ACE (video game)
A fighter pilot defends England in an air combat simulator.
ACE (Air Combat Emulator) is a combat flight simulator video game published for multiple home computers by Cascade Games. The player pilots a fighter jet defending the English coastland against an enemy invasion. It was praised by critics as one of the best air combat simulators of its time for its accessible gameplay.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Cascade Games
- Programmer
- Ian Martin
- Artist
- Damon Redmond
- Platforms
- Commodore 16
- Plus/4
- VIC-20
- Commodore 64
- ZX Spectrum
- Amstrad CPC
- Amstrad PCW
- Amiga
- Genre
- Combat flight simulator
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Plot
ACE takes place on the Southern coastland of England during an enemy invasion against remaining Allied forces. The player, a fighter plane pilot, must defeat the invasion by piloting one of three Mark 2.1 AWAT combat aircraft. Their mission is to defend the last three Allied airbases being evacuated, fighting enemy aerial, ground, and naval forces while greatly outnumbered.
Gameplay
The game begins with the player selecting from nine difficulty levels, including a tutorial where enemies do not fire back. Options allow choosing summer or winter, daytime or nighttime, which alters the scenery. The player equips their AWAT plane with air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-sea, or multipurpose missiles, plus a machine gun and decoy flares. The cockpit view splits the screen: the top half shows the front view, the bottom half displays instrumentation including speed, altitude, thrust, fuel, roll/pitch indicators, a compass, and a radar. An onboard screen shows flight information and warning messages, with a speech synthesizer that announces dangers. A rear-view camera lets the player see enemies and missiles behind. A two-player mode exists where one flies and the other aims and fires. The player takes off from an Allied base, then flies to engage enemies. A Satellite Intelligence Map shows a live map with friendly bases, enemy positions, and refueling locations. The player can perform loops, rolls, or dummy stalls. Flying consumes fuel; the player must return to base or perform aerial refueling by rendezvousing with a refueling plane and executing a probe and drogue maneuver. The game ends in defeat if the player crashes, runs out of fuel, or is shot down. The player can eject safely only over Allied territory. Victory comes from defeating all enemy forces. Points are awarded for destroyed enemies and appear in a high score table.
Development and release
Cascade Games, founded in 1983 by Guy Wilhelmy and Nigel Stevens, developed ACE. Wilhelmy held a pilot's license, and Stevens' father served in the British Royal Air Force. Programmer Ian Martin and graphics designer Damon Redmond worked on the project in 1985. The first version, A.C.E.: Air Combat Emulator, released in 1985 for the Commodore 16 and VIC-20. An advertisement erroneously promising a Plus/4 version forced its development under threat of action by the Advertising Standards Agency. The Commodore 64 version, called simply ACE, released in September 1985 after a small delay. The ZX Spectrum version followed in 1986. Cascade Games announced an Amstrad CPC version, promising speed and smoothness. After selling over half a million copies on 8-bit machines, an Amiga port was announced. ComTec handled porting to Amstrad PCW and Amiga. The C64 and Amiga versions were published in the US by UXB in 1986. The production cost was estimated at £40k. Cascade Games later produced two sequels, ACE 2 (1987) and ACE 2088 (1989).
Reception
The C16 and Plus/4 versions received positive reviews. Commodore Horizons awarded 8 stars to gameplay. Commodore User noted fast, involved action. Computer Gamer gave both versions 5 out of 5 stars, describing ACE as easy to use. Your Commodore criticized the Plus/4 version for poor innovation but scored gameplay and graphics highly. The expanded C64 and ZX Spectrum versions received the most attention. Zzap!64 rated ACE 90%, calling it the most exciting flight simulator on C64. Computer and Video Games awarded gameplay 9/10, calling it the new title for best flight simulators. Commodore User praised the balance between simulation and action. Crash rated it 81%, criticizing quiet sound and calling graphics average. Sinclair User awarded 5/5 stars, praising accessible gameplay. Your Sinclair gave 8/10, noting it as unrealistic but addictive. Your Computer gave 4/5 points, calling it a simulation for arcade players, but gave sound 1/5. ZX Computing labeled it a monster hit, praising sound and graphics. Compute!'s Gazette praised speed, graphics, and ease of play.
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