An epic experience with the great gameplay you've come to expect from the series... Just like the last one...
This prequel to AC5 plays out in 1995 and chronicles the Belkan War. You play as a merc codenamed "Cipher", hired by the country of Ustio to aide in the conflict between Belka and the alliance of Osea, Yuktobania, Ustio, and Sapin. Most of the story, however, is played out in the flashbacks of a journalist who's doing an article on your character and the war itself. The game features live-action cutscenes, but you won't see them on X-Play because they're actually good. Saves money to film clips and put 'em on a disc but companies probably don't do this because why hire actors when you can model CG characters, right? But the acting is done well and the characters are likable. Add all of that to an insanely good soundtrack and you've got the visual and sound covered. The game's graphics? Nothing short of awesome. I mean, you're not gonna get very close to a lot of jets anyway so there's no need to detail them but they look great anyway. This attention to detail makes the game that much better.
The controls can be set to either turn with the left analog stick for an arcade experience or to roll with the left stick and yaw (move the rudder) with the L and R2 buttons. I prefer this more realistic control scheme as it allows for greater dogfighting action. There's just nothing like spiraling down under someone's missle volleys and rolling back from underneath him to fire at his engine from just 200km away. Even though you're sitting in a chair, sofa, floor, wherever, you can't help but feel like you could've seriously crashed right into a plane. The adrenalin this kind of gameplay offers isn't easily found anywhere else. Seperate buttons for firing guns and missles make it easier to attack at your pace once you have lockons. The rudders and engine acceleration buttons are pressure sensitive so a simple press has you moving slightly or speeding normally while pressing harder implies the dire need for speed that the game understands. The controls for flight and fight are thankfully very responsive for such a fast-paced game.
Just like the previous, the missions start out easy and get to the "stuck on this part for a week" difficulty in which you're expected to get good at flying or else. You get accustomed to air-to-air fighting quickly and are soon sent into varied missions on sea and land to take out SAMs or gunships. Flying low to gun out a pillbox is fun but it's crucial to purchase and equip different planes and secondary missiles for specific missions. If you're ordered to take out forces in the air, bring a fighter. If a weapon is being tested and fired on land, get a bomber ready. That's all you really need to know to get into this game and play out your Top Gun fantasies. And it still gets an 8.9 despite being a lot like AC5 and even AC04 because that doesn't make it any less a very good game.