Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

 PlayStation 3
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 101 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 101
  3. Negative: 22 out of 101
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  1. SlyCooperFan1
    Aug 12, 2013
    7
    Quick Description: This is a really good flight sim/arcade game. It's just not Ace Combat, and doesn't deserve to have it in its title.

    Assault Horizon is not nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be. Unlike games like H.A.W.X., there is an actual (if half-assed) story present in Assault Horizon. Its plot twists may be predictable at times, but I liked being able to see and hear    Quick Description: This is a really good flight sim/arcade game. It's just not Ace Combat, and doesn't deserve to have it in its title.

    Assault Horizon is not nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be. Unlike games like H.A.W.X., there is an actual (if half-assed) story present in Assault Horizon. Its plot twists may be predictable at times, but I liked being able to see and hear the characters interact with each other. Bishop having a personal nemesis in Markov, who taunts you periodically, also gives it an extra push above the other "America vs. Russian rebels" games.

    The gameplay is solid. It could be better, but it's solid as it is. Dogfight Mode, consistently referred to as what killed this game, is NOT nearly as bad as others claim it to be. There are a few instances where it's required, but the majority of the game does not require DFM. When it IS used, it gives a cutscene feel to your dogfight with enemy planes, even though, as many seem to claim otherwise, it is NOT an on-rails mechanic. I appreciated DFM for making the dogfights more intense and fast-paced. ASM, the ground attack version of DFM, was fairly interesting as it wasn't on-rails either, so you could get severely damaged if you weren't paying attention. Otherwise, the controls (once switching them to Original in the settings) were pretty good.

    Of course, the AC-130 mission and the helicopter missions could have been and should have been removed from the game. Not that they were bad, it's just that their design leads to their demise no matter what could have been done. They were annoying, drawn-out missions that I will never replay if I don't have to.

    Music was top-notch. No doubt about it.

    All in all, Assault Horizon is an escape from the series. It's not Ace Combat 7, and it does not sit with the greats. But it is a fairly well-balanced game with a few nitpicks here and there. Worth it if you can find it less than $30. Give it a try.    … Expand
  2. USG
    Nov 18, 2011
    5
    Overall, this game is just bearable and nothing more. The developers ruined the series' foundations while making its inspiration too obvious. A mediocre inspiration does not result in an outstanding rebirth. Some nice features are preserved from older Ace Combat games, but most other features that resemble a horribly average first-person shooter to ruin its value and are extremelyOverall, this game is just bearable and nothing more. The developers ruined the series' foundations while making its inspiration too obvious. A mediocre inspiration does not result in an outstanding rebirth. Some nice features are preserved from older Ace Combat games, but most other features that resemble a horribly average first-person shooter to ruin its value and are extremely illogical and unrealistic. Whenever the "Mission Completed" screen pops up, a great amount of disappointment is felt in retrospect to Namco's previous titles. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has many flaws that has been introduced in the new title.

    The story is extremely forgettable, with stereotypical characters that are given a little thought and lack any depth. Missions are just slammed together in order with no pause. This is complemented by some of the worst songs ever composed for an Ace Combat title which feel unfitting at times whose only goal is to resemble, possibly, the culture of the area the player is flying over but adds nothing to the battle. Some music is just noise. Even Namco has dropped the ball on such staples as radio chatter, with nothing interesting going on and voices are often drowned out on default settings throughout the story.

    The gameplay itself is also broken. The CRA mode and physics are painfully unrealistic. Anything that is airworthy can backflip, go figure. Forget about taking damage too, feel free to crash into the ground and let the plane's regenerative health do the job. The player does not need to worry about purchasing aircraft, they're presented with a selection with unlocked aircraft. Nobody can enjoy the more rewarding system of purchasing aircraft and using any type of aircraft the player desires for any mission. Not even briefings are present anymore, and the only scripted two scripted briefings or so are horribly uninteresting. Only a few times is the player allowed to land, which are during heavily-scripted sequences under stupid circumstances.

    Helicopter missions are completely mediocre and unrealistic and there's nothing special at all with the gunner missions that do not separate Assault Horizon from the rest of the crowd.

    In Assault Horizon, the player is bombarded with constant visual effects. They become irritating, distracting, and disorientating very quickly and also break the pace of the game worse than CRA mode. Once the animation ends, the player must re-orientate and wonder the point of the bells and whistles of the game.

