Others say...

"On it's own, it gets four stars; as part of the series I'd give it three stars though."
The graphics are the best yet and it's remarkable to see this level of beautiful work given that the Playstation 3 is out and about already.

And I love the ability to buy and equip a variety of special weapons for each plane, which isn't a feature on any other game in this series.

Dogfighting is excellent, and ground forces put up a better fight than in previous installments of the series.

But what's missing that the others offered is a really challenging variety of terrain. Environments on every level are fairly flat, and all but the most well equipt of opposing pilots are relatively easy pickings for this reason--fish in a barrel. Ace Combat 5 offered the best challenge in terms of really having to choose your aircraft and give commands primarily because of the terrain. You couldn't just get one superplane that would work in all levels like you can in this installment.

And what happened to being able to choose your wingman's aircraft as well? Having no choice in your Wingman's aircraft is a huge setback.

Commands have improved so you can tell your one wingman--only one wingman--to attack Air, Ground, or any target at will whereas the other versions only allowed you to order the other planes to "Dispurse" attacking at will on any target of opportunity in your immediate vicinity.

But there is a huge, positive difference in respect to the wingman following those commands in this game. When you give the order to fire at will, he doesn't just stick to you like the wingmen do in other versions of this game--which is annoying and useless. You give the command to "Dispurse" and your wingman is off kicking butt that might be on the opposite side of the combat area. Excellent.

Story line: Who cares. I never check out the videos between levels on any version, but the Briefings were not as interesting. Maybe they're putting too much energy into trying to make a movie out of it and not enough on play. This isn't Metal Gear. Personal opinion only, I actually liked the story board version that was featured in Ace Combat 4 the best.

And if I can make a suggestion, maybe instead they can put on little interviews with actual fighter pilots in future versions, as well as a bit of flight school.

BOTTOM LINE: This isn't a bad installment in the series, but it's a weak one. If you want to make sure to have every single one in the Ace Combat series, of course you should get it, but don't expect it to offer the level of challenge and excitement found in the others.

Now I have to buy a Playstation 3 so I can play Ace Combat 6!

"The Best Ace Combat Game Yet"
This is by far the best Ace Combat game put forth yet.

The story = Ace Combat has never been known for its plot and writing...honestly they all contain some level of cheesiness. Zero, however, is the least of the offenders. You actually feel a sense of purpose while playing through these levels, and the fact that you have a choice as to what kind of pilot you want to be (merciless, professional, etc via the combat rating system) promotes this sense of purpose.

Gameplay = You fight the most complicated AI the franchise has ever produced (and I stand by that remark, even after the release of Ace Combat 6). You'll find yourself requiring a strategy to outgun your enemies, and when you take on the squadrons, you'd better prepare yourself for some frustration.

Extras/replay value = This is the bread and butter of the game; tons of unlockables (planes, weapons, a list of aces you shot down, and medals, which unfortunately do nothing). To acquire all these unlockables and extras, you'll need to spend at least 50 hours on this game...even for the most skilled of players.

It's a shame Ace Combat 6 messed up the formula for their latest game...Ace Combat Zero has it down pat. Hands down the best flight sim/arcade game I've ever played for any system.

"Ace Combat Zero (PS2 Video Game)"
Video Game arrived in excellent condition and quality. Video Game arrived in a very timely fashion.

"Another great installment in the Ace Combat Series"
If you played any of the others in the Ace Combat series you'll be unlikely to be disappointed by Zero. It places you in the role of "Cypher," an ace paired with a wingman named "Solo Wing Pixy." The narrative of the game is told through an interviewer trying to understand the war by following the career of Cypher, and by interviewing pilots who flew with or against him. There's a fair amount of FMV devoted to this, which is a nice touch.

One of the nice things about this game is that depending on your actions, you'll be placed in one of three categories: Mercenary (destroy lots and lots of optional targets), Soldier (destroy what's appropriate to the mission), or Knight (avoid destroying targets of oppportunity and save your allies whenever possible). Depending on which category you're in the game changes bit by bit, yielding different endings. Also, the game does tend to emphasize ace-on-ace fights, usually with you and Pixy fighting against 2-8 planes in a "guest star" ace squadron. These also change with your play style, and finding all 150 or so aces gives you something to do while racking up the money to buy some of the most expensive planes. ;)

If you've played anything else in the series you'll most likely recognize most of the planes. About the only complaint I have is that some of the highest-end planes take almost an entire playthrough to accumulate enough money to buy, and their special weapons cost as much as some of the smaller planes as well.

Bottom line, I liked this game quite a bit. I'd recommend picking it up if you liked Ace Combat 4 and/or 5 - you'll probably appeciate the subtle references to those games if you've already played them.

"Better than the last "
Well here I am again and all I can do is tip my hat to the men and women who created the awsome series. As much as I loved Ace Combat 5 I found myself back in the grips of a addictive game. The one thing I missed in the new installment was the soundtrack. Ace Combat 5 gave us a great song to jam to. Blurry was an awsome addition to the game and I felt a little let down that there was not another theme song to push the envelope in ZERO. Other than that the game is flawless. The planes. The Action. And the Setups just go on to prove the ELITE status of the people at Namco Games. Keep em comming. I need more and I need it now !!!