Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
Encyclopedia
is a video game for the PlayStation Portable
handheld console. It is the seventh installment of the Ace Combat video game series, the first for the PlayStation Portable system, and the second for a portable console. It was released for the United States
on October 24, 2006.
However, in the year 2020, Aurelia's northern neighbour, Leasath under the command of Diego Gaspar Navarro invaded the country, in retaliation for their supposed involvement in promoting civil war in Leasath and being their largest benefactor in aid. Aurelia, unprepared for the invasion, was taken over in 10 days due to the power of Leasath's advanced superweapon - the Gleipnir Flying Fortress. However, the reason for the invasion was not what it appeared to be; it is later revealed that Diego Gaspar Navarro had an alternate motive for launching the invasion: to make millions in arms deals during the war.
Reduced to a single operating airbase, the remnants of the decimated Aurelian military band together to strike back at the invading Leasath forces. At the forefront of this crusade is Gryphus Squadron, led by ace fighter pilot Gryphus 1 who bears the symbol of "The Southern Cross
". As Aurelia's last hope, Gryphus Squadron must liberate their country and restore peace to the land.
Throughout the various cutscenes, the story is narrated by Albert Genette, a reporter sent on assignment to cover the conflict. This is the same reporter who covers the Sand Island Squadron and eventually the Osea-Yuktobania conflict of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
. In that game he narrated majority of the story as well.
. The game is broken down into numerous missions which involve various combat objectives, such as attacking ground targets, air targets, or naval targets
. At the completion of each mission, a rank and points are awarded based on the completion time and enemies destroyed. The "Free Mission" mode allows levels unlocked in the campaign mode to be replayed to achieve a higher rank or gain points for the purchase of planes or equipment. Ace Combat X also includes a multiplayer mode, using Ad Hoc wireless to connect up to four players. There are two types of multiplayer modes: a cooperative mode against 2-6 A.I.-controlled fighters and a versus modes pitting human players against one another. The versus modes include: Dogfight
- Survival, Dog Fight - Shoot Out, Base Attack (attack/defend), Air Superiority (King of the Hill), Beacon Battle (Capture the Flag) and Escort Mission. The wingman
command system is no longer available because of the limited number of buttons on the PSP.
As Ace Combat is a semi-realistic combat flight simulator
series, it shares most features with other games of the genre. The player can fly a variety of real and fictional combat aircraft—fighters
, attackers, multirole fighters, bomber
s, and ground-attack aircraft. The player can choose from either a first
- or third-person view. The first-person view can be displayed from within the cockpit
or simply with a HUD
. The HUD is similar to other Ace Combat games, except the player is allowed a visual of the target on the upper-left of the screen, and a Multi-Purpose Gauge (MPG) on the upper-right used for different types of objectives (distance between a target unit and a destination, health of friendly units, number of enemy units left, etc.). Medals are awarded by completing various objectives in campaign, free mission, or multiplayer mode. There are also advanced controls for players seeking a greater challenge.
and higher-powered engines
. Unlockable parts can change the performance or stats (Speed, Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground, Mobility, Stability, and Defense) of the aircraft in positive and/or negative ways; some may also confer special abilities like automatically firing the gun when the firing reticule appears, increasing the payload capacity of the plane, or automatically adjusting the plane's flight at low altitude to minimize the risk of crashing. Special weapons and equipment are unlocked when missions are completed with an S-rank (the highest rank awarded). Each mission or level also contains a "star" unit and an "ace" unit. The star unit is typically an unarmed target, such as a container ship, a hanger, or an unarmed helicopter. The ace unit is an ace pilot who appears at a certain point in a mission if conditions are met. Destruction of the star unit also unlocks weapons and equipment, while defeating the ace unlocks a paint scheme. The player can unlock 4 different paint schemes for each aircraft.
Players gain money by destroying enemies, points being converted directly into credits. Once the mission objectives are complete, the player is awarded bonus money for performing above and beyond the requirements of the mission objectives. With missions that require landing or refueling in mid-air, bonus money can be earned by completing said tasks quickly.
There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and the unlockable Ace level. The difficulty mode affects how many enemies are in a stage, how smart/accurate the enemies are, how much damage the enemies can take, and how much damage the player's airplane can take. On the Ace difficulty level, a single missile from the enemy will deal approximately 95% damage to a standard-defense fighter (if not take it out immediately), whereas on the easiest level it would deal about 20%. However, with the greater number of enemies at harder difficulties, there's also the potential for earning more points/credits per mission.
