There are two broad categories of flight combat games. First, the simulators: serious, sedate and rewarding only for the most dedicated players. At the other end of the spectrum are the arcade aeronautical romps: equal parts accessible and excessive, with scant regard to realism. Precisely midway between those two forms is the long-running and highly regarded Ace Combat series, which returns with Assault Horizon.
Like its forebearers, Assault Horizon delivers the immediacy and intensity of an arcade air combat game, all the while making you feel like the master of a complex simulator. Set in a convincing fictional conflict in the near future, the latest Ace Combat boasts significant atmosphere, and setting yourself loose in its crowded skies is surprisingly engrossing.
A very pretty game with a new emphasis on close-quarters dogfighting, Assault Horizon is a little more intense and somewhat less delicate than its predecessors. It's a worthy addition to Project Aces' series that has near-consistently impressed for some 16 years. For all those looking for a relatively serious flying game that isn't afraid to contradict the more staid conventions of a realistic simulator, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon might be the perfect choice.
