ACE COMBAT 7
VR takes you right into the danger zone
We probably shouldn’t be piloting a fighter jet. For one thing, we haven’t had a lick of formal training. For another, we’ve just remembered we hate heights. Yes, thanks to the immersive magic of PlayStation VR, it really does feel as though we’re flying a very real, very dangerous metal cylinder. This is the “true” way to play the latest instalment of the flight sim series – at least according to producer Kazutoki Kono – so we’d best grip the sticks a little tighter and wing it. Fortunately, Ace Combat 7 makes us feel at home (and far more qualified to pilot a plane than we actually are) from the moment we slip on the VR headset. An ultra-realistic cockpit has always been a key component of the series’ allure, but never has it felt so immediate. All manner of gloriously complex HUD elements wink green at us from various angles. As we crane around in our seat to take it all in, we feel ourselves gently rising, bright sunlight streaming in through the canopy and over our left shoulder. We’re moving slowly across the surface of an aircraft carrier. Ground personnel helpfully wave us into position. We’re prompted to hold i to take off, there’s an almighty roar as we zoom, arrowstraight, over the edge of the ship – and our stomach palpably drops while we hurtle just above the shining waves.
The series has always plumped for simple, accessible fun over stoic realism. As ever, taking to the skies is an easy, breezy, candyfloss-cloud-swirled dream. Pushing the left stick forward points our tin birdie’s nose upwards and we climb higher. The numbers on our digital altimeter tick over into quadruple digits. Piece of cake, this flying a plane business, we think, tilting to swoop through a gauzy patch of clouds. With the technical clout of PS4 powering it, Project Aces’ new atmosphere is stunningly lifelike. Not only is it ridiculous fun to cavort in fully three-dimensional clouds (previously only made up of flat layers clumped together) like the heavens are your own personal kiddie pool, this makes for a more tactically robust combat simulation. Top gun nibbling at your jet stream? Now, with enough finesse, you can dive into cloud cover to lose ’em. It’s a neat trick – especially if you’re planning on donning the headset for dogfighting, have a sensitive stomach and fancy avoiding enemies, evasive manoeuvres and effusive results in equal measure.
STRANGEREAL THINGS
But if you can stomach a barrel roll or seven, then virtual reality is absolutely the way to play Ace Combat 7. It’s an experience made for PS VR. As the first wave of foes spatters our HUD with square-shaped reticules, we turn sharply to flank right, craning our head round to the left side of the cockpit to keep an eye on targets. (Well, indicators – the draw distance doesn’t render the actual plane models until you’re practically kissing tailfin.)
We thunk out a homing missile, which follows our head-tracked aim and arcs gracefully at one unlucky opponent. Bingo. All that’s left of the poor sod is a plume of spark-sodden smoke – we race through it, hot on the trail of the next wave of NPCs. The UAV drones are smaller, nippier craft, and despite our immediate familiarity with the controls, they soon fly rings around us as we struggle to orient ourselves in the seeminglyendless blue of Strangereal’s sky.
Yes, the latest outing returns to the series’ fictional universe, its singleplayer campaign picking up the story of the war between Erusea and the Osean Federation. Contextual radio chatter mixes with rock riffs as we manage to put paid to the last of the drones and head back to base.
Our all-too-brief flight is a revelation. Classic Ace Combat feel keeps us grounded, but the new levels of immersion have left our head in the clouds. Is it PS VR’s next killer app? Absolutely – if execution can keep pace with innovation. As Slider might say, “No points for second place.”