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Situated squarely in the Ceres Ocean, the Sand Island military base sits between the warring nations of Osea and Yuktobania. A surprise attack by the forces of Yuktobania levels the 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron but a few metal birds escape the carnage and are sent on missions to defend Osea from aggression. Take to the skies and select from 50 aircraft such as the FA/18 and participate in over 30 missions from the Mission Mode of the game. Three wingmen join the lead eagle for support and key interaction throughout the various levels. Once the attackers have been routed, players bring the war to Yuktobvania and put their forces on the run. Solo pilots may fly alone as Mobius in the arcade mode where simpler missions await. The gameplay in the latest Ace Combat is superb. The planes move, pitch, and dive with perceptible heft and respond eagerly to one's commands. We've been testing the game with both Dual Shock 2 and Hori's Flight Stick 2 this morning and the feeling of flight when using the yoke on Hori's controller is solid and much more substantial than the twiddling of the DS2. The effects in the game are very well done. Climb steeply and fast moving condensation shimmers off the hull of the plane. Switch to outside camera view and hit the afterburners - a faint purple glare lights up in the boosters but soon flares up into a bright purplish-white glow as the plane goes into overdrive. When flying underneath a shining sun, every move of the plane catches the light and reflects it just right for a nigh perfect simulation of glinting.
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