Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Review

In 2001, Namco's Ace Combat series of flight combat games hit a high point with Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, which was the series' first installment on the PlayStation 2. Featuring incredible visuals, responsive action that captured the thrill of high-flying (and low-flying) aerial dogfighting, and a surprisingly complex and well-told narrative, Ace Combat 04 was a real winner. Now Ace Combat is back in another game bristling with beautifully modeled real-world jet fighters and cinematic cutscenes. Ace Combat 5 isn't the huge step for the series that Ace Combat 04 was, but it's still a great flight combat game, featuring grueling arcade-style action and plenty of surprises both in its mission design and its story.
At first glance, Ace Combat 5 resembles a realistic flight simulation, since if features dozens of different real-world aircraft, including plenty of American classics like the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet, as well as Russian planes like the Su-27 and MiG-29. State-of-the-art fighters like the F-22 and classic jets like the F-4 and A-10 Warthog are also represented. In real life, some of these jets handle drastically differently, but despite its realistic looks (complete with gorgeously detailed plane models and cockpits, and authentic heads-up displays), Ace Combat 5 is clearly not intended to be a realistic flight simulation. Each plane handles gracefully and responsively, yet unlike in real life, the most significant differences between them lie in their weapon loadouts. Differences in speed, maneuverability, and durability are also evident, but are not drastic, so it's easy to switch between different planes. For that matter, it's easy to learn how to play, and there's an effective, optional multistep tutorial to help you if you don't feel like figuring things out for yourself. The controls haven't changed much since Ace Combat 04, but they worked very well in that game.