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Ace Combat: Assault Horizon maneuvers onto PC in Europe Q1 2013 [update: NA too!]
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is entering PC airspace early next year in Europe. The 2011 flight combat sim is firing down on retailers and on Steam and Games for Windows Marketplace in Q1 2013, priced at €29.99. Publisher Namco Bandai says the new port has PC-optimized graphics and controls, features "many" of the DLC goodies made available on PS3 and Xbox 360, and grants instant access to additional aircrafts, aircraft skins, skills, and maps. We've reached out to Namco Bandai to confirm a North American release. Assault Horizon is also docking on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Games on Demand this year, tomorrow (Nov. 28) and December 18 respectively in Europe, and comes to North America's PSN via today's update. Stand-alone versions on both platforms cost €19.99, but PSN also gets an 'Advanced Edition' which bundles in Tokyo and Honolulu maps as well as a fleet of extra aircraft, including the ASF-X Shinden II, F-15S/MTD, Su-37 Terminator, AV-8B Harrier II plus, CFA-44 Nosferatu , and Ka-50 Hokum. The Advanced Edition jets in at €29.99. Update: Namco Bandai confirmed the releases for North America. As in Europe, Assault Horizon is coming to PC in Q1 2013, and to Games on Demand on December 18.
Namco Bandai has solid fiscal year thanks to Dark Souls, arcade sales
Namco Bandai saw a net income of 1.9 billion yen ($24 million) in its fiscal year 2012, with help from strong US sales of Dark Souls and Ace Combat Assault Horizon. Dark Souls sold 1.19 million units across the US and Europe, while Ace Combat Assault Horizon sold 1.07 million units in Japan, the US and Europe.Across all platforms, Namco sold 23.3 million software units, led by 8.5 million for PS3, 4.2 million for PSP and 3.2 million for Xbox 360. Revenue from Namco's mobile sector increased, although number of paid subscribers dropped from 3.34 million to 2.15 million year-over-year. Sales of Namco's arcade game machines grew from 56 billion yen ($701.3 million) in FY 2011 to 73.4 billion yen ($919.2 million) in FY 2012.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon hits the deck for $30 at Best Buy
After yesterday's Gears of War 3 deal, Best Buy continues its savings streak, offering Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for a $30. The deal is valid today, and it's online only, so hop over to Best Buy if you're looking to take off (about half the price, that is).
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon DLC is Tekken off
In Japan, the term "itasha" (roughly "painful car") refers to a car that has been decorated with large images of anime or game characters. Even though plenty of otaku voluntarily do this to their vehicles, the very name suggests that even the owners of said vehicles acknowledge the embarrassment possible from decorating a vehicle in this manner. Anyway, we don't know why we were thinking about that just now. Here's some new Ace Combat: Assault Horizon DLC, featuring Tekken-themed planes. It'll be out November 15.%Gallery-138923%
Amazon offers more game Lightning Deals, plus $50 in credit with Xbox or PS3
Amazon is trying once again to lay claim to all of your money in a single day, with a set of video game Lightning Deals. If you're quick, you can grab the first right now: Phoenix Wright for $16. Judging by the clues, following deals should get you Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, Sonic Free Riders, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, and more. If you're not into the rush of extremely time-limited deals, feel free to take the day to think about buying FIFA Soccer 12. You can see the whole list of deals here. If you need a console to play these impulse purchases on, Amazon is also offering $50 in credit with purchase of the 4GB Xbox, the Modern Warfare 3 bundle and the 160GB PS3.
It's Ace Combat's great pumpkin DLC, Charlie Brown!
We think Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is pretty cool, but even after release Namco continued deluging us with media, which had the unfortunate effect of dulling our interest in any of it. We can only look at so many pictures of airplanes! ... is what we thought yesterday. Today, Namco sent us screens from the new DLC, coming out October 25. This is the airplane screenshot to get us interested in airplane screenshots again. That's the special "Halloween Pumpkin" color scheme for the F-14D Super Tomcat. The DLC includes another special color scheme, along with an entirely new support fighter, but neither of those have pumpkins on them.%Gallery-137126%
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon review: Old dogfight, new tricks
If you're not a devotee of the franchise, I'd forgive you for not keeping track of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. Not only are there a lot of games in this series, but "Assault Horizon" has to be the most forgettable subtitle since ... well, we can't remember, naturally. (Seriously, guys, you once subtitled a game "Electrosphere." How you've fallen!) I was just like you, dear reader. I barely realized the thing existed until my lousy brother/reviews editor conned me into playing it. Heck, I'm not even a huge fan of flight games, generally speaking. I make these revelations in the hopes that you'll believe me when I say this next bit. You have to play this game. %Gallery-133078%
Here's Ace Combat: Assault Horizon's Tokyo DLC
With Ace Combat: Assault Horizon all done and flying into retail October 11, the team can't just sit around and take a breather. No, it's time to put on an oxygen mask and start working on future DLC, like the Tokyo multiplayer map shown in this latest trailer.%Gallery-134966%
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will let you create a pink jet
Straight out of TGS, the video above and the screens below will give you a good look at what's in store for next month's Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, including some really "fly" aerial online combat ... and a pretty pink jet fighter (with pink missile smoke!). We've got new 3DS screens in here, too.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon trailer gets to the choppa!
