Great game. A must own.
The graphics in Ace Combat 4 are absolutly amazing. The landscape is breath takingly realistic. The fighters look like the real thing. Explosions seem a bit basic as compared to what Ive seen done in other games but non the less are nice. The storyline cinematics are made up of hand drawn pictures put together in a slideshow form, and were definitly drawn by someone with alot of talent.
The controls are easy to master. Ive read some things about people having trouble with them, but I had them mastered immeadietly so maybe it just depends on who you are. Theres essentially 2 types of controls. Easy controls and the default kind. Regardless of the fact that their called easy controls I personally dont suggest using them as you lose some of the manuverability of your plane. For example: with easy controls on, you cant roll the plane which is vital in making tighter turns. But if you find that thats what works for you then I wont stop you from doing it.
The story for Ace Combat 4 is quite good. It does and doesnt follow the gameplay sometimes though. But some things do end up going hand in hand between the game and the story. The story alone without the game is unique as it doesnt really follow the typical guidelines of "good guys vs. Bad guys". Instead the story is seen through the eyes of someone who spends time in his youth around the "bad guys". This is due to the fact that they are the occupying soldiers of his town. If I were to put a song to the story Id have to pick Vicarious by Tool. I dont know why, but thats the song that always comes to mind when I watch the story unfold.
The gameplay is pretty simple. You fly around blowing things up making sure to get the targets before the time runs out. With the new game+ type feature you can go back through the Story Mode and continue unlocking features like alternate paint schemes and a bonus plane. Playing through a second time on normal you get an extra enemy on each map known as an "Ace". Aces are worth more points than the typical enemy and are generaly harder to shoot down. But shooting one down unlocks the Ace paint scheme for that plane. You can also unlock these bonuses through the freeplay mode however you still have to purchase them in Story mode in order to use them.
The Sounds and Music in the game are beautiful. The music during the story scenes helps bring it to life. The music during the actual gameplay is the typical music you hear in practicly every Flight combat game so its not great, but it is still good. The sounds are good enough in my opinion. Machine gunes, rockets, engines and voice overs are all done very well.
Overall, I loved this game. I loved its story. I thought it was all beautifully made. Ive owned this game for a long while and I still play it over and over so Id have to say the replay value is pretty high. I highly reccommend that if you own a PS2 and still buy games for it that you get this game if you dont already own it. May the Force be with you Rogue Leader... I mean Mobious 1. Wait.. He cant use the force. Rats.