Ace Combat Infinity

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 4 out of 14
  1. PlayStation Universe
    Jun 8, 2014
    85
    A sequel that does the franchise proud. Being free-to-play means no-one has a reason not to try it out. Established fans will have incentive to keep playing their PS3 during the PS4 generation, while rookies have a great platform to get their feet wet in the series.
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 16, 2014
    75
    Mechanically, a step up from Assault Horizon, but has barebones solo and is F2P. A nice substitute while we wait for a PS4 Ace Combat. [August 2014, p76]
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  3. GamingTrend
    Jun 24, 2014
    75
    As a free game this is definitely worth taking for a spin, but as monetary investment this title still needs to find its wings.
  5. Vandal
    Jun 5, 2014
    75
    It still needs content to match the main episodes of the series, but still it's a good experience and doesn't need any purchases if you're patient enough.
  6. Everyeye.it
    Jun 27, 2014
    70
    This time around servers seem stable, and the free to play formula is a little more balanced. Using your wallet will still grant you bonuses, but at least the gameplay is true to the core saga.
  7. IGN Italia
    Jun 17, 2014
    69
    A much gamer-friendly than what we saw in other free to play titles from Namco Bandai, but still a quite limited game, unless you're seriously into co-op.
  8. games(TM)
    Jul 19, 2014
    60
    It's a little dull - particularly without PvP - but shouting "danger zone" at the top of your lungs will no doubt alleviate some of the mundanity. [Issue#150, p.116]
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  9. GameSpot
    Jun 27, 2014
    60
    The soaring bird that has long served as the metaphor for the Ace Combat pilot becomes a vulture fighting over highway carrion, looping away incautiously when the odd car passes a little too close, before returning again for a final few scraps of flesh.
  10. Multiplayer.it
    Jun 6, 2014
    60
    This is only a strange and not-so-good experiment made by Namco Bandai to try the free-to-play model.
  11. Push Square
    Jun 4, 2014
    50
    It’s downright frustrating, then, that the title in its present state has so much potential, but asks for gamers to invest their time and money on the basis of what it could be.
  12. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Aug 4, 2014
    40
    In a game build around multiplayer, it's baffling that the developer would undermine any gains made through Infinity being freely available by making it so difficult to play once you have it. [Aug 2014, p.91]
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  13. Edge Magazine
    Jul 16, 2014
    40
    Infinity is extremely limited, both in terms of what little content it offers and your ability to access it. [Aug 2014, p.119]
  14. Eurogamer
    Jul 2, 2014
    40
    More will follow, but despite what its name might suggest, Infinity is extremely limited, both in terms of what little content it offers and your ability to access it.
  15. Games Master UK
    Jul 29, 2014
    27
    The rotting corpse floating in this flight sim's pool is its free-to-play mechanic. [Sept 2014, p.80]
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Awards & Rankings

61
#61 Best PS3 Game of 2014
11
#11 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
4
#4 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 69
  3. Negative: 25 out of 69
  1. Bellicose
    Jul 22, 2014
    1
    I love Ace Combat. So much. But this...

    This is why free-to-play is bad for the customer. Picture this: You sit down to play the    I love Ace Combat. So much. But this...

    This is why free-to-play is bad for the customer.

    Picture this: You sit down to play the game, and fifteen minutes later (three five-minute missions), the game informs you that you're out of fuel. You can either wait *four hours* before you can fly *one* more mission or you can buy more fuel at *one dollar per unit of fuel*. So either 4h for 5m, or $1 for 5m. Doesn't matter which you pick, that adds up fast.

    And you can't wait until Saturday and binge, because you can only hold three units of supplied fuel.

    Fuel's not the only barrier to entry, either. The lobby system isn't automated, which means that even once you manage to get into a full room, the lobby is in limbo because it let someone who doesn't have fuel (and thus can't play) join. If they don't realize this on their own and leave, you have to wait out a countdown before it kicks them out. But even if everybody has fuel, the game will sit at the lobby screen forever unless the host sets their status as 'ready'. Even if the other seven players are all ready, the game will not begin until the host (who may have walked away) says it's okay.

    So you've finally spent either time or money just for the privilege of playing the game, and patience has seen you through the lobby system. Welcome to Ace Combat! All four missions of it. Seriously. There is a tiny bit of variety, as each mission has a randomized "emergency" objective halfway through, but even those are limited, and you'll have seen every combination distressingly quickly. I would almost expect more content in a demo. Seriously. Four missions.

    Oh, but there's a campaign mode with more missions! That you still have to use fuel for. That are actually just tutorials. That's right, you have to pay or wait to play the tutorial.

    But at least it's not pay-to-win, right? Well...

    True, you can't just buy better planes. BUT, there exist planes that they release as "special drops", and you are far, far more likely to receive them if you're playing more than three missions every twelve hours. Which means you're far, far more likely to receive them if you're buying fuel. So you can basically buy these special planes. And these special planes? Indisputably superior to even the end-game content.

    I love Ace Combat, but I would never recommend this entry.    … Full Review »
  2. Blaze_Viper
    Jun 5, 2014
    3
    With too few levels and days of grinding just to unlock a few parts in single player and fuel taking hours to restore, this game is anWith too few levels and days of grinding just to unlock a few parts in single player and fuel taking hours to restore, this game is an absolute insult the the Ace Combat genre. The same levels and objectives online quickly get boring and if you sit down and want to play the campaign for an extended amount of time, you'll find yourself rapidly running out of fuel. This isn't okay Namco Bandai.… Full Review »
  3. black_devil22
    Jun 16, 2014
    9
    It's free, for the most part. You can get really far without paying a dime if you want. But a quick tip, buy the Unlimited Campaign PlayIt's free, for the most part. You can get really far without paying a dime if you want. But a quick tip, buy the Unlimited Campaign Play ($19.99) so you don't have to pay in-game credits to play the single player online campaign. Then play through Mission 5 and you'll be rewarded with 20 free units of fuel. Do the challenges as well, great source for free fuel.

    Positives: The combat is superb. It had been a while since I had played an Ace Combat game, so I wasn't sure of what to expect. The graphics are pretty good to be on a last gen console (PS3). I love the aircraft tree, really gives you a sense of accomplishment once you unlock something. You get skins, equipment and special weapons.

    Negatives: Fuel System. Pretty much anywhere you look online, the same thing is repeated, the only negative is the fuel system. You get 1 unit of fuel every 4hrs, and can only get up to 3 supplied units of fuel (after 12hrs obviously). You can purchase additional units of "stocked" fuel, but the prices aren't very encouraging. I purchased the Rookie and Elite packs, which include a good bit of stocked fuel that you can use in online co-op missions.

    I would have suggested 5 units of supplied fuel every 2hrs. And I would have suggested making the item you purchase with real money be in-game credits that you could use towards upgrading your planes or special weapons or equipment. Some argue that this is a play-2-win model, but I personally think it's a much better model to utilize in a game like this than the one they currently have.

    All in all, it's a very fun game that I've come to really love. But I'm not sure if my wallet loves it. It's really an 8.5 rating for me, but leaning more towards the 9, so I gave it a 9 instead of the 8 since Metacritic won't let you do 8.5.    … Full Review »
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