|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Platform: Playstation 2 Genre: Flight Sim Publisher: Sega Developer: AM2 ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q1 2003
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: |
Aero Elite: Combat Academy Score: 5.0 / 10
|
||
|
Pros: -
Over 60 aircrafts -
Quick Load Times -
Vigorous training missions -
Good Presentation
|
Cons: -
Weak visuals -
Average sound -
Poor choice of missions -
Multiplayer lacks depth -
Terrible controls -
Too much emphasis placed on training -
Cannot save progress through arcade mode
|
Related Links: |
|
|
"Aero Elite is more of a simulation than arcade, which may seem good at first, but it's not."
|
|||
|
There
haven’t been many flight action games on the Playstation 2 during its
three-year history. Some notables include Ace Combat 4 and Lethal Skies.
Almost any flight action fan knows that Ace Combat 4 is the king of
the skies for PS2, but ever since Sega announced their new flight title
I was excited to dive right in and see it outplays
Ace Combat 4.
To
start off with Aero Elite has over 60 authentically modeled aircraft
ranging from harrier-type jets to military helicopters. So you’ll get
a chance to jump into an apache gunship and an A-10 Tank Killer. Aero
Elite includes Quick Missions, Free Flight, Training and Vs. modes, but
Aero Elite tries to strive in one particular field other games don’t.
The game’s training mode has been given extra special attention for
those simulation fans and features all the repetition that entails. (No
sexy Top Gun instructors either.) There is one other mode, which is
worth mentioning: the Aero Meet 2002. The Aero Meet is a basic
competition, which will help you prepare for the real combat missions.
There are four categories the Meet is divided into: air-to-air
combat, surface-to-air combat, aerial maneuver, and aerial
reconnaissance. With enough points in each category you can progress to
the next competition.
|
|||
|
The
arcade mode offers different sorties, but honestly the missions aren’t
very interesting and seem to get repetitive quite quickly.
You’ll have several missions in a row-taking place over the ocean and then you’ll switch to another location. The game doesn’t offer a good variation when it comes down to mission structure. That is not the worst part; you cannot save your progression through the arcade mode. The equipped weapons make your aircraft seem awfully weak and not very effective against enemy combatants. When you shoot a missile it seems to zip away |
Advertisement
|
||
|
and about five or
ten seconds
later it’ll finally try to strike the target, with a majority of the
time missing or doing little damage to the target. Another
disappointment is how the multiplayer mode is not even available until
you have achieved certain goals, and when you unlock the multiplayer
mode you’ll be disappointed by how poorly the Vs. mode is put
together. The multiplayer
doesn’t offer much excitement when compared to the likes of Ace Combat
4.
The game has a nice slick presentation, with amazing cut-scenes but when you enter the actual in-game graphics you’ll be shocked at the poor visuals. The environments look terrible and at some points I thought I was playing a PSOne game. I guess this explains why the load times are so quick. The only upside to the in-game graphics are the nicely modeled aircrafts. Even though Ace Combat 4 is over a year old, its visuals blow Aero Elite out of the water.
Audio
is very important in any game, but most important in combat style games
– the audio creates emotion and atmosphere. It seems to have an 80’s feel to it, and
it makes the game even more difficult to get into because of this lack
of emotion felt while playing.
One
of my biggest gripes is the clunky control. The aircrafts
handle terribly. The addition of helicopters to a flight simulation game
sounds intriguing at first, but they are even more difficult to control
than the fighter jets. Frustration is likely for those inexperienced
with flight sims.
Aero
Elite is more of a simulation than arcade, which may seem good at first,
but it's not. The game seems to place a larger emphasis on training
rather than real missions you’ll fly in the game. Aero Elite is
difficult to recommend even with the lack of flight simulation games
because of all of its flaws. I really had high hopes for Aero Elite, but
I guess I’ll just go back and play Ace Combat 4 now. (I would I highly
recommend picking up Ace Combat 4, especially considering it’s a
Greatest Hits title now.)
- Siddharth Masand (April 19, 2003)
...More Playstation 2 Game Reviews... ...More Simulation Game Reviews... |
|||
|
|
|||
