Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
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| Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | |
|---|---|
 The American cover shows two F-15s flying close to a mushroom cloud. |
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Distributor(s) | Bandai Namco Games |
| Series | Ace Combat series |
| Aspect ratio | 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date | JP March 23, 2006 NA April 25, 2006 EU September 15, 2006 AUS September 14, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen |
| Media | DVD |
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (エースコンバット・ゼロ ザ・ベルカン・ウォー Ēsu Konbatto Zero Za Berukan Uo?) is a semi-realistic flight simulator developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is part of the Ace Combat series of games. In Europe the game was released under the title Ace Combat: The Belkan War.
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[edit] Introduction
The game takes place in 1995, 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, revolving around the conflict between the nation of Belka and the Allied Forces; a multinational military alliance with forces from the nations of Osea, Yuktobania, Ustio, and Sapin among others. Several characters from Ace Combat 5 make an appearance in Ace Combat Zero, but they appear in tertiary roles. The player plays as a mercenary pilot, "Cipher", hired by the country of Ustio, which was invaded by Belka.
The game features primarily older versions of fighter aircraft seen in its predecessor game, such as F-15, F/A-18, and several second generation aircraft like the Saab Draken. The player will go up against enemy ace squadrons who feature enhanced weaponry and combat prowess. Players who destroy everything without regard to hostility will receive the "Mercenary" rank, players who instead spare neutral targets will receive the "Knight" rank, and those that strike a balance between the two will earn the "Soldier" rank. These ranks will affect which enemy ace squadrons a player will face throughout the campaign. A split-screen versus mode is included with the game, but no online feature exists. A notable, if unfortunate, difference with previous and following game of the series is that the player does not have the ability to choose the aircraft his wingman will be flying.
[edit] Story
The Principality of Belka has launched an invasion on the neighbouring country of Ustio in an attempt to sieze the newly discovered resources. This triggers The Belkan War, between Belka and the coalition forces of Osea, Sapin, Yuktobania, and Ustio itself. Ustio, having only recently seceded from Belka, loses most of it's territory. As a last hope, the Ustians hire mercenary pilots to fight in their air force. Two of these mercenaries are callsigned Cipher and his wingman, Solo Wing Pixy.
Cipher and Pixy succeed in driving the Belkans from Ustio and the other coalition forces. However, when the coalition forces begin to push into Belka, Pixy starts to question the validity of the invasion. This uncertainty comes to a head when Belka resorts to nuclear weapons to fend off the coalition forces. In the confusion of the nuclear blasts, Pixy commits an act of treachery by firing upon Cipher's aircraft. Pixy then flees, and Cipher is ordered to pull back into friendly territory.
A short time after, the Belkans and the coalition forces sign a treaty for a ceasefire. However, a coalition of disillusioned pilots from Osea, Sapin, Ustio and Belka do not support the treaty; they form a terrorist organization called 'A World With No Boundaries', that seeks to erase the concept of borders between countries and create a unified world. The rest of the game is spent fighting these terrorists.
The final battle in the game is fought over The Avalon Dam in Belka, where Cipher and his replacement pilot PJ are sent to destroy an enemy base capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles. During the battle, PJ is shot down by Pixy, who has joined the terrorist organisation. In the end, Cipher receives victory after shooting down his former wingman.
[edit] The Round Table (Area/Airspace B7R)
This particular airspace is one of the main battle zones in the game and the border between Belka and Ustio. Aces who distinguish themselves in this area are known as "Knights of the Round Table".
Known as "Operational Airspace B7R", or, more formally, "Belkan Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R", it is located at north latitude 24° east longitude 235°. The topography makes the location look like a giant circle with a 400 km radius, hence the name "The Round Table." It is the attack corridor used by Belka to invade not just Ustio, but also its surrounding nations, making it an extremely important strategic location, charged to many Belkan aces to defend. The reason for the outbreak of war is the large cache of natural resources found within this area, making it very hotly contested. It is also the site where the player will encounter many enemy ace squadrons.
