Standard combat flight sim
The is the follow-up to the not particularly well known old-school flight sim, ACE, and follows quite closely in its predecessor's footsteps, adding in only a couple of new features to mark it out as anything different. As such, it is worth a brief look for fans of the original, if there are any, but is certainly not a classic example of retro gaming. The emphasis here is very much on arcade action, rather than fully authentic flying, with the game placing players into the cramped cockpit of a modern, but not real, fighter plane. They will take to the skies in a series of missions which sees them facing off against various enemy jets, but in all honesty there is little variation in these missions, and they all revolve around blowing the bad guys from the skies. One of the new features to be found here is a two-player mode, although it is hotseat rather than split screen, while strangely enough there is a competition mode against the computer which is played in split screen, but really this is about the only difference from the original ACE. Graphics here are pretty basic as you'd expect, with minimal detail, but with a reasonable sense of speed to keep missions exciting, while sound is similarly crude, with engine noises and weapons effects but little else. Ace 2 is rather simple but is strangely enjoyable, with dogfights which can get tense despite their lack of depth and which should entertain for a brief while. It is certainly no classic, but for some straightforward combat flight action, this is worth a look. The similar Ace of Aces dates from the same period and is quite fun, while Aces of the Pacific adds in some more modern twists on the genre.
