#ACE COMBAT X SKIES OF DECEPTION | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

saturniandragon · 6 months ago

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Adra's Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown In-Depth Review (contains spoilers)

(Caution: Extremely long read, please ask for snacks from Long Caster)

Let's start with a little background of me as a player. Before 7, my Ace Combat games were:

Ace Combat 2

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (EU and JP versions)

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception

Ace Combat: Joint Assault

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

With the exception of Assault Horizon and the EU version of AC3, I played all of them on emulators. Because I was too poor to afford anything. I haven't played AC6 because I haven't seen the reason to buy an X360 just to play 1 game, so I'm waiting for a fully developed X360 emulator that can run 6 flawlessly.

Yes I used to play AH. Quite a lot. Yes it was a decent enough game. Yes it's strayed ungodly far from the true Ace Combat that we know of. But the soundtracks absolutely make up for it. And frankly, without AH, there won't be Ace Combat Infinity, because it used the same game engine as AH. Also AC7 reuses several sounds from AH.

I'm not saying we should accept AH as a true Ace Combat game, because it's not. But over time, it became a necessary stepping stone towards Ace Combat Infinity and Ace Combat 7 we know today.

Just a note that I have never played Infinity. I was still in mid school when Infinity was up and running. I never even owned a PS3. Any mention of AC Infinity in my following review is based on watching YT videos because the game is dead now (thanks Namco, I guess).

I spent 5 years aggressively avoiding spoilers for Ace Combat 7 because it's more fun that way. As such I had no idea what the story is like, what Strangereal country the protag is affiliated with, or which country we're fighting. About the only thing I know is that the protag goes by the nickname Trigger.

Anyway, Ace Combat 7 now. So my first impression was. Wow. I absolutely loved the menu UI. Minimalistic, yes, but very straightforward. And the splash screen before the main menu. The overall dark blue theme of course is a nod towards the blue skies that every pilot knows, whether real or virtual. And apparently also a reference for the theme of the game plot, "Dark Blue."

(Tumblr voice: do you love the color of the sky-- *forcibly removed from stage*)

The controls again are also familiar, although I have to change the scheme in settings first, because I'm used to using the Select button instead of Square to change SP weapons. Again it's configurable, so a nice feature.

The mission briefing scene was... to put it simply, a little convoluted. Maybe that's just me, seeing Ace Combat 5 and Zero also had similar briefing screens with a buttload of flavor text that mostly doesn't matter to the actual gameplay. I let it slide because it's "the Ace Combat DNA", if you will. And I also love the animations, so good job devs.

First mission, you're a peacekeeping pilot. So I guess like the precursor of Ace Combat 3's UPEO. You get F-16C with 4AAMs. And thank God for that because I'm kinda fed up with starter planes being something ancient like F-4s or F-5s. And I quite like Vipers. Not as much as I like Flank-- sorry, moving on.

Oh shit, we're fighting Erusea now. I think we fought Erusea as well in 04, right? So I was interested if maybe there would be a mention of Yellow 13 (spoiler: there isn't).

The graphics were stunning. I played the game on max graphics. Lighting, shadows, glow/bloom effects, clouds, skies, a couple of shadow staircasing every now and then, but it's not super noticeable. And the game was very well optimized as well because I was getting 120+ fps at all times.

Although to be fair Ace Combat 7 is my first proper "next gen" game. After years and years of playing games on 720p Low, playing something on 1080p Ultra with smooth 60fps+ is mind blowing.

I think the only times I switch to first person/HUD view is during dogfights in thick clouds, just so I can see where my aircraft is pointing and avoid a premature nose-first landing.

Then the soundtracks. My god, this game delivers and goes beyond. Several times I get the chills when the music ramps up during the right moment. And the way the BGM gets muffled when you're in the clouds and becomes clear again when you're out? Such a genius idea. Replayability value increased.

The flight model/physics is... well, quite different from what I'm used to, which is AC5 and AC0's flight model. Your left thumbstick input isn't instantaneous, there's a bit of inertia and momentum in plane's roll, pitch and yaw, but I quickly got used to it. In contrast to PS2 titles, AC7 planes are so easy to accelerate and very hard to decelerate, and I learned that the hard way from overshooting enemy planes and crashing to the ground a couple of times trying to do dive bomb attacks.

