Dragon Quest: A famous role-playing game franchise of American origin wherein the player takes on the mantle of a humanoid hero who has the power to turn into a dragon.
Best computer and console games never made...
- Thread starter Petike
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IL-2 Sturmovik Ace Combat : Skies of Strangereal
A 2014 collaborative effort of the Russian studio Maddox Games (creators of the highly acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series) and the Japanese Namco Bandai studio Projects Aces (creators of the equally succesful Ace Combat series).
This combat flight sim is set in the main Ace Combat universe, the alternate version of Earth known as Strangereal. Chronologically, it is the first installment in the series and a prequel to all previously published installments. The focus of the game's overarching narrative is not a single storyline, but several stories of pilots and their squadrons, all set during the Second Global War (1932-1938). These stories are featured in several separate and expansive campaigns offered by the SP component of the game.
The nature of the conflict is world-spanning, as in the real Second World War. Many missions take the player to exotic locales (the icy tundra of Aurelia and Wellow, the jungles of San Salvacion, etc.) and to often very different aerial theatres, including an alternate Pacific War. However, most of the action takes place over the main two continents, Osea and Verusa. Playable nations include The Kingdom of Sapin, the Principality of Belka, The Republic of Ustio, The Union of Yuktobanian Republics, The federal republics of Estovakia and Aurelia, The Kingdom of Nordennavic, The Republic of Romny, the Nation of North Point and much more. The game puts a greater emphasis on nations that have previously made brief appearances, but didn't figure prominently: Notably, the learning campaign focuses on the early carreer of a rookie pilot in the Wielvakian air force.
The game features at least a hundred of various Strangereal military aircraft of the period, most of them based on real aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. The unlockable dieselpunkish superfighters are based on never developed WWII combat aircraft or are completely new, fictional models. The game is also the chronologically first installment to feature airborne aircraft carriers - both zeppelin derivatives and seemingly gravity-defying aerodreadnaughts. An analogue of the Gloster Gladiator serves as the game's default starting plane, with better planes, equipment and arnaments becoming available as the player progresses through the campaigns. A more purely esthetic award are various medals given to the player for great bravery or skill - this is one of the many crossover holdovers from IL-2. The game also has an extensive in-game lexicon of planes and of the recent history of the nations of Strangereal and their air forces (Belka's air force being the oldest in the world). Several characters and events from Skies of Strangereal are allusions to later Strangereal history, e.g. two prominent main characters are the great-grandfathers of Larry "Solo-wing Pixie" Foulke and Kei "Edge" Nagase, respectively.
Unlike previous Ace Combat games, the gameplay is more heavily geared towards realism. But, in the grand tradition of the IL-2 series, the realism and difficulty settings are very scalable and ultimately customizable. Most first-time pilots or long-time fans of the AC series will have little problem playing through the game in classic Ace Combat style, then eventually ramp up the settings to immerse themselves in a greater challenge. The flight physics are also the most realistic yet - in both the IL-2 and AC series.
The game has garnered a lot of critical praise and both studios have promised to work on similar crossovers in the future.
A 2014 collaborative effort of the Russian studio Maddox Games (creators of the highly acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series) and the Japanese Namco Bandai studio Projects Aces (creators of the equally succesful Ace Combat series).
This combat flight sim is set in the main Ace Combat universe, the alternate version of Earth known as Strangereal. Chronologically, it is the first installment in the series and a prequel to all previously published installments. The focus of the game's overarching narrative is not a single storyline, but several stories of pilots and their squadrons, all set during the Second Global War (1932-1938). These stories are featured in several separate and expansive campaigns offered by the SP component of the game.
The nature of the conflict is world-spanning, as in the real Second World War. Many missions take the player to exotic locales (the icy tundra of Aurelia and Wellow, the jungles of San Salvacion, etc.) and to often very different aerial theatres, including an alternate Pacific War. However, most of the action takes place over the main two continents, Osea and Verusa. Playable nations include The Kingdom of Sapin, the Principality of Belka, The Republic of Ustio, The Union of Yuktobanian Republics, The federal republics of Estovakia and Aurelia, The Kingdom of Nordennavic, The Republic of Romny, the Nation of North Point and much more. The game puts a greater emphasis on nations that have previously made brief appearances, but didn't figure prominently: Notably, the learning campaign focuses on the early carreer of a rookie pilot in the Wielvakian air force.
The game features at least a hundred of various Strangereal military aircraft of the period, most of them based on real aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. The unlockable dieselpunkish superfighters are based on never developed WWII combat aircraft or are completely new, fictional models. The game is also the chronologically first installment to feature airborne aircraft carriers - both zeppelin derivatives and seemingly gravity-defying aerodreadnaughts. An analogue of the Gloster Gladiator serves as the game's default starting plane, with better planes, equipment and arnaments becoming available as the player progresses through the campaigns. A more purely esthetic award are various medals given to the player for great bravery or skill - this is one of the many crossover holdovers from IL-2. The game also has an extensive in-game lexicon of planes and of the recent history of the nations of Strangereal and their air forces (Belka's air force being the oldest in the world). Several characters and events from Skies of Strangereal are allusions to later Strangereal history, e.g. two prominent main characters are the great-grandfathers of Larry "Solo-wing Pixie" Foulke and Kei "Edge" Nagase, respectively.
Unlike previous Ace Combat games, the gameplay is more heavily geared towards realism. But, in the grand tradition of the IL-2 series, the realism and difficulty settings are very scalable and ultimately customizable. Most first-time pilots or long-time fans of the AC series will have little problem playing through the game in classic Ace Combat style, then eventually ramp up the settings to immerse themselves in a greater challenge. The flight physics are also the most realistic yet - in both the IL-2 and AC series.
The game has garnered a lot of critical praise and both studios have promised to work on similar crossovers in the future.
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