Ace Combat: Joint Assault

Namco knows how to make fighter jets interesting, as is proven by Ace Combat: Joint Assault. Although it's marred by some slow parts in the story telling, the missions are diverse and there's enough multiplayer content to keep players (and their friends) busy for months to come.

Ace Combat: Joint Assault somewhat tries to bring the franchise up to date without being totally successful. New multiplayer features are interesting and add to the overall length of the game, on the other side gameplay is still the same and perhaps a bit too much simple and repetitive. Fans of the franchise will love the excellent visuals and wide range of missions, which make this installment a good start for new players and veterans alike.

Small issues do exist, such as the goofy storyline and a not-so-useful copilot, but Assault makes an admirable outing for anyone who's ever sought to become Top Gun's Maverick. [Oct 2010, p.79]

Intense, varied, exciting... Ace Combat: Joint Assault gives us the most realistic story in the series, a cooperative campaign against terrorism and a good number of multiplayer modes. If you are a series fan, then... Try it out!

There's more than enough going on in single-player to make it worth a bash. Just don't expect anything to surprise you. [Issue#194, p.98]

There is no need for checking engine lights or other technical difficulties. Just hop on the jet and let the action roll.

The story mode is a little bit repetitious and boring, but the multiplayer excellent and seriously enjoyable.

If you are a seasoned Ace Combat player you'll recognise some things that have been reused from previous games. But the premise is clear: this is a game oriented to cooperative multiplayer.

While I do think the mission structure can be a bit dull, I found myself pretty entertained to the end. The inclusion of co-op is a huge plus for me though, as with most games I found everything here to be better when I knew there was another person playing through the same events with me.

Ace Combat: Joint Assault is great if you are playing with friends either competitively or cooperatively, but if you choose to go solo you will likely grow tired of the trite mission structure far too quickly.

Catchy flies but none of them good enough to justify to stupidity of the campaing mode. Nice graphics, great sound, quite impressive gameplay style but bassically's more of the same that we learned on Ace Combat X. Give it a try if you're a die-hard of the series. It could be interesting for those who're willing to have some multiplayer fun.

Great cooperative play and solid action save the latest Ace Combat game from its lackluster campaign.

There's only so much you can do with a semi-realistic jet fighter game, but that doesn't stop us from getting a sense of deja vu. [Issue#209, p.96]

This game has nice gameplay and the game will take the player to different parts of the world. There is nothing really perfect about the game and nothing really bad. It's a nice part in the franchise and a nice PlayStation Portable game, but that's everything said.

Ace Combat: Joint Assault is a fun ride and it was great to finally play a classic Ace Combat game, even if it wasn't totally next-gen.

Joint Assault isn't the worst Ace Combat game we've seen, but the ambition has waned a little bit.

The latest installment in the Ace Combat series has everything we have come expect from it. Plus co-op. Ace Combat: Joint Assault does feel somewhat dated, but is overall a nice game in a genre that isn't to crowded on the PSP.

This is a perfectly acceptable game, but it's also mostly boring and safe. We all know that the game of life boils down to "no risk, no reward," so this mediocre game gets a mediocre score.

Joint Assault is decent fun if you can get past its yawn-worthy elements.

Competent but doesn't rectify the criticisms of Ace Combat X. [Oct 2010, p.96]

Ace Combat: Joint Assault is really two games: a dull, going-through-the-paces solo experience and a clever multiplayer approach to the handheld flying niche.

To fans of the series of flight combat, this is perfectly acceptable (and expected). Other might have wanted a game that bothered to fly somewhere, anywhere, they hadn't already been.

Ace Combat: Joint Assault isn't necessarily a bad game. It's mostly a game that is limited by the hardware, the weak plot and repetitive missions. Its only saving grace is the strong multiplayer.

Had Joint Assault been released on PS3, 360 or even PS2 with all these features intact, it would have been a good, if derivative game. On PSP, it's a good game marred by control problems and real world visuals that are limited by the hardware.

Ace Combat Joint Assault is too stingy and too clumsy on certain aspects to inspire us more than that.

Geographically speaking this is set in the real world but apart from the co-op options this still suffers the same delusions and deficiencies of previous Ace Combats.

Murky, muted visuals and a lack of ground detail let the game's presentation down, but the satisfying combat and customisation - especially when you unlock the Tune menu, which lets you add custom parts to your aircraft - do their best to hold your attention despite the frequently repeating missions. [Oct 2010, p.99]

For fans of the genre, Joint Assault isn't going very far in any aspect. But its combat remains nice, even though its playability is a little slow at first, since it takes some time for it to become more dynamic. Its production values are average, similar to the previous 2006 PSP episode (Skies of Deception), but its missions clearly lack ambition or surprises, much like its politico-economic fictional backdrop. To sum it up, the flight plan lacks any noticeable turbulence to spice it up, but it's still nice, especially when playing coop or competitive with and against friends.