Test: Ace Combat 7 (VR)

Almost a quarter of a century after the start of the series in 1995, Bandai Namco is launching its action flight simulation "Ace Combat" on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The Japanese have a lot to make up for and seem to have learned from the mistakes of the past, even picking up VR technology exclusively on the Sony console. Can the new adventure based on Unreal Engine 4 shine technically, playfully and perhaps even narratively? Find out the answer in our test.

Once launched on the first PlayStation, Bandai Namco and Project Aces invite lovers of arcade and action-packed flight simulations to battle it out above the clouds for the first time on the current generation of consoles in "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown". There you not only intervene in a bitter war between two opposing sides and engage in thrilling aerial duels with superior drones and enemy elite pilots. You also experience the conflict narratively in a special way that can only come from a developer studio from Japan. But why exactly can the long-standing game series actually celebrate its long-awaited revival with "Ace Combat 7", what makes the game good and what not so good? We went into battle for you on both consoles, including the PS4-exclusive VR mode, and tell you when you should get it - and when maybe not.

Back to Osea

While the last regular part of the series, "Ace Combat: Assault Horizon", was exceptionally set in real locations on Earth, "Skies Unknown" now takes you back to the fictional Earth world of Strangereal. To be more precise, you land on the continent of Osea, which already played a central role in "Ace Combat 5". In "Ace Combat 7" you fight on the side of the Osean Federation, which opposes the attack of the units of the Kingdom of Erusea. As expected, the plot, staged in the form of elaborate film sequences, has a lot of pathos as well as many typical elements of Japanese games.

Later, for example, an opponent of the Osean Federation appears on the battlefield who, probably not by chance, reminds us a little of the aged Solid Snake in the "Metal Gear" series. Despite his age, the elite pilot known as Mihaly is one of only a few people still behind the controls. The Kingdom of Erusea relies mainly on drones in battle, which is probably meant to somehow pick up on the discussion about the use of unmanned combat units that was triggered especially during the last Iraq war.

But the story is exciting in any case, even though (or perhaps because) the cutscenes show the action from a completely different perspective than that of the jet pilot called Trigger, into whose role you slip. At the centre of the story is young Avie, whose father lost his life as a fighter pilot in an earlier conflict between Osea and Erusea. After a misdemeanour, she ends up as a prisoner in an Osea prison and in the cutscenes provides insights into the political background of the war, which is once again flaring up, embedded in her personal story.

Although the plot itself is slightly harebrained, it still seems credible. This is also due to the fact that the developer Project Aces cleverly combines digitised video recordings with elements created on the computer. Without notes, we may not have remembered too many details in the end. But "Ace Combat" fans in particular should follow the cutscenes with interest, just as we did. If the plot doesn't interest you at all, that's no problem, because you can skip any action sequence and jump straight into the action.

Varied missions

You complete the missions in "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown" in the role of the pilot with the code name Trigger in a linear sequence. As in the predecessors, the missions, which last an average of 15 to 25 minutes, consist of several scripted phases. In the first phase, for example, you are attacked by enemy jets, all of which you have to shoot down within a certain time limit. In phase 2, for example, a rearguard in the form of bombers appears, which you have to neutralise before reaching the target location - optionally you can collect additional points by shooting down the jets that give the bombers escort. The time limit, which sometimes puts you under more or less pressure, sometimes also applies to shooting down a certain number of enemy units in the air or on the ground. There, you have to collect a minimum of points before the timer expires, whereby shooting down each type of enemy yields a different amount.

But you can expect far more than just normal aerial battles. In one mission, for example, you have to bring a so-called space elevator, which has fallen into enemy hands, back under your control. Before the attack on the defences on the ground begins on the lift itself, you must first wind your way through the areas not covered by the radar. Elsewhere you will have to destroy a number of ground stations. They are all located on hills above a dense cloud cover. However, you must not move too long above the veil of clouds, because unlike usual you cannot easily escape the missile fire by evasive manoeuvres or by firing decoys.

In another mission, you provide escort for an allied transport plane, take out missile towers on the ground and repel further attacks from the air. The first encounter with Mihaly, for example, is particularly exciting as you chase him through the middle of an area with high, sharp rocks. To make matters worse, the formations are partly covered in thick fog and surrounded by thunderclouds. If you are hit by lightning, which is unfortunately almost unavoidable, your missile warning function, your radar and also your target support are temporarily suspended. This provides additional excitement, but sometimes also leads to unnecessary problems in connection with other elements of the game mechanics.

A lot of skill, a lot of chance

Although the missions offer a lot of variety, it is often not only skill but also chance that plays a major role. The proven, arcade-like flight behaviour of the jets hardly changes in comparison to the predecessors. You can only influence a few details, whereby the change between the normal and the so-called expert variant has the greatest influence.