This ten-minute Ace Combat: Assault Horizon sees a barrel-rolling whirlybird destroying everything that has a motor or gun. Ace Combat assaults retail on October 11.
Namco Bandai media roundup: Trailers from Tekken, Tales, Ace Combat, and more
Namco Bandai went just a little crazy at GamesCom, releasing entirely too much media for us to post piecemeal. So after the break, you can find new trailers and screens for two Ace Combats (on PS3/Xbox and 3DS), two Tekkens (on PS3 and 3DS), Tales of the Abyss, Inversion, and more. Armored Core 5 alone has earned a "blowout" appelation, with no fewer than three videos and a gallery. How much do you love mechs? Find out right now!
Test your Ace Combat: Assault Horizon endurance with 10 minutes of footage
Namco Bandai sent out a 10-minute video of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon gameplay, which should prove to be an accurate gauge of your interest in the game, and your ability to tolerate it. If, after 10 minutes of squelchy noises, shaky camera movement and the back of an airplane, you're still totally engrossed in the video (and not suffering any effects of motion sickness), then you are prepared for Assault Horizon. Congratulations! Sorry if you do end up feeling motion-sick, though.
Ace Combat Assault Horizon comes in for a retail landing October 11 [update: trailer!]
One of the many announcements made by Namco Bandai during its Level Up event in Dubai was the release date of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, the explosive series reboot for PS3 and Xbox 360. It's flying to North America on October 11, and will be released in Europe on October 14. The European version will also be available in a limited edition bundle (above), with a soundtrack, "exclusive aircraft digital content," and a notebook signed by the development team, all presented in a steelbook case. Namco Bandai also briefly mentioned Ace Combat 3D, the 3DS flight sim first announced during a Nintendo event in October. No details came up, but at the very least we know the three-dimensional dogfighting game is still in the works -- so keep an air sickness bag handy. Update: Find a new trailer for Assault Horizon after the break.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon represents 'rebirth' for the series, coming 'later this year'
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is not Ace Combat 7. In a lot of ways, it isn't an Ace Combat game -- outside of the branding and the fact that it's got planes, it's unrecognizable from its predecessors. AC: Assault Horizon is a more visceral game, doing away with the open-air, long-distance dogfighting of the series' roots and exchanging them for closer encounters and more environmental interaction. Executive director and producer Kazutoki Kono describes the game as "a complete rebirth of the franchise" and it's immediately evident in the brief bit of gameplay Kono showed off at Namco's Ignite 2011 event in San Francisco. Dogfights are a lot closer now, with the camera zooming in over the shoulder of the player's plane to give them a better look at their target. Because of this new system (aptly titled the "Close Range Assault System"), the game's combat has shifted away from an emphasis on missile locking in exchange for a more machine gun-heavy scheme, making for some jarring combat -- planes erode and explode under fire in a fantastic display of shrapnel fireworks. Flying around a metropolis, Kuno was not only destroying planes, but flying between buildings and a massive crane at the center of this seaside city. The game takes place in 2015 in Africa, where a new type of WMD threatens the world. Players will assume the role of William Bishop, whose job it is to stop the impending mass destruction -- though Kuno promised players will also see events unfold through the perspectives of other characters. AC: Assault Horizon will feature real-world locales and is set to launch on the Xbox 360 and PS3 "later this year." Hit the jump for a teaser trailer. %Gallery-115711%
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Joint Assault media does a flyby
We've made sure that you don't need to fly to Germany to land a look at the latest screens from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for PS3 and 360, or a video of the newest PSP entry in the series, Ace Combat: Joint Assault, which touches down at US retail on August 31. (We didn't actually fly there for them -- but it's the thought that counts, right?) As expected, the shots from the console game are almost all of planes getting torn to holy hell by other planes' cannons, while its portable sibling is seen on video after the break looking like a PS2 game (that's a compliment) and not like something that will make your knees and elbows ache. Aircraft puns and arthritis jokes -- what will we do next?%Gallery-99737%
Ace Combat returns to consoles with the plane-wrecking Assault Horizon
Namco Bandai's latest Ace Combat game, headed to PS3 and Xbox 360 next year, adds something new to the formula that's sure to please people who really hate airplanes. According to the press release, Ace Combat Assault Horizon "intensifies the franchise, escalating combat to the next level with aircraft that are literally torn apart, spewing oil and debris across the sky." This game represents a "rebirth of our premiere franchise," said Project Aces producer Kazutoki Kono. What better way to bring it back than with airplane mutilation? The trailer (after the break) also makes references to real-world locations like Miami, and cites GeoEye map data, suggesting that this game is following the flight path set forth by the PSP's Joint Assault. Also, there's a shoutout to Namco Bandai's Twitter account for some reason.