Like other Ace Combat games, the player can choose their own route through the campaign, which affects how the game progresses. There are 3 points where missions branch out into multiple paths, marking segments of the game; the longest campaign a player can undertake requires the completion of all 17 available missions, while the shortest amounts to a count of 10 (medals are awarded accordingly for meeting both of these conditions). Certain bonus stages are also unlocked by taking a particular campaign path.
Most of the missions in the game are laid out as simply "search-and-destroy", where the player must engage a target and destroy it within a time limit; the only variations to this layout is whether the targets are air-to-air or air-to-ground (land or sea) or a combination. However, there are a variety of mission-altering conditions including but not limited to:
Two or more of these conditions may be combined during certain missions. A few missions contain different phases where the player will receive a "mission update" after an in-mission event occurs.
Unofficial websites
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
handheld console. It is the seventh installment of the Ace Combat video game series, the first for the PlayStation Portable system, and the second for a portable console. It was released for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 24, 2006.
Plot
Aurelia is a peaceful nation located on the southern edge of the Osean Continent. A mild climate and vast underground resources have kept Aurelia out of war and conflicts for many decades.However, in the year 2020, Aurelia's northern neighbour, Leasath under the command of Diego Gaspar Navarro invaded the country, in retaliation for their supposed involvement in promoting civil war in Leasath and being their largest benefactor in aid. Aurelia, unprepared for the invasion, was taken over in 10 days due to the power of Leasath's advanced superweapon - the Gleipnir Flying Fortress. However, the reason for the invasion was not what it appeared to be; it is later revealed that Diego Gaspar Navarro had an alternate motive for launching the invasion: to make millions in arms deals during the war.
Reduced to a single operating airbase, the remnants of the decimated Aurelian military band together to strike back at the invading Leasath forces. At the forefront of this crusade is Gryphus Squadron, led by ace fighter pilot Gryphus 1 who bears the symbol of "The Southern Cross
Crux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
". As Aurelia's last hope, Gryphus Squadron must liberate their country and restore peace to the land.
Throughout the various cutscenes, the story is narrated by Albert Genette, a reporter sent on assignment to cover the conflict. This is the same reporter who covers the Sand Island Squadron and eventually the Osea-Yuktobania conflict of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
, released in the PAL region as Ace Combat: Squadron Leader, is a semi-realistic flight combat video game for the PlayStation 2. Like other titles in Namco's Ace Combat series, Ace Combat 5 features gameplay that is a mix between arcade flight and authentic flight simulation...
. In that game he narrated majority of the story as well.
Gameplay
In the game's campaign mode, the player plays the role of the flight lead in Gryphus Squadron, of the Aurelian Air ForceAir force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
. The game is broken down into numerous missions which involve various combat objectives, such as attacking ground targets, air targets, or naval targets
Anti-Surface Warfare
Anti-surface warfare is a type of naval warfare directed against surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships....
. At the completion of each mission, a rank and points are awarded based on the completion time and enemies destroyed. The "Free Mission" mode allows levels unlocked in the campaign mode to be replayed to achieve a higher rank or gain points for the purchase of planes or equipment. Ace Combat X also includes a multiplayer mode, using Ad Hoc wireless to connect up to four players. There are two types of multiplayer modes: a cooperative mode against 2-6 A.I.-controlled fighters and a versus modes pitting human players against one another. The versus modes include: Dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
- Survival, Dog Fight - Shoot Out, Base Attack (attack/defend), Air Superiority (King of the Hill), Beacon Battle (Capture the Flag) and Escort Mission. The wingman
Wingman
A wingman is a pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment. Wingman was originally a term referring to the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation....
command system is no longer available because of the limited number of buttons on the PSP.
As Ace Combat is a semi-realistic combat flight simulator
Combat flight simulator
Combat flight simulators are video games used to simulate military aircraft and their operations...
series, it shares most features with other games of the genre. The player can fly a variety of real and fictional combat aircraft—fighters
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, attackers, multirole fighters, bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s, and ground-attack aircraft. The player can choose from either a first
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
- or third-person view. The first-person view can be displayed from within the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
or simply with a HUD
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
. The HUD is similar to other Ace Combat games, except the player is allowed a visual of the target on the upper-left of the screen, and a Multi-Purpose Gauge (MPG) on the upper-right used for different types of objectives (distance between a target unit and a destination, health of friendly units, number of enemy units left, etc.). Medals are awarded by completing various objectives in campaign, free mission, or multiplayer mode. There are also advanced controls for players seeking a greater challenge.