    One very major negative aspect of the game is the inconsistencies in difficulty during story mode. Many sections are are breeze, but then the player smacks a section that is nearly impossible to complete, let alone achieve a high rank on. The missions do not become progressively harder, either.

    About all that has been an improvement are the graphics which is expected. The multiplayer does not stand out in particular itself, although it has been improved from Ace Combat 6. Overall, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is not an enjoyable game and a failure in retrospect to many previous titles. Namco has also failed at marketing it towards western audiences.    … Expand
  3. TotalBiscuit
    Oct 15, 2011
    5
    The helicopter missions are a disaster and completely ruin the game as far as I'm concerned. The last thing you want to be doing in an Ace Combat game is trying to control a clunky helicopter against tiny ground targets in missions that completely outstay their welcome. Worst still, there are turret sections where you are a door gunner. What place does that have in an Ace Combat title?The helicopter missions are a disaster and completely ruin the game as far as I'm concerned. The last thing you want to be doing in an Ace Combat game is trying to control a clunky helicopter against tiny ground targets in missions that completely outstay their welcome. Worst still, there are turret sections where you are a door gunner. What place does that have in an Ace Combat title?

    The actual air-to-air combat is as great as ever, arguably better, the DFM system is excellent and keeps the adrenaline going but I'm sorry, I can't play another one of those awful helicopter missions and don't want to proceed any further in the campaign as a result.    … Expand
  4. delriego
    Jan 11, 2013
    7
    Ace combat 6 was the first game of the series I played, and I loved it, the story, the pacing and the gameplay, the only thing I didn't like was the made up world "Gracemeria" I hated that.

    So this time around I was eager to play it because it was set in the real world, but it took one step forward and two steps back. The story is crap, you just don't care about the characters and the    Ace combat 6 was the first game of the series I played, and I loved it, the story, the pacing and the gameplay, the only thing I didn't like was the made up world "Gracemeria" I hated that.

    So this time around I was eager to play it because it was set in the real world, but it took one step forward and two steps back. The story is crap, you just don't care about the characters and the gameplay is super dumbed down, I was hoping for an OMG mission but there isn't,the chopper missions are pretty good but there are only two or three of them and they are too long.    … Expand
  5. Syriamn
    Mar 18, 2013
    5
    Read the reviews and still didn't care about them and bought it disregarding all of them. Why? I love dogfight games. Since the arcades that this was my favourite kind of game. It took me two missions to put this one aside. One word: Repetitive. I mean to exhaustion... The game looks a sounds good but...
  6. 25Geckos
    Sep 7, 2013
    7
    Being new to the series, i didn't know what to expect, was I happy with result? Yes, but not blown away. Although flying is something I love, I find it hard to find any flight games that really stand out. Assault Horizon features nice graphics, fun and slightly challenging gameplay, and a variety of vehicles to fly. As well as flying the player can gun from such things as an ac130,Being new to the series, i didn't know what to expect, was I happy with result? Yes, but not blown away. Although flying is something I love, I find it hard to find any flight games that really stand out. Assault Horizon features nice graphics, fun and slightly challenging gameplay, and a variety of vehicles to fly. As well as flying the player can gun from such things as an ac130, however by now many games have used the plane and it's not quite as fun as it used to be. Story wise it's nothing spectacular, featuring respectable but not overly likeable.

    Overall a fun game that maintains challenge but doesn't stand out in the crowd.

    Good, not great.    … Expand
  7. SIPPIO
    Dec 3, 2013
    6
    -Honest review from a regular joe-
    --I did-NOT like this me!
    -Luckily I rented it, but I forced myself to go 1 full hour with surround sound and full attention span. --The controls and sound and graphics all combined for a stale experience. I heard it gets good after the 1st hour,,but I also heard it gets repetitive and boring. I can only attest to it being MEH & BLAH. It is a quality    -Honest review from a regular joe-
    --I did-NOT like this me!
    -Luckily I rented it, but I forced myself to go 1 full hour with surround sound and full attention span.
    --The controls and sound and graphics all combined for a stale experience. I heard it gets good after the 1st hour,,but I also heard it gets repetitive and boring. I can only attest to it being MEH & BLAH. It is a quality produced game. a finished product. I didn't see any glitches or etc, andf I think this is why it scores somewhat high. I even gave it a 6 cause I don't believe in unrealistic scores. lame!
    --I don't think anyone other then someone invested in this game would view it much differently then me. I went into it patient and had it on my gamefly list for months. so I was excited to get it..
    ---I want a flying game badly.,
    -I am downloading the ps3 demo for -
    -Bttlefield 1943-ps3
    =dogfight 1942
    -I bought Blazing Angels 2 but haven't sparked it yet
    -but the one that looks exciting is "AFTERBURNER CLIMAX" but I admit it looks very VERY ARCAD'ey..
    -I added these in case someone is searching for that awesome flying game like me..    … Expand
  8. Ishi123
    Oct 30, 2016
    7
    A controversial title, for sure. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is not nearly as bad as people may claim. What it is, is decent. Average. It's not Ace Combat 7, but it's a fun and adrenaline-fueled spinoff that certainly does have its charm.