And then the flight model for landing on runways or carriers is another level of different. Somehow your air speed doesn't decrease when you fully press the decel button and the air brakes are extended. Even increasing sometimes, during approach. Your plane only actually starts losing speed when you're directly above the runway. And I hear you, Ace Combat isn't known for realistic flight physics. Never was, and never will be. I have fully accepted that since Ace Combat 2. But you can actually decrease your speed during landing, as you should be able to, in all the previous titles, so why not in 7? That means most of the time I was landing my plane in AC7 with nose gear first. Doesn't damage my plane in the game or anything, but still, I loved doing realistic landings in previous games.

During takeoffs your plane also pitches up automatically after surpassing V1 and V2 speeds, like in Assault Horizon. I prefer previous titles where you have to manually pull the stick back to takeoff from the runway/carrier.

I'm slightly disappointed that there isn't any vapor cloud forming on your plane when you breach Mach 1. AC5 and Zero had that small touch of realism (I think 04 also did but I don't remember), so seeing it absent in 7 is a bit sad. But not game breaking.

Harling rescue mission. He's no longer president of Osea but he's still alive, and apparently built the space elevator near Selatapura. Flew my Super Tomcat with 8AAM through the radar network. Reminding me of the Mother Goose One escort mission from 5. Even the rescue chopper is Sea Goblin, the same one from 5. I love it.

My hype was shattered at the end of the mission where apparently one of my missiles hit Harling and killed him??? Oh well, solitary now I guess.

Oh great, first mission apparently with other pilot convicts. Take off and make Erusean bombers think they're attacking a real AFB. While Count and other Spare squadron members keep calling me Harling's murderer.

My true complain so far in my first time playing is that the characters talk SO much during actual gameplay. Way too much. Half the time I don't hear or get the chance to read subtitles because I'm too focused on dogfighting or blowing stuff up with HVAAs and GPBs. So I'm missing quite a lot of what the characters say during flight.

About the only thing I catch in the entire game is just Long Caster talking about food (affectionate). He probably has an entire buffet line for himself in his E-767. Hey I don't blame him, you're not yourself when you're hungry.

Although, Long Caster, did you really just say you were gonna order food from "Italian" bistro near LRSSG base? That's a bit of an oversight from PA.

My only source of the game's storyline is through cutscenes, which, may I add, are rendered extremely nicely. Like, I couldn't tell if the cutscenes were pre-rendered MP4 clips or real-time 3D render. We've gone from AC04's manga slideshow, AC5's 3D anime, AC0's green screen mocaps, to realistic and high fidelity CGI cutscenes in 7. With the exception of the static JPEG dog that appears beside the Princess of Erusea and Mihaly's granddaughters.

Speaking of which. Mihaly. What the hell is with that full name, old man? Even the noble Altmer families in Elder Scrolls Online are jealous of your monarchy name. I don't want to be your commanding officer who will probably have to write your full name everytime I make an official report.

The cutscenes show an interesting story from Avril's point of view. How she went from apparently spending years building an F-104 from scraps to fulfill her dream as a sky drag racer, shot down by an Osean fighter for breaching airspace regulation, held as a prisoner for god knows how long, and finally becoming the Scrap Queen for the OADF/OMDF and making tweaks for Trigger's aircrafts.

(You! Solitary, now!)

Let's move to weapons. SP weapons especially, and my god there's a lot of them now. LAAM, HVAA, HPAA, HCAA, 8AAM, GRKT, SASM, IEWS, PLSL, so many to choose from. I still remember when 4AGMs and 4AAMs were just called XAGMs and XMAAs. And now there's even a goddamn 8AGM for when you really hate tank columns. If the next Ace Combat game were to feature the new F-15EX, they should make 10AAM or 12AAM SP weapon for it.

For area of effect (AOE) weapons like UGBs, GPBs and SFFSs, they now use predicted impact point and blast radius as your aiming guide, previously also seen in AH and Infinity. It's a very good way to aim AOE weapons and decide where you should aim for maximum effect. In AC3 and PS2 titles, they just displayed a hovering on-screen reticle that tells you roughly where your bombs will go, no information about how large the lethal radius is.