The area over The Round Table is impenetrable to any radio or distress signals. If someone gets shot down, it will, for that reason, be very hard to get a signal through, let alone survive on the barren, empty land. In the Round Table the player will meet many characters from Ace Combat 04 and 5, such as Heartbreak One (Captain Bartlett from Ace Combat 5, spelled HTBRKONE on the screen), Grabacr (an elite enemy squadron from Ace Combat 5), Huckebein the Raven (Pops, from Ace Combat 5) in Mercenary mode; Ofnir (another elite enemy squadron in Ace Combat 5) in Soldier mode. Also, in SP Mission (the Gauntlet), if you beat Espada squadron in less than one minute on Ace difficulty, you get to fight "Mobius" (believed to be Mobius 1, the protagonist in Ace Combat 04). He will be flying an F/A-22 and can fire missiles backwards. This appearance is not canon. However, you can only see these characters in Mission 10 Mayhem, save for Mobius.
[edit] Belkan super weapons
Some focus of Ace Combat Zero revolves around Belka's three super weapons. The first of these weapons is the Excalibur Ballistic Missile Defense platform. Developed in 1981, it is a symbol of Belka's military dominance. It is categorized as a chemical laser based weapon which was designed to shoot down incoming missiles. By utilizing high-altitude aircraft and satellites carrying reflectors, the laser's range can be extended to counteract the curvature of the planet and achieve a range of 1,200 km. This technology is similar in design to the Arkbird's laser system (and to a lesser extent the FALKEN's laser system) in Ace Combat 5 as part of Belka was taken over by Osea and Gründer Industries began to sell its cache of weapons and technology.
The second super weapon originating in Belka is the massive XB-0 Hresvelgr aircraft. Developed by the South Belkan Munitions Factory and stored at a special hangar in Mt. Schirm, this gargantuan flying fortress is actually a prototype with no mass production as of 1995. It is designed to act as a staging area and aerial aircraft carrier for air and land dominance operations, and, because of its size, can act as a large-volume transport and bomber. Despite its cost to maintain, the terrorist organization, "A World with No Boundaries", has seen fit to utilize the Hresvelgr.
The third weapon is known as V2. Most likely named for the real-life German V2 rocket of World War II, the weapon is an ICBM containing a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle.
[edit] Ace Style
Did you know...there are three kinds of aces? Those who seek strength; those who live for pride; and those who can read the tide of battle.
—Larry "Pixy" Foulke, A Brother in Arms
The player's actions will dictate what kind of ace they will be. In the missions the player will encounter neutralized enemies or neutral targets (such as houses and fuel tanks). Destroying these targets will push the player's marker towards the left and towards the mercenary end of the spectrum. Sparing neutral targets will push the player's marker towards the right. Other ace-style defining actions include whether or not the player rescues allies in need of aid.
Which type of ace the player currently is will determine radio chatter, which ace squadrons the player encounters, as well as what FMVs play. Different aces earn different planes, and at the end of the game, your current style is added as a paint scheme for all planes.
- Mercenary Ace
- An Ace who seeks strength. He will strike down all opposition for the sake of his money & strength. If you go about destroying all of the neutral targets, your ranking will gravitate towards this category.
- Soldier Ace
- An Ace who can read the tide of battle. Can predict the situation in an instant and change the flow of battle. To become a Soldier Ace, you must balance destroying neutral targets while letting an equal amount free and/or survive.
- Knight Ace
- An ace who lives for pride. Cool-headed, pacifistic and believes in honor. Avoiding the destruction of neutral targets will shift your position towards this ranking.
[edit] External links
- Ace Combat Zero Official Site
- Ace Combat Zero Official Site (Japanese)
- Namco Ace Combat Zero Site
- Namco Ace Combat Zero Site (Japanese)
- Ace Combat series wiki
- The Electrosphere - AC Database
- Video of one winged F-15
- [Ace Combat Series wiki
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