Unlockables and credits
In single-player mode, new planes, medals, weapons, parts, paint schemes and bonus missions can be unlocked. The planes, parts, and special weapons have to be purchased in the hanger after they have been unlocked. New planes are unlocked upon the completion of each campaign mode mission or bonus missions. Medals are awarded for meeting certain conditions in either campaign or free mission mode, such as achieving 15 gun kills or destroying 200 enemies. Original planes (fictional planes designed specifically for the Ace Combat series) may be equipped (or "tuned") with unlocked upgrade parts, such as thrust-vectoring nozzles, advanced canardsCanard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, canard is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing...
and higher-powered engines
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
. Unlockable parts can change the performance or stats (Speed, Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground, Mobility, Stability, and Defense) of the aircraft in positive and/or negative ways; some may also confer special abilities like automatically firing the gun when the firing reticule appears, increasing the payload capacity of the plane, or automatically adjusting the plane's flight at low altitude to minimize the risk of crashing. Special weapons and equipment are unlocked when missions are completed with an S-rank (the highest rank awarded). Each mission or level also contains a "star" unit and an "ace" unit. The star unit is typically an unarmed target, such as a container ship, a hanger, or an unarmed helicopter. The ace unit is an ace pilot who appears at a certain point in a mission if conditions are met. Destruction of the star unit also unlocks weapons and equipment, while defeating the ace unlocks a paint scheme. The player can unlock 4 different paint schemes for each aircraft.
Players gain money by destroying enemies, points being converted directly into credits. Once the mission objectives are complete, the player is awarded bonus money for performing above and beyond the requirements of the mission objectives. With missions that require landing or refueling in mid-air, bonus money can be earned by completing said tasks quickly.
There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and the unlockable Ace level. The difficulty mode affects how many enemies are in a stage, how smart/accurate the enemies are, how much damage the enemies can take, and how much damage the player's airplane can take. On the Ace difficulty level, a single missile from the enemy will deal approximately 95% damage to a standard-defense fighter (if not take it out immediately), whereas on the easiest level it would deal about 20%. However, with the greater number of enemies at harder difficulties, there's also the potential for earning more points/credits per mission.
Like other Ace Combat games, the player can choose their own route through the campaign, which affects how the game progresses. There are 3 points where missions branch out into multiple paths, marking segments of the game; the longest campaign a player can undertake requires the completion of all 17 available missions, while the shortest amounts to a count of 10 (medals are awarded accordingly for meeting both of these conditions). Certain bonus stages are also unlocked by taking a particular campaign path.
Missions
In campaign mode, the storyline drives the missions that the player is given, however there are many times when the player is faced with a decision as to which mission to take or the order in which to fly a set of missions. These decisions can affect the storyline and later missions by triggering or not triggering certain events. For instance, the player may be faced with a shorter time limit due to limited fuel, or they may gain an advantage against the enemy by partially disabling the enemy's weapons. Certain special missions can only be played if the player takes a particular campaign path. However, in Free Mission mode, the player can choose to play unlocked missions in any of the possible mission conditions.Most of the missions in the game are laid out as simply "search-and-destroy", where the player must engage a target and destroy it within a time limit; the only variations to this layout is whether the targets are air-to-air or air-to-ground (land or sea) or a combination. However, there are a variety of mission-altering conditions including but not limited to:
- EscortEscort fighterThe escort fighter was a World War II concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets.The perfect escort fighter had long range, a lengthy combat loiter time to protect the bombers, and enough internal fuel to return home...
/Defense (where the player must protect an ally from destruction by enemy craft or ground vehicles) - Air Restrictive (where the player must remain either below or above a certain altitude/speed)
- Stealth (where the player must avoid detection by radar or ground units, may be combined with an altitude restriction)
- JammingRadar jamming and deceptionRadar jamming and deception is the intentional emission of radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of a radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information...
(where the player's radar and lock-on will be hindered or disabled) - Assault on Base (where the player must attack/destroy an enemy stronghold)
- InterdictionInterdictionInterdiction is a military term that refers to the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction...
(where the player must destroy a target before it, or another unit, reaches a critical boundary or location)
Two or more of these conditions may be combined during certain missions. A few missions contain different phases where the player will receive a "mission update" after an in-mission event occurs.
External links
Official websitesUnofficial websites