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Fighter Ace
by Jolex Del Pilar
Tuesday, April 15 2003
A good online WW2 game has always been on the minds of many gamers. Fighter Ace is attempting to do just that.
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Title:
Fighter Ace
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Platform:
PC Windows
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Publisher:
Jaleco |
Developer:
Jaleco |
#
of Players: Dozens. |
Genre:
Action/Flight Sim
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
March 2003 |
Grapevine:
On the shell of it, Fighter Ace seeks to create a real world where dozens of players can come online and recreate famous WWII battles such as Midway, Corral Sea, and even the Battle of Britain. |
As of yet, there have been two very solid WWII fighter sims that have been released on the market; Flight Combat Simulator 2, and European Airwar (made by the now defunct Microprose). Although both games feature extensive single player campaigns, neither game really developed a huge online gathering. The prospect of being able to play online with dozens of players is one of the reasons these genres continue to gain popularity and continue to develop. Fighter Ace from Jaleco is one of the few to throw their hat into the "purely online" arena to satisfy this particular gamer demand.
On the shell of it, Fighter Ace seeks to create a real world where dozens of players can come online and recreate famous WWII battles such as Midway, Corral Sea, and even the Battle of Britain. Previously this was a hard task to accomplish given the state of internet connectivity only 5 years ago. However, with the proliferation of internet broadband connections at the consumer level, this has become a much more attainable task.
From the few hours I've spent with the game, Fighter Ace seems to have the goods. It features a lot of choices for the average gamer. If you're a flight sim nut, then you can have your flight controls and dynamics very realistic. If you turn too hard without enough speed, you will stall. Gravity will play an effect on your climb rate, as well as engine power. However if you don't know a flap from a wing, then you can also opt for arcade like controls where your planes will pull high rate climbs upside down without losing any speed.
One thing I noticed and hope that Jaleco will smooth out as they patch and work on the game is that on some servers it seems that highly skilled players will pray on "newbs". I once saw a guy flying a Spitfire who had around 40 kills just flying around shooting down people who just entered the arena. Now that might be fun for the shooter, or the more experienced player, but let's get realistic. Most people want a gradual introduction into flight combat and not an instant fiery death. Jaleco should have different servers for different levels of skill. Also, skilled players should not be jerks and stick to higher level arenas to give novices a chance to get their feet wet.
Fighter Ace seems to be an ever evolving game (recent version 3.5 is out as of this writing) and seems to be improving with every build. Expect a full review soon from us.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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