    Set in the real world, the story can't help but be painfully predictable. Oh, look, a Russian coup d'etat overthrew the government and are attacking    A controversial title, for sure. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is not nearly as bad as people may claim. What it is, is decent. Average. It's not Ace Combat 7, but it's a fun and adrenaline-fueled spinoff that certainly does have its charm.

    Set in the real world, the story can't help but be painfully predictable. Oh, look, a Russian coup d'etat overthrew the government and are attacking the United States, how original. The story, unlike previous titles, isn't at all substantial. It really might as well be playing through a Modern Warfrare title, only this time as an ace pilot in the fighter jets that sometimes give the player character on the ground air support.

    No, the story is not what we're here for. It's the gameplay we play Assault Horizon for. It's fast, aggressive and in your face. Introducing a new feature called DFM, the "Dogfight Mode". When you get behind an enemy aircraft, you are able to activate DFM to take you up close and into the action, tailing your enemy through the skies and gunning them down with your guns and missiles. As much as people say these are mere on-rails segments, you actually retain full control of your plane, and you are required to continue banking and staying on your enemy, otherwise you will lose DFM. Additionally, enemies are able to get you in DFM, forcing you to dodge their fire and break their lock, or you can slow yourself down and let them get closer so you can perform a counter maneuver, quickly flipping the tables and putting you behind your pursuer.

    The game is built around this mechanic, and it can often provide some pretty cool moments, though it gets boring when many enemies are downright required to be taken down with this mode. There are many scripted sequences that are used for cinematic effect, and these can sometimes get boring and stale, especially if you want to just rely on your guns and missiles, which, of course, are incredibly ineffective compared to previous games to provide incentive to use DFM, or more likely force you to use it. Another gameplay nitpick that really gets me as an Ace Combat fan is the fact that the camera is so damn close to the plane in third person. It completely eliminates your peripheral vision, preferring the cinematic effect over practical gameplay, which really irks me. The target lock camera is completely broken due to this. Holding down the lock on button in previous games provides an easy way to track a target you're locked onto, turning the camera to focus on the thing you're locked on to, putting it into easy view, but in Assault Horizon, all you get when you use it is a screen filled with plane, the thing blocking your view entirely and taking up all of the screen, making this vital tool completely worthless.

    The soundtrack of this game is, as with all other Ace Combat titles, amazing. All Ace Combat games have a certain unique feel with their music, with 4's orchestrated score and Zero's incorporation of Mexican strings, and the heavy metal and aggressive score of Assault Horizon fits in with the action perfectly.

    Assault Horizon is a great air combat game, but just keep in mind that it's not the Ace Combat that you know. It's a whole different animal that's testing out something new and interesting, and it's not a bad game for that. Honestly, with some refinement to the system, I wouldn't mind seeing another Assault Horizon with DFM, but with more freedom to play like previous Ace Combat titles, but reworking DFM as a more tactical strategy that feels like an ace move, rather than having it just be a gimmick.    … Expand
  9. elolugo
    Nov 11, 2021
    5
    Arcadey plane game. There's definitely an audience for this game. I like call of duty but this game didn't catch me

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best PS3 Game of 2011
52
#52 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
19
#19 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 6, 2012
    80
    In real-life, dog fighting is an elite, Darwinian art form. Here it's often the digital equivalent of school kids running in circles with paper planes, screeching "Nuh uh! I shot you!" [Dec 2011, p72]
  2. Play UK
    Nov 18, 2011
    78
    For about an hour Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will feel like the most exciting game you've ever played. [Issue#211, p.90]
  3. PSM3 Magazine UK
    Nov 13, 2011
    79
    Genuinely exhilarating dogfights. [Dec 2011, p.97]
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