You have access to countermeasures now like in ACAH! Gone are the days you have to perform pugachev kulbit 60G shit yourself maneuver to avoid incoming QAAMs. You can still do that, of course, but now at least they give you a second option, for when you're in a pinch, which is nice.

Let's talk about the aircraft tree. And my thoughts? I really like it. Intuitive and easy to understand. All SP weapons for each aircraft are also available to view before you buy. A little weird how the F-16C tree branches out to F-2A, but also the F-14D Super Tomcat. I mean I was expecting the F-16C to branch out to Falcon derivatives like F-16XL and F-16 Block 60, and the F-14D would be unlocked by purchasing F-14A first, like in Ace Combat 5. I mean I get to play with F-14D's 8AAM early in the game. Still, a little weird.

(After writing this I just remembered that F-16XL is a DLC, so disregard that)

I also love the way it incorporates aircraft parts previously seen in Ace Combat X, Infinity and AH (yes that game actually had aircraft parts, although a little different, and only seen in Free Mission and multiplayer). And once you unlock one aircraft upgrade part, you can apply it to any aircraft! 10/10.

From my earlier point of "planes too easy to accel and too hard to decel", maybe there are parts that can make decel easier, but I haven't unlocked it by the time I'm writing this review. I will, however, attempt to unlock everything in the aircraft tree because this game is fun.

My aircraft tree path in my first playthrough was F-16C, F-14D, A-10C, MiG-29, Su-33, Su-30M2, Su-34, Su-30SM, and finally for the last mission I saved up enough MRPs for Su-57 with PLSL. Which is quite effective for boss fights I must say. I haven't used pulse laser since AC3's pulse laser (that was usable on R-103 Delphinus 3 and R-311 Remora). Different in how it works because in AC3 the pulse laser occupies your machine gun slot, and in AC7 it's an SPW, but considering AC3 takes place in 2040 Strangereal, it's fine.

Did you know I clapped Mihaly's X-02S with an Su-34, first try, with standard missiles alone? I played on Normal diff, but I was dogfighting him with 90% damage, so I'm quite proud of that.

In the wise words of Lt. Bradley Bradshaw, "It's not the plane, it's the pilot."

Next the flight controls. God it feels so satisfying and immersive. The way your controller vibrates, the FOV shakes when an explosion happens near you, or when going through a turbulence or wind shear in the clouds, I love it. Although not gonna lie I've crashed my MiG-29 once into a cliffside from extreme wind shear in one of that canyon mission, and I nearly pissed myself when my Fullback was struck by lightning and my HUD was gone.

I do miss the oil splatter effect on your screen when you fly through an explosion, that was last seen in AH and Infinity.

The clouds aren't just decors of the sky now, they can alter the gameplay! From masking radar pings, forming ice layers on your plane which hampers its performance, to disrupting missile tracking ability. And in cockpit view, your glass canopy actually gets wet from the water vapors, and icy when your plane's icing up, so that's an awesome level of detail. A great way to make gameplay less boring and make players rethink their strats. Which I'm guessing will be even more important in multiplayer PvP matches.

(Actually now I want to try if SAAM's guidance is affected by clouds at all. I haven't used SAAM in my first playthrough)

The story is good. I mean I didn't get 30% of it because the characters talk so damn much during missions, but I love Trigger's progression from an IUN-PKF pilot (with a suspiciously furry emblem, but hey, I'm part of furry fandom myself), a convict with three white stripes on his tail, and finally the three stripes turn into three claws like the claws of a predator that hunts down every bird in the sky.

Does that kinda resemble the story of Razgriz? Probably. Probably not. I'm overthinking.

They make a several references from previous games. At some points there were mentions of ISAF (AC04), Razgriz squadron (AC5) although indirectly, and Belka's seven nukes (AC0). I think I saw the name Albert Genette once in one of the cutscenes, the reporter/photographer guy from 5! He's still alive by the time 7 takes place! And a mention of the original Kestrel as well as Captain Andersen. Maybe there was a reference from 6 that I didn't catch because I haven't played it. But still, good stuff.

