Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, développé et publié par Namco, est sorti le 13 septembre 2001 sur PlayStation 2. Ce titre mêlant arcade et simulation propose un combat aérien où le joueur pilote des avions de chasse semi-réalistes tels que le F-22 Raptor, le F-16 Fighting Falcon, le F-117 Nighthawk, l'U-2 Dragon Lady, le C-130 Hercules et le SR-71 Blackbird. Il compte dix-huit missions allant de la destruction de bâtiments à des combats aériens un contre un ou généralisés, au cours desquelles il est possible d'améliorer l'appareil avec des systèmes de défense, des armes et divers accessoires. L'histoire se déroule sur le continent de Usea, frappé par un astéroïde ayant causé la mort de cinq cent mille personnes, avant que l'Erusea n'en profite pour envahir la région. Les Independent States Allied Forces, basés sur la côte est, opposent une résistance aérienne et confient au pilote Mobius 1 des missions visant à repousser l'ennemi, tout en découvrant l'impact du conflit sur les civils et les aviateurs adverses. Le jeu affiche une note agrégée de 83,55 et une durée de quatre heures pour l'histoire principale, étendue à environ vingt-cinq heures et demie pour une partie complétiste. La presse a salué l'expérience : XenGamers a évoqué « un fort sentiment de vol, un combat plein d'adrénaline, des contrôles parfaits et des visuels à couper le souffle », tandis que Hot Games a jugé le titre « sans aucun doute le meilleur simulateur de vol sur une console de nouvelle génération ». Certains joueurs, en revanche, ont regretté que le jeu, rejoué plus tard, n'ait plus la même saveur, tout en reconnaissant qu'il restait globalement bon.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Offers a heady, elating sense of flight, adrenaline-charged combat, perfect controls, and breathtaking visuals that will humble titles played even on the mightiest PCs. »
« Without a doubt the best flight sim available for a next-gen system. Ace Combat 04 shatters the competition. »
« This game is so beautiful and addictive that I fear the quality of the writing in this review has greatly suffered, since I find it difficult to concentrate as the game beckons to me even now. »
« Simplistic and intuitive controls are what make the game fun to play. The analog controls are dead on, and very precise. »
« If you are looking for a topnotch flier, you can call off the search. This one is a must-have for any PS2 owner. »
« There’s a dramatic war story and fantastic scenary, and the trademark Ace Combat arcade gameplay is more solid than ever. »
« Another one of those games that looks almost real, to the point where you can't quite peg exactly what it is that tips you off it's a videogame. »
« The best flight game ever made. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« It was a good game at its time, but when I replaying it it didn't have the same feel anymore, maybe the nostalgia didn't kick in for me. Overall, still a good fighter jet game and I still having fun with it. »
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
« Spectacular. Is it simple? Yeah, it's about 23 years old. But like every AC game it makes you feel great by the time you've come to the end and it captures that feeling better than nearly every other franchise I've played. »
« Very fun game. Very arcadey. Super noob friendly as well. No wonder is regarder as the first of the holy trinityof Ace Combat »
« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »
« I loved the dog wearing an apron.Haha f-22 raptor goes BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR »
« The best Ace Combat in the franchise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! »
« Namco outdid themselves with this game. They certainly pushed the PS2's capabilities and gave us a solid Ace Combat game and a solid entry to the PS2 era. A lot of stuff was done right in this game over the previous 3 games, the jet controls were improved a lot in my opinion, controlling the jets had more feel and was smoother compared to AC3. The ability to return to base to repair your jet and replenish your ammo supply is also very good. Dogfighting can be tough but gives the player a fair challenge. Mission layouts were slightly improved, they still had the same "go fly over there and destroy this and that" sometimes, but now it more relies on a "points system" where different enemies are worth different amount of points when destroyed and you have to reach a certain threshold within a time limit to complete the mission. It was nice to get a mix of the old style and new style of missions. Missions were made longer as a result and often had 2 parts with mission updates after completing the first part/task of a mission, which gave the player more game time, unlike AC3 giving the player also more game time but that's because you had to deal with the weird flying mechanics and the stupid missions towards the end of the game. All in all, AC4 is a solid entry to the franchise. Also worth mentioning that this time all regions got a full fledged story which adds character and emotion to the game, making the missions feel like they have more purpose and development over the previous 3 games. I like the whole story between Mobius 1 and Yellow Thirteen being narrated by a spectator of the war. »
