Ace Combat: Joint Assault

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.