I'm still bummed that Harling dies in this game. In AC5's ending screen it was mentioned that in 2020 Harling would declassify military records about the Osea-Yuktobania war (was it called Circum Pacific war? The war in AC5) to the public. But AC7 takes place in 2019, so I guess the truth of Razgriz squadron's identity, 8492nd and the Grey Men will likely remain in secrecy in Strangereal universe.

There was one mission that took place near Basset Space Center, the place where the mass driver (the railway space ramp launcher thing) is located, that was used to send stuff up to the Arkbird. And my god that mission gave me bad memories of that one mission in AC5 that also took place there. At least this time I don't have to defend the place from falling tanks or a swarm of cruise missiles.

One of my favorite missions was using targeting pods (TGTP) to guide ordnance from bombers above you in order to destroy missile silos. It's almost like a ground target version of SAAM, and reminds me of the bombing run mission in Top Gun: Maverick. Nice gameplay mechanic. Although the final part of the mission where you have to shoot down IRBMs launched from secret locations has to be inspired by the ICBM chase in Assault Horizon. But thankfully in 7 it's not as annoying as it is in AH. My god you do not want to know how annoying it is in AH.

I do appreciate that mission checkpoints are a thing now. In previous titles, if you die at any point before the mission ends, that's it. You start from the beginning again regardless of progress. Checkpoint system was first implemented in AH (because AH is just Call of Duty with planes). Checkpoints in 7 are not common, but that's a good thing. Don't want to resemble AH too much, while also giving casual (and new) players some cushion for failure.

Now let's talk bosses. Arsenal Bird. Or Birds, because apparently there were 2 of them. Fighting them is fucking annoying because of the massive swarm of MQ-101 drones all around it. One standard missile hit does kill the drones, but there's a lot of them. And hundreds of them flying criss cross applesauce all over my screen just gives me sensory overload. Maybe that's the intent.

The design of the Arsenal Bird is... intriguing. Not because it's a flying wing design, we've seen that with the X-49 Night Raven and XR-900 Geopelia (AC3), Arkbird (AC5) and XB-0 Hresvelgr (AC0), but the fact that's it's propeller driven (turboprop, presumably), with counter-rotating blades, and it's in pusher configuration??

By the way, pusher config just means that for a prop driven aircraft, the propeller(s) is behind the engine. Some examples include Airco DH2, a British WW1 biplane fighter, and Kyushu J7W Shinden, a Japanese WW2-era prototype interceptor (don't ask me where or how I know about those two obscure planes). Literally the propellers push the plane forward, like the massive fan on a hovercraft, instead of the more common pulling action in other prop planes like Mitsubishi A6M Zero and Messerschmitt BF 109.

I don't remember the reason why, but they're rare and ultimately didn't catch on in our real world, probably due to complexity issues and no real performance benefit. So seeing an Ace Combat boss plane/mothership that flies on pusher prop engines, in the game's modern timeline where jet/turbofan propulsion is everywhere and tactical laser weapons are a thing, is... something else. There's probably an in-universe explanation for it. Maybe Project Aces just ran out of ideas.

Although, whoever designed the Arsenal Bird (both in the dev team and canonically in the game's universe) must've taken some reference from the Arkbird, judging by the location of laser pod in the middle section, drone pods underneath, and AAM pods on top. Maybe they even salvaged Arkbird parts from the sea after Razgriz shot it down?

You guys remember that the Arkbird had drones, right? The Vogels, that Belka attached to the Arkbird in AC5? Whatever. Someone else reading this remembers.

Let's talk Mihaly. My god, old man, I want to complain about your obnoxiously long full name again, but I'm not going to. At least it's only mentioned exactly one time in the cutscene. But fighting him is actually fun and challenging, both against his Su-30SM and X-02S Strike Wyvern. Especially in Farbanti when the fight brings you near the sunken parts of the city, dodging ruined buildings left and right.

Although I can't help but notice that the layout of his Erusean black and orange livery is reminiscent of Cipher's F-15C livery just in different colors.

(Mihaly: There are pilots like you in every generation, and I felled every last one of them. | Trigger: Ok boomer.)