Simply put, the normal version prevents a sideways roll with the stick. However, this restriction makes it much easier for beginners to maintain control and not involuntarily lose the feeling of where up and down is. Irrespective of this, the randomness that determines success or failure arises primarily from the fluctuating AI. Sometimes it performs exaggeratedly skilful flight manoeuvres and thus escapes a hit. In other situations, you shoot one enemy after the other out of the sky, even if you fire a missile at them from unfavourable positions.

Since you start a mission with plenty of ammunition, you don't have to keep returning to the last checkpoint when the timer runs out. In missions in which you have to save allies from being shot down, however, the situation is different - more or less regardless of which of the three difficulty levels you choose at the beginning. This level primarily influences the damage you take. Nonsensically, you are not allowed to change the difficulty level during the campaign. However, the game's own unlocking and upgrading system provides a remedy.

Pimp My Jet

At the beginning of the campaign, you only have access to an F-16, which is equipped with a machine gun, air-to-air missiles and a type of special missile that you determine. However, with points earned in the missions, which you increase through particularly fast or effective fights, you unlock further aircraft, weapons and upgrades that can be universally applied to the jets.

Missiles for the F-18, for example, which cause a lot of damage to ships, are not absolutely necessary. But they can give you a big advantage in certain missions. The same applies to the passive upgrades, of which you can add up to eight to any fighter or multi-role fighter. You can use them to increase the damage or homing ability of your missiles. Others improve the accuracy of your on-board MG, increase the manoeuvrability of your aircraft or reduce the effects of flying through weather clouds as part of the new system in "Ace Combat 7". Weather and clouds do not only influence the flight behaviour and provoke a faster stall. Your cockpit roof can also temporarily ice up, which has a negative impact on your visibility, but also on your flight behaviour.

The upgrade system also gives "Ace Combat 7" an artificial touch, but since the point yield is sufficiently high and hardly leads to grinding at all, the motivation is very high. Here and there, one could imagine the order in which aircraft such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the Warthog, the F-35 or the Su-57, which has not yet been officially introduced to the Russian Air Force. But these are precisely the jets that everyone probably wants to fly in the end. Since each aircraft and each weapon has special characteristics and you are free to decide which one you want to fly, the replay value of the missions is also quite high - and there is also the incentive to improve your best result in another attempt.

Strong but thin: the VR mode

While the content of "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown" is largely identical on PC, Xbox One and PS4, PSVR owners can also enjoy the VR mode on the Sony console. The version that can only be played from the cockpit perspective (otherwise you can switch freely between the cockpit, outside perspective and front camera) shines with a fantastic feeling of being in the middle of the action. Like Maverick and Goose in the 80s film "Top Gun", we actually turn our heads in the cockpit to keep an eye on an enemy jet speeding past us. The immersive all-round view is also very effective even before the actual take-off. In mission 2, for example, our base is attacked. As we taxi to the runway, anti-aircraft tanks fire their salvos at the attackers. Only a few metres away from us, one of our bombers goes down in flames.

If the entire campaign were playable in VR on the PS4, we would probably give it a much higher rating - even though some of the missions are overly tricky. Unfortunately, the VR mode only includes three playable missions that will keep you busy for 60 to 90 minutes at best. There you will unlock a maximum of four different jets if you fulfil the secret requirements. Otherwise, there is only one free flight mode in each of the three areas and a flying foam mode in which you can observe aerobatic manoeuvres on an aircraft carrier from manually selectable positions. Despite the small scope, this is definitely a valuable bonus for PSVR owners. The bottom line, however, is that the high VR potential of "Ace Combat 7" is at best only touched here.

All unreal, or what?

With "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown", Bandai Namco is using the Unreal Engine for the first time in the series' history. Developer Project Aces may not be able to get everything out of the technical underpinnings of the creators of "Gears of War" or "Fortnite", but with the great explosions and weather effects in particular, it makes for an absolutely contemporary appearance of the series. Owners of a 4K television will not be able to enjoy native resolutions beyond 1080p on the PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. In addition, as in the predecessors, Project Aces clearly saves more than necessary on the quality of the environmental textures. However, as muddy as they may be in parts, they are ultimately of little consequence. Because what is in the central field of vision in the battles, i.e. the aeroplanes or the clouds, are well worth seeing. Even the dense sandstorms just above the earth's surface, on which we hunt for fleeing tankers in a mission, are visually above reproach.

There are no notable differences between the versions for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, neither graphically nor in terms of the absolutely flawless, always smooth performance. In VR mode on the PS4, as usual, you have to accept certain limitations. Unlike in some other PSVR top titles of the last few months, "Ace Combat 7" has stronger staircase effects and edge flicker, but not to an extent that would be detrimental to the increased immersion. Whether "Ace Combat 7" performs as well in multiplayer mode as it does in the campaign, with team deathmatch and a deathmatch variant called "Battle Royale" (for whatever reason), was something we were unable to clarify at the time of testing due to a lack of players (the servers were already working).