Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Overview

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is a 2011 spin-off installment of the Ace Combat flight simulation video game series. It was developed by Project Aces and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms in October 2011. The game was later released on Microsoft Windows in January 2013 through Steam and Games for Windows, Live, with the latter notably being the final retail release for the platform shortly before its discontinuation. The title has also been removed from Steam listings.

The major new gameplay feature is a system called "Dogfighting mode" (DFM), which aims to increase the intensity and bring the action closer to the player. The game features two modes of control, named "Optimum", which prevents the player from doing full rolls, and "Original", which gives the players full control of the aircraft. Co-operative missions and free-for-all Deathmatch have returned, but two new modes named "Capital Conquest" and "Domination" were added to the game. This is also the first Ace Combat title with a plot mostly written by non-Japanese writers, with noted author Jim DeFelice at the helm. Set in 2015 to 2016, the game's story mainly focuses on members of the United Nations' 108th Task Force, a joint NATO-Russia military organization primarily assigned to quell a rebellion spreading over East Africa.

Assault Horizon continued the trend of Ace Combat games set in the real Earth rather than on "Strangereal", the setting for most Ace Combat games. As a result, the game takes place in various regions, including Miami, East Africa, Moscow, and Dubai. The game received a generally positive reception upon release, with critics praising the game's settings, graphics, and the soundtrack. However, some critics criticized the game for having repetitive gameplay and being overly-scripted. More than 1.07 million copies were sold worldwide upon release.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Shooter, Simulator, Arcade

Developer

Project Aces

Publisher

Namco Bandai Games

Series

Ace Combat

Platforms

PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360

Age rating

ESRB T

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

No

Age ratings

CERO

C

USK

16

ESRB

T

PEGI

16

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Trophies

Trophies51

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

2

Silver

10

Bronze

38

Total

51

Points

1350

• Sierra Hotel Obtained all Trophies. Platinum 0.73% of players
• Bail Out Ejected from a damaged aircraft. Bronze 5.72% of players
• Guns Guns Guns Destroyed 5 hostile vehicles from the air as the door gunner. Bronze 5.62% of players
• Fire Hazard Removed enemy presence from the oil field and the base. Bronze 5.01% of players
• Life Saver Rescued Major Illich from enemy captivity. Bronze 4.55% of players
• Fearsome Guardian Protected your allies using the gunship, and led a successful attack on the base. Bronze 4.24% of players
• Emergency Attempted an emergency landing in a damaged aircraft. Bronze 3.94% of players
• Total Annihilation Disintegrated enemy bombers in mid-air, keeping damage to the city to a minimum. Bronze 3.77% of players
• Steel Hunter Eliminated enemy threat from the Suez Canal. Bronze 3.74% of players
• Defender of World Heritage Prevented enemy from using Trinity to destroy Derbent. Bronze 3.69% of players
• Hot Pit Successfully took off to protect allies amid heavy hostile fire. Bronze 3.57% of players
• One Million Tons of Scrap Metal Sank the enemy fleet and saved the Russian Prime Minister. Bronze 3.47% of players
• Nick of Time Destroyed the ICBMs. Bronze 3.41% of players
• Berserker Destroyed the air defense system, opening the way for allied pilots. Bronze 3.35% of players
• Patriot Protected Moscow from destruction, freeing it from enemy control. Bronze 3.32% of players
• Friendly Fire Alleviated the attack on Miami and helped Guts bail out. Bronze 3.3% of players
• Category 5 Pursued the enemy and shot down Major Illich. Bronze 3.3% of players
• Guardian Protected Washington D.C. from the threat of Trinity, and returned alive. Bronze 3.23% of players
• Warwolf 1 Cleared all missions. Gold 3.23% of players
• Critical Hit Took down a hostile fighter with a charged homing missile. Silver 6.05% of players
• Successive Kill Took down 3 hostiles in a row with an assault chain. Bronze 3.5% of players
• Hard Strike Wiped out hostile ground forces with ASM. Bronze 3.97% of players
• Eagle Eye Successfully focused on 3 targets. Bronze 4.66% of players
• Stay On Target Obtained and destroyed 10 enemies in a helicopter. Bronze 4.84% of players
• Diverse Strikes Defeated hostiles with all 3 of the gunship's weapons. Bronze 4.33% of players
• Gun Master Took out a large number of hostiles as the door gunner. Bronze 5.1% of players
• Shot Master Took down 5 hostiles with a direct shot. Bronze 4.76% of players
• Pursuit Master Successfully pursued 3 enemies with counter maneuvers. Bronze 1.99% of players
• Switch Master Successfully switched from defense to offense 10 times with counter maneuvers. Silver 3.97% of players
• Checking In Flew through the big hotel's gates. Bronze 2.31% of players
• Limbo Flew beneath a falling chimney. Bronze 4.89% of players
• Speed Demon Destroyed all radar missile defense systems in a short period of time. Bronze 1.05% of players
• Machine Gun Faithful Destroyed an enemy aircraft using only the standard machine gun while piloting an aircraft. Bronze 5.35% of players
• Smooth Flight Managed to get Sova 1 to land safely. Silver 2.95% of players
• Bomber Master Defeated a large number of enemies while flying a bomber. Bronze 1.49% of players
• Chain Master Took down 5 hostiles in a row with an assault chain. Silver 1.16% of players
• Nice Kill Shot down a large number of hostile players in competitive online. Silver 1.61% of players
• Nice Assist Used DFM support or ASM support to join a flight member. Bronze 1.77% of players
• Nice Save Saved an ally being targeted by hostile players in DFM in competitive online. Bronze 1.54% of players
• Veteran Pilot Sortied for 50 hours in competitive online or mission co-op. Silver 1.18% of players
• Warwolf Squadron Cleared all levels in mission co-op. Gold 1.5% of players
• Formation Attack Joined the same DFM with two others and shot down a hostile (mission co-op). Silver 1.75% of players
• The Collector Piloted all aircraft in the game. Bronze 1.28% of players
• Welcome to Mission Co-Op Cleared 1 level in mission co-op. Bronze 2.09% of players
• Aerial Sniper Used DFM to destroy 10 airborne enemies in competitive online. Bronze 1.74% of players
• Ground Pounder Used ASM to destroy 30 ground enemies in competitive online. Bronze 1.54% of players
• Interceptor Used an attack helicopter and destroyed 10 missiles or bombs in competitive online. Bronze 1.73% of players
• World Tour Played on all maps in competitive online. Silver 1.42% of players
• Ace of Aces Obtained an A rank for every mission (free mission). Silver 0.75% of players
• All Rounder Obtained all MVPs. Silver 1.56% of players
• Calamity Used Trinity to wipe out the enemy (free mission). Bronze 1.7% of players

Space and patches

Space neededAbout 6.8 GB

Playable today

Credits

Publisher

Namco Bandai Games

Developer

Project Aces

Released

2011-10-11

Age rating

ESRB T

Region

US

Time to beat

about 8.6 hours