Ace Combat: Joint Assault is a good combat flight game, but still it's not that good as told by many. But since I purchased this game long ago, I decided that I liked it, although the story is not that dramatic as the last ones. Developers did a great job in making a fictional combat flight story that took place in actual times, like the global economic crisis of the late 2000s and early 2010s. This game was originally released in Japan on August 26th, 2010, and then released five days later in North America. And then on September 24th, the game was released in Europe.
Plot. Set sometime after the global financial crisis. Off of Midway Island, a pilot begins his first day on the job flying with Martinez Security involving the US Fleet and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. After a successful run, both Antares and the Rigel squadron run into unidentified bandits known as the Valahia led by a corrupt Colonel. Upon the defense of Tokyo, the Rigel squadron composed of pilots: Milosz Sulejmani, Daniel Oruma, Faryd Gaviria, and Tolya Kiriakov, betray the team after the leader of the Valahia offers them a better pay. Now it's up to Antares Squadron to stop the ruthless army from achieving their plans.
Concept. You take the role of the pilot who leads the Antares Squadron on several different missions, where you must prevent the terrorist army known as the Valahia. Also you can pilot more than 40 licensed aircrafts, including fictional ones from the previous games. Frequent use of each aircraft allows the player to unlock more weapons and upgrade for your planes.
Development. This game was announced officially by Namco Bandai on January 12, 2010, but screenshots leaked a day before on IGN. The game officially went gold on August 13, 2010 on IGN.
Music. The themes in the game were very well composed, however some of the music was not that catchy at all due to some parts where you hear some heavy metal music during combat missions. Also, I really enjoyed the theme where you fly a Boeing 727.
Rantings. What I don't like about this game is that some aircrafts can be hard to handle due to high speed, or hard to dodge due to weight, defense, and some weapons aren't too effective against enemy units. Another thing I hated about this game was the unnecessary time limits in some of the game's missions.
Good Aspects. The game's replay value is moderate, but this game has many good qualities. You can either download this game from the PlayStation Network or buy it at your local game store. For a combat flight game, it's good, but I prefer other flight games such as Star Fox.
Overall. Ace Combat: Joint Assault gets a 7 out of 10.