Wow. Not often do you play a game and think it really ticks ALL the boxes of what you are looking for! Actually, in this case I was looking for a game that would push the iPhone a little bit more than most games out there do, yet still be really playable and fun – and I think I found it in ‘Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion’!
Ace Combat, as I’ll call it, is a 3rd person perspective flight attack simulator, putting you in control of a range of aircraft, in full 3D! You are given a stack of missions to complete that involve destroying both airborne and ground-based targets, and all of this is glued together with controls via the accelerometer of the iPhone….
Uh-oh, I hear you say – doesn’t that make it hard to play? Well no, not really. Admittedly, there is a learning curve where you need to get used to the sensitivity of your craft, but that’s just the same as with most console games today. Actually the accelerometer works REALLY well for the 3 axes of movement you can choose to move in. The reset of the controls are nicely abstracted so you have a boost button if you want to increase speed, and then weapons controls that are on a HUD (head-up display), and easy to access.
In fact the HUD is worth talking about – you can control how much info is on it, but if you choose the default, there’s quite a bit! It can be a touch distracting, but personally I found you get used to it quickly.
The graphics in this game are absolutely outstanding – it’s a full 3D environment, with a great range of colours, and super-smooth animation too. That said, there have been some savings made on what should be buildings etc on the ground, especially when you find them in large encampments. These are rendered as flat objects. However, have no fear, there are some very decent sized objects on the ground/sea (e.g. bridges, subs) that you have to destroy in later missions!
I think in summary I would say that this game is superb – a LOT of time has clearly been spent on it, and it is optimised for the iPhone extremely well. There is something tremendously satisfying about being a fighter pilot in this game – maybe it’s the ‘Top Gun’ effect, or something else – but I’d recommend anyone to grab this on the App Store and have some fun with it 🙂
Verdict: Simply superb
Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion / £3.99 [iTunes link]