14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Namco Bandai, hot on the heels of announcing some good financial results for the fiscal year 2011, has announced that the all-new Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has a launch date of October 11 in the United States and October 14 in Europe.
The game will be launched on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the developers say that they are not planning to port the game to other consoles.
Assault Horizon is billed as being a complete reinvention of the Ace Combat franchise, with a bigger focus on air acrobatics and on the action element, with a story which is created by a New York Times best-seller writer.
The game will take place in real world locations like Dubai and Russia and will introduce new elements like new aircraft types, modeled on real life fighters, a new set of mechanics for supersonic flights, the use of attack helicopters and of the door gunner.
The air combat is also being upgraded, with more complex maneuvers to be performed and more spectacular destruction sequences for those who lose the fight.
The developers team and Namco Bandai says that Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will be more focused on close dogfights, many of them taking place in urban settings where gamers need to pay equal attention to the environment around them and to the enemy aircraft.
Kazutoki Kono, who is the producer and executive director at Namco Bandai, has stated when the announcement was made, “ACE COMBAT is a beloved franchise and we’re excited to take the series into a whole new direction with more visceral and fast-paced action.”
He added, “Players around the world will find an adventure that will keep them glued to the edge of their seat. They’ll feel their adrenaline pumping with every bullet, every explosion and every near-miss escape.”