cardinalphoenix reviewed Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies for the PlayStation 2...

...and gave it a 9.0!

I'm not ashamed to admit, this is probably the one air craft fighter series that has actually made me misty, watching the sensational story scenes play out. You see a jet fighter game on the rack and it's so easy to remember games like After Burner, where the story was about the last reason anyone dared play it. But Ace Combat's tales are done in fantastic form, the characters all cut deep grooves into a player's heart and leave lasting marks, all while you're up in the sky and can only hear the pain in peoples' words without actually seeing them. You fly alongside pilots who grow to be your friends, and even though they're right there next to you in the next plane, if they get shot down or crash, you know your character should've said something or done something before taking that last flight. And it absolutely kills to continue your journey, but the sense of obligation it inspires forces you to continue on. Maybe there isn't any magic or crazy spells to cast, but the semi-futuristic weapons always shock and surprise, but seem so realistic and reasonable that whether or not they could really exist doesn't even cross the mind.

Even if you're not a huge jet or fighter enthusiast, who lives and longs to take to the air, Ace Combat is still an amazing quest and should be experienced by all players, young and old! This is the first game in the series I've played, but I've acquired and finished the two subsequent chapters on PS2, and am almost finished with ACX on PSP. But not one single one has disappointed!

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