Namco is at it again with the second Ace Combat, doubling down on the first entry in every way.



Straight out of the box, you know what you're getting with this game: sick guitar licks and a solid fighter jet simulator for the time. While the first Ace Combat (Air Combat) had atrocious graphics but fun gameplay, Ace Combat 2 has better graphics and better control of your plan for even more fun gameplay! You still are in charge of quashing a coup in some made up country but you get vastly upgraded pre-mission briefings, including a stellar overview video, and the iconic post-mission debrief that continues in the series after this. I will say the briefing guy is a little less cool than the first one, but he does a fine job. Actually the co-pilot is not as good either. When you get to the mission, you can see that the devs really upped their game, adding way more textures to the terrain (like waves in the ocean), improved fighter models and other improvements to the overall look of the game.

The gameplay itself is still the same: shoot some stuff, don't get shot. Honestly, that's all you need. The story is still just fighting some planes and things on the ground (though the penultimate mission is a fun twist). It's a no-nonsense entry in the series that makes improvements all around and still is a blast to play these days.

I also think "Ace Combat" is the better name.

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