At the time of writing this review I don't fully remember why he was the enemy boss in 7. Something along the lines of seeing his former country crumble? But then he exhibits certain traits. His body is failing, he loves the skies like it's his one and only home, and his flight data is used to train drones.

Who else shares those traits? Rena Hirose from AC3.

(At one cutscene he was heard talking about borders being an imaginary line that separates countries, which made me think of Pixy and AWWNB, but I felt that's too minor to point out the similarity, so I will gloss over it)

In this paragraph you don't have to listen to me, because I'm not an Ace Combat lore expert. But the similarity of Mihaly and Rena Hirose makes me suspect that Ace Combat 7 is the start of a bridge, one that heads towards Ace Combat 3 timeline. A bridge where we see the next Ace Combat game showing the turnover of the world of Strangereal into the one seen in AC3. We will probably see, in Ace Combat 8, the events that transpire before the continent of Usea (and possibly the entire Strangereal Earth) is ruled by megacorporations instead of countries.

(I just love that some missions in AC7 take place in locations like Waiapolo mountains and Chopinburg, the same locations in some AC3 missons. It's a nice nostalgia)

We've also already seen what looks like an early attempt of thought-controlled combat aircraft, with the ADF fighter series. And in Ace Combat 3, reportedly all playable aircrafts are controlled by thoughts, through the use of COFFIN technology.

Actually now that I talk about it, I'm still damn surprised that old designs like Typhoon, Fulcrum, Raptor, Falcon, Eagle and Hornet all exist by the time AC3 takes place, retrofitted with COFFINs to make them look futuristic. EF-2000E Typhoon II, MiG-33 Fulcrum SS, F-22C Raptor II, F-16XF Gyrfalcon, F-15SMT Eagle+, F/A-18I Hornet ADV, I mean I get that the game was developed in the 90s and there was no way Namco could've predicted what the real world would use in the future.

(Yes I did just recite the full names of those AC3 planes from memory because I'm that much of a nerd)

Regardless, I personally can't wait to see what actually happens before 2040 Strangereal in the next Ace Combat game.

Another mission I really liked. The night mission after the comm satellites in space are gone and every target appears as unknowns. You have to fly close to ID them (with your plane's IRST cam probably) so you don't mistakenly shoot a friendly.

Finally let's talk the ending of the game. Assault on Erusean rogue forces near the space elevator. A coalition of OADF/OMDF, LRSSG and conservative Eruseans. Even the remaining Sol squadron is also here. Really reminds me of the ACES mission in 5 where Osea and Yuktobania gather their senses and fight together against their true enemy.

Mission was fairly straightforward until the second Arsenal Bird appears, its MQ-101 swarm and protective shielding rendering most attacks useless. Kinda felt this mission is a bit scripted because you have to wait until the Erusean princess destroys the Arsenal Bird modules in the ISEV control room. And even after that, this fight is like AC5 Arkbird fight on steroids. Added with the TLS pod and PLSL pods underneath. Still, I downed it.

And oh my god, the music that massively ramps up when the shield is down. Fuck, man. It's just a plane game. It has no right being absolutely majestic.

Last mission. You and your mates versus 2 ADF-11F drones. Saved up enough for Su-57 with PLSL, but I wasn't expecting to takeoff from a carrier. So the sight of a Felon being raised on the platform, taxiing to the deck and taking off to the skies (without even using the catapult or the launch pad, just sheer power of determination and Belkan witchcraft) is a fun one.

ISEV again, Hugin and Munin. The two birds of Odin that fly around the world and act as his eyes. One by one Sol squadron gets shot down. My Su-57 with PLSL makes relatively quick work of Hugin and Munin. Until the last one where its head broke off into a smaller drone and absolutely peppers my Felon with its MG. And of course it's hyper agile with no human pilot inside and apparently learning from Trigger's style. But challenges are meant to be overcome.

Nope. There's another one, it zooms towards the undersea tunnel, heading towards the ISEV. Of course Trigger is up to the task. Or not, because I underestimated the size of the tunnel and clipped my wing on entry, and I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Thankfully the game respawns me already facing the entrance.

