchise, a guaranteed home-run, and turn it into what looks like a "Call of Duty Nightmare", only to cater to a mass of brain-damaged Top Gun aficionados? Whoever made this thing, should really sit down and think about what they've done. It's a travesty. I'm utterly disappointed by this development.… Expand
  26. Necramonium
    Jan 29, 2013
    4
    This game is a horrible mess from the start, you will be messing around with the controls constantly, i have been playing the game for 7 hours now, and still i can't get the hang of it, and this is not even the worst of the game, enemy a.i will only attack you in the sky, they have unlimited flares while you only get like 4 or 5, and your friendly a.i is useless as well, during manyThis game is a horrible mess from the start, you will be messing around with the controls constantly, i have been playing the game for 7 hours now, and still i can't get the hang of it, and this is not even the worst of the game, enemy a.i will only attack you in the sky, they have unlimited flares while you only get like 4 or 5, and your friendly a.i is useless as well, during many missions you need to take out a transport plane or a missile, your teammates state every time they will keep the fighters off your back, NOT. You will be bombarded with missiles and bullets until you evade the enemy, meaning you will lose track of your target and it's game over.

    And the worst thing about the game is, leaders of enemy squads cant be taken out in the old Ace Combat style, now you have to use a stupid dog fight mode. Another series ruined because people want more arcade hollywood action in their game.    … Expand
  27. IcarusHigh
    Jan 26, 2013
    2
    Having played all Ace Combat games for PSX and PS2 (but skipping PS3) on every difficulty, Ace Combat's migration to PC was too good to miss, right? Wish I hadn't bothered. The inclusion of other vehicles such as bombers and helicopters was a good idea, but poorly executed. Controls are clunky at best, imprecise and frustrating. Meanwhile air combat has taken giant leaps backwards, withHaving played all Ace Combat games for PSX and PS2 (but skipping PS3) on every difficulty, Ace Combat's migration to PC was too good to miss, right? Wish I hadn't bothered. The inclusion of other vehicles such as bombers and helicopters was a good idea, but poorly executed. Controls are clunky at best, imprecise and frustrating. Meanwhile air combat has taken giant leaps backwards, with semi quick-time events apparently passing as 'dogfights'. The old thrill of chasing and gunning down enemies has been cast aside. 50% of your enemies possess near infinite supplies of flares to render missiles useless, forcing you into 'DFM' quick-time events along pre-scripted flight paths, automatically flown while you aim an awkward reticule to gun and shoot your enemy. Refusal to conform to this 'DFM' mode is punished by almost every enemy in the sky locking on you with DFM themselves in what is only describable as 'exaggerated' flight maneuvers, in which all previous plane handling mechanics are now cast aside. Enemies miraculously remain locked 200m from your tail, no matter what, unless you conform once more to the rather awkward 'counter-maneuver' system, as missiles chase you in a similar fashion. I could go on but I think the impression comes across. Worth buying? For anyone who's ever enjoyed a true Ace Combat game - no. Not unless you want to see a good example of what NOT to include in an Ace Combat game.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best PC Game of 2013
60
#60 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Feb 21, 2013
    85
    A title you definitely didn't expect to see on PC, Ace Combat looks like a flight sim and plays like the vehicular sections of Call of Duty. It's a fun game while it lasts. The linear missions mean that the game holds no replay-value whatsoever. [Feb 2013]
  2. Everyeye.it
    Feb 20, 2013
    75
    Ace Combat Assault Horizon is one of the best air combat games on the PC platform. If you can go beyond the limits of gameplay (due to the entire genre) then consider buying.
    Read full review
  3. GameStar
    Feb 15, 2013
    70
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »