Ace Combat: Joint Assault

Ace Combat: Joint Assault moves away from the fictional worlds of previous Ace Combat games and into the real world. The missions occur over London, Tokyo, and San Francisco but contain fictional elements such as massive flying fortresses. The player assumes the role of a young pilot who joins the private military force Martinez Security and is soon forced to fight the Valahia, a type of bandit who threatens entire cities – but the plot quickly becomes more complicated. The gameplay is nearly identical to Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception for the PSP. The player pilots combat planes (either in third-person or from a cockpit view) and engage in combat with other aircraft (or other large flying enemies) while dodging their missiles. After completing missions, which usually consist of killing a certain number of enemies or fighting bosses, the player receives money, which can be used to unlock more planes or upgrades. These aircraft are based on (and licensed from) real-life models and have various advantages and disadvantages, such as some being better suited to flying enemies while bombers are better suited to ground targets. The mission tree branches and the player must sometimes choose between multiple missions. The “enhanced combat view” (because modern air combat is usually fought over long distances, the game zooms in to give a closer visual look at the enemies) and co-op mode allow you to play the entire campaign with other players, which are the only significant new features. The game then takes advantage of the branching missions, dividing the (up to four) players into two teams. The other multiplayer modes are identical to Skies of Deception, except that they allow eight players instead of four.