Alright, focus this time, no messing about. But anxiety immediately creeps up my spine because of how narrow the passage is. I've flown the tunnels to the ICBM in AC2, the Geofront tunnels in AC3, the Megalith missile silo tunnel in 04, the SOLG control station in 5, and the V2 launch facility in Zero. This ISEV tunnel is narrower than all of them. But Count believes in me (no I don't have feelings for him shut up).

(What are the odds that the next AC game will have you fly through someone's fireplace chimney)

My hands grip my Xbox controller tight, eyes locked to my monitor and my fingers ready to make throttle and yaw adjustments at any moment's notice. Then the shutters start closing pretty quickly in front of me. Fuck, I can't just idle throttle my way through this. I have to push. And so I push my Felon just slightly above Mach 1.

Finally right underneath the ISEV, with no way to go but turn in circles chasing the ADF drone. I don't remember what Count or AWACS was saying but on my HUD there are target markers on the support beams of the ISEV, which I presume are the computer control units that control the ADF drone. PLSL away again, control units destroyed, the ADF drone slows down and I splashed it. This is reminiscent of the AC3 Geofront mission where you have to destroy the support pillars to trap the X-49 Night Raven inside.

But now what, there's no way out. Count said something about exiting out of the space elevator's pillar. I hesitated for a moment, he shouted me to just fucking go, so I went for it. The narrowest of slits in the base of the ISEV, I went through and pitched my nose up, and start sending it.

Are you fucking kidding me, there are actual cargos being moved through the ISEV on the cables. I mean, no shit Sherlock, it's in the name. Space elevator. I've never felt so tense in an Ace Combat game since I fought Pixy in Zero, because I've come this far and I don't want to start again. I kept going for it until I saw an opening. Cutscene plays. My black Su-57 with PLSL pods and three strikes on the tail, soars through the skies and finally out of the ISEV. I heard something about Count making a belly landing in the base of the ISEV. No damn idea how he does it but I guess I'm glad he's alive.

And then, at the end of the cutscene, a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Kei Nagase. She's become an astronaut, callsign Pilgrim One, up in the skies watching over us all.

I wonder what happened to the rest of Razgriz. Blaze, Archer and Swordsman.

"Hey Trigger, you dumbass, tell me something. What color's the sky up there?"

I've won the game. X-02S Strike Wyvern is available for purchase in the aircraft tree. Credits are rolling, tears are flowing. What a beautiful game. I settled my controller down and took a breather after an adventure full of intense action and engaging storyline. Although, PA, could you uhmm, slow down the credits? They scroll too fast lmao.

(Why do I have a feeling that Avril has a crush on Trigger?)

I wanna go learn how to do PSMs now because I heard it's something you can pull off in 7.

At the aircraft data viewer I ended up using Su-33, Su-30M2 and Su-30SM the most (3 times each). What can I say, man? I love Flonkers. I mean Flankers.

Though one thing is still a bit of mystery for me. What is Trigger's canon aircraft? Mobius 1 (AC04) and Warwolf 1 (ACAH) flew F-22A, Razgriz squadron (AC5) flew F-14As, and Cipher (AC0) flew an F-15C. I haven't played AC6 but I think the main character's canon plane is an F-15E? So what is Trigger's canon aircraft? I'm hoping it is some Russian plane because previous protags all fly American planes. A nice change would be welcome.

Although, remembering that fleet destruction mission where all of Trigger's wingmen fly F-15s, it's probable that Trigger's canon aircraft is also an F-15. And the game cover for Ace Combat 7 depicts an F-22. I guess Trigger's canon aircraft is also an American jet, which will be boring if that's true.

Guessing they have to appear appealing to the American audience.

My final verdict, a solid 9/10 game. I loved every single second of it. And Ace Combat series in general. Its thrill, its charm, its embrace of fantasy science fiction with no care of what's realistic and what's not. Because who fucking cares? It's a video game, and it's fun. That's all that matters. We know we will never be real pilots in the sky, but we can know the thrill of it like it's our childhood dreams as an action hero pilot. And elitists who whine about the unrealism of Ace Combat can suck on a Stonehenge barrel.

That concludes my review of the base game. But rest assured I will not stop here until I find all the secrets and unlockables and all unique named pilots because this game is awesome and has become my new obsession. After 5 years of aggressively avoiding spoilers, I can finally enjoy Ace Combat 7 like it's meant to be.

Now I want to tell my experience with DLC missions! Also DLC planes because I bought quite a lot of them, from CFA-44 to XFA-27 to F-15S/MTD. Not all of them, I didn't purchase the MiG-35D or the Top Gun Maverick set.

I played DLC missions after completing the main story. Which is good because before starting the DLC missions (labeled SP Campaign in the game) the game tells you that it's best to play them after completing the story. Also I did not use DLC planes at all in my first time through the main campaign, for that pure Ace Combat 7 first experience (I literally turned off all the AC7 DLCs in my Steam library until after I finished the main campaign).

But I've finished the main story, so great! I could jump in no problem!

Unexpected Visitor. Simple in the briefing, absolutely and unexpectedly challenging in its gameplay. It feels like your wingmen are absolutely useless and everyone is aiming at Trigger. Seriously it's like the later missions in the game's main story where all the AIs are better and harder to defeat, and make it 50% harder. And I'm playing the DLC missions on Normal diff. I don't remember what plane or SPW I used in my first attempt, but I got my ass absolutely handed to me. I began wondering if the DLC missions are supposed to be played co-op at some point during development. Anyway I switched to CFA-44 with ADMM.

And then those twin Berkuts appear. Scream and Rage. The crazed pilot siblings with no desire but to have Trigger's blood, for some reason. I could not get a single missile hit them. In fact I was shot down by an enemy SAM while I was trying to get them in my sights. Although that's kind of my fault because I forgot I could pop flares. Come on man, back in my day we didn't have flares!

Retried the mission with the same plane and SPW, this time deleting all the ground targets first with my flurry of ADMMs before Scream and Rage showed up. It worked. Landed a few hits on them, Scream and Rage fled the AO, mission completed. Kind of. We failed capturing the Alicorn, and Matias Torres has brought it somewhere underwater.

Next, Anchorhead Raid. Briefing showed a shit load of ground targets in a cluster. Hm, maybe ADMMs wouldn't be the right tool for this. But I have downloaded a Morgan, and it comes with a bunch of MPBMs.

First flight out. Once again did not work as well as I hoped for. Enemy CIWS kept destroying my MPBMs before they could get close, no matter which angle I launched them from. Even trying to drop them directly from above caused almost no damage.

Right, back to the hangar. What else do I have? Ah, a FALKEN and FAEBs. Let's try that. Nope. Still no considerable effect against target clusters that have CIWS in them. Back to the hangar again. Maybe FALKEN-TLS combo will work this time? Eh, sort of, but not really, its firing duration is too short to destroy a lot of targets, even when I'm flying real low and level with the ground targets.

Back to the hangar again. Starting to think I need a goddamn Erusean IRBM to efficiently complete this mission. And then I remember what I flew in AC7's final campaign mission.

Su-57 with PLSL, you're up. I dive low until I'm just a few meters above sea, leveling out with my gunsights pointed directly towards the ground targets. Getting closer and when the PLSL reticle turns red, I begin firing. To my surprise, it works remarkably well. From my experience shooting down Hugin and Munin, I start to learn that PLSL has some splash damage/AOE, and you don't have to be pinpoint accurate with it.

Scream and Rage show up again with more thirst for blood, but I also have equally strong thirst for their blood after harrassing me so much in the previous mission. I still have a few hundred "rounds" of PLSL. With no missile lock warning to make them scurry away, Scream is downed easily. Rage naturally, well, rages (ayy). His moves become faster and tighter. A Berkut and a Felon in a deadly dance in the skies above Anchorhead. After a long tail to tail and a tired left thumb, Rage is downed.

Alicorn apparently resupplied in Anchorhead under our noses, using the chaos in the skies as cover. Now intel suggest it's heading to the seas near Oured.

Ten Million Relief Plan. The final DLC mission. I anticipated that I will fight the Alicorn in this one, but did not know the kind of attacks it would have. I know it has massive railguns but no idea about its true capability. But Su-57 with PLSL has served me well, so I fly out in it again.

First phase of the mission. Wait for the allied planes to drop sonobuoys. This is just like the first time I fight the Scinfaxi in Ace Combat 5, but that mission had Arkbird in the skies above me. No orbital laser to help with this one. A few Rafales appear on the horizon, apparently launched from the Alicorn, but I downed them no problem.

The sonobuoys detected something and displayed a circle on radar that prompts me to go there. With the MAD device (magnetic something something device that I don't remember the name of) I begin searching for the Alicorn. The signal homing indicator on my HUD really just reminds me of White Noise mission in AC5 where you had to find Nagase in the snow.

Signal locked. Alicorn spotted. Nope. It's released jammers to disguise its presence. Sonobuoy planes are also harrassed by drones at the same time. Quickly I destroyed the jammers and the drones.

Trying to detect Alicorn again using sonobuoys. Having to keep speed below 800 kph so the tracker can work, all while trying to avoid missiles from more drones. Alicorn was found again, this time allied ships launch anti sub missiles.

Alicorn surfaced. No visible damage. Allied ships taking damage from Alicorn. Order to attack the Alicorn is a go. Unfortunately this time my PLSLs don't seem to make a dent. By the time the Alicorn gets within PLSL's range, my Felon gets peppered from its guns. 50% damage, 75% damage, 90% damage, I pulled out and quit the mission to choose another plane.

The last time I fought Scinfaxi and Hrimfaxi in 5, I used GPBs and LASMs. But those subs were much smaller and weaker than Alicorn, and I don't have any aircraft with high enough performance and durability that can also carry GPBs/LASMs.

I decided to give the Morgan and MPBM another go.

Alicorn surfaces again. This time I already have my MPBM ready, locked to its ballasts on the side. 2 to 3 MPBM hits later, the Alicorn loses the ability to dive, they're...

Surrendering?

No, this is way too convenient. Even the other Striders think this is too easy. AWACS insists to stand down. So we did, but I kept my MPBM ready to launch just in case, flying my Morgan in circles around the Alicorn like a vulture.

And of course it was a bluff. Torres was just simply buying enough time to prepare Alicorn's massive rail guns, aiming for the Osean capital of Oured. Madman thinks he can stop the war and save 10 million lives by sacrificing 1 million in the process. And he plans to start it by killing Trigger first. Order to attack the Alicorn is a go again.

I don't remember who said "they stopped being soldiers the moment they faked their surrender." Probably Count. But I agree with that sentiment.

Now suddenly we're under time constrain of just 1 or 2 minutes to destroy the Alicorn's nuclear core at the base of its massive railgun. But on the radar I can see the Alicorn's railgun predicted trajectory chasing my aircraft. I fly in a tight circle around it and wait for it to fire and miss. This is like the Excalibur onslaught (AC0) but 6 times harder. And when I try to get close to the railgun, the Alicorn yet has another trick up its sleeve. Defensive bubble fields around it, similar that the Arsenal Bird used but on smaller scale.

Time is ticking down. Just less than one minute now. I put max throttle and slip through the defense bubbles, my MPBM is already locked to the base of the Alicorn's railgun. One successful hit but it's not dead yet. I quickly turned around again, pulling dozens of Gs that would probably kill the pilot in real life. I flew in again, less than 30 seconds on the clock, I landed another MPBM in it.

And then the radar clears.

It's done. The Alicorn is destroyed. A massive explosion went off in the middle section, Torres laughing like a maniac on the radio as he dies and the Alicorn splits in half and sinks to the bottom of the sea. Another explosion went off underwater, the force enough to spew a mountain of sea water dozens of meters to the sky, and finally coming down like a pseudo rain that refreshes the atmosphere.

We never captured the Alicorn, but at least this way we prevented another superweapon from being misused.

I completed Ace Combat 7. Again. Such a cool set of DLC missions. Especially with the fact that they have their own storyline adjacent to the main campaign story. It's difficult, yes, but it's challenging enough that makes you want to try and try again until you succeed. Not Dark Souls-level of difficult that makes you want to murder a child with a controller. So, my thoughts on DLC missions? I loved them. Another solid 9/10.

And you know what? I wanna play them again.

And now I can watch Max0r's Incorrect Summary of Ace Combat 7 that I have postponed for so long!

#ace combat #ace combat 7 #ace combat 7: skies unknown

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