Online multiplayer is also supported, with up to three players in co-op missions and sixteen for versus play in a few different modes. Playing over Xbox Live seems to work fairly well, though like most online games I found my experience wildly varied depending on the connections of other players. There appeared to be a decent player population at the time this review was written, so online play may have some decent life to it though it remains to be seen if this will stay true as other major online games are released this season. Nonetheless, what is here does work and is a nice addition to a series and genre traditionally focused on the single-player experience.
Despite getting so many things right, Assault Horizon does have some meaningful problems. There are a few missions that seem outright unfair in design even on Normal mode, and they’ll probably require a few replays and careful memorization in order to beat. I am also not fond of all but forcing players to use new mechanics like the Dogfight Mode, which are good ideas to bring in new players but not traditionally part of the genre and may annoy those who enjoy normal air fighting. I’m also going to say something that may be controversial: calling Assault Horizon an Ace Combat game is disingenuous. It has the very basic skeleton of an Ace Combat title, but throwing in regenerating health, mid-mission cutscenes/QTEs, and many other recent FPS mechanics makes this a game that is in the same overall genre as Ace Combat but definitely not part of the same series. I’m only vaguely familiar with Ace Combat and these changes were jarring even to me; I suspect long-time fans will be genuinely upset.
Nonetheless, I am condemning the game’s name and not the game itself. Assault Horizon is fun and effectively brings a classic genre to a new generation of players. It offers a decent amount of content, is very well produced, and looks good. There is nothing wrong with the genre-merging that Assault Horizon does, and they’ve mixed so many mechanics in a way that works surprisingly well. This will be a game that draws very polarizing reactions, but the largest of its target audiences will find much more to like here than be upset about. When the worst I can say about a game is that its title does not match how it really plays, then that isn’t too bad.
All of this leaves Assault Horizon in a pretty good position. It has the core mechanics of a mission-based flight game but is combined with lots of modern touches to update this classic genre, resulting in something that should appeal to most players. It has decent multi-player and a strong story mode with adjustable difficulty, so the overall package is fine. Nonetheless, I am left making a recommendation I never thought would come up in a review... Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is for people who aren’t fans of the Ace Combat series. The average player is probably going to like this, but long-time fans are likely to be upset by all these changes that may strike them as unnecessary. This is Ace Combat: Mainstream Gaming Edition, and it will serve that larger audience very well at the expense of upsetting the hardcore.
