What Made Ace Combat Infinity So Good?

As we remember Ace Combat Infinity’s 11th anniversary, it’s hard not to feel a sense of nostalgia - of yearning for something we lost along the way. Its multiplayer experience was something not seen before - or since - in the Ace Combat series, and as imperfect as it was, with the fuel system and other flaws inherent to a monetized free-to-play game, it could be argued that it remains the series’ most successful foray into online multiplayer.

When Infinity's servers shut down, on March 31st, 2018, we lost not only a game, but also the ability to go back and review it - to see it for what it is. We can only see it for what it was - in our memories of the nearly four years of gameplay, and the videos and pictures taken during that time. And since we can only see it through the lens of nostalgia, it follows that any analysis will be inherently flawed. While acknowledging this limitation, let us try and look at what made Ace Combat Infinity special, and why it is remembered fondly by so many players to this day.

The final video trailer for Ace Combat Infinity.

Released on May 20th, 2014 for the PlayStation 3 in Japan (and May 27th in North America), Ace Combat Infinity was paradoxical from the very start; On one hand, its always-online, free-to-play nature and monetization system were a complete departure from anything the series had done before, but at the same time, it was also a return to form - something with a gameplay experience closer to the "holy trilogy" of the PS2 era, and further from the controversial "Dogfight Mode" of its predecessor, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

And it couldn’t have been launched with better timing - it arrived exactly at the point in time when the Ace Combat online community was growing exponentially, with old-time players of the series during its PSX/PS2 days coming together in social media platforms to exchange experiences, fan art, lore, and horribly overused Belka memes.

When Ace Combat Infinity was announced, it didn’t only stoke the flames of a fan base which eagerly awaited new content after the mixed reviews of Assault Horizon - Infinity’s co-operative multiplayer focus also provided the perfect place for these fans to play together and interact with each other.

Picture by Fighterman.

Picture by Benjamin Bortkiewicz.

And it truly felt like a love letter to the series - it was chock full of references to previous games, featured a roster with nearly every single iconic aircraft from the series (including liveries and sometimes even special aircraft variations for aces), and little details like being able to choose an emblem and nickname - sometimes even with a theme song attached, which would play for the top-scoring player of the winning team. This meant players could not only fly the aircraft of their favorite characters, but also bear their colours and titles - you could see a team led by Mobius One in his Raptor, followed by Yellow 13's Su-37, Pixy's Morgan and Cipher's F-15C, while the other team would have two Belkan aces from Grun and Indigo squadrons, a time-travelling Night Raven from Ace Combat 3, and a presumably lost, bright pink B-2 covered in anime idols. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold.

But bells and whistles alone a memorable game do not make - so let's jump into the gameplay mechanics of Infinity.

MAP AND MODE VARIETY

Even though Infinity took place in the real world instead of Strangereal, the vast majority of the maps were references to previous Ace Combat installments. There were more than enough to cover almost every previous game in the franchise, but this variety wasn't just for the sake of nostalgia; the different flows of each map, as well as the mission updates typical of Ace Combat, made sure that the gameplay never felt stale. Even the superweapons of past games were brought back for the ride - in the Special Raids, players would be pitted against such classics as Stonehenge, Excalibur, SOLG, and the Aigaion's aerial fleet.

There were plenty of game modes too, from the classic team deathmatch to the unique new take on it, NTDM (Naval Team Deathmatch) - but the main star of the show was Online Co-Op. This mode was where the game's events and raids took place, and can be considered as its main game mode; it's also where one of Infinity's most memorable characteristics comes into the spotlight.

Example of over-the-top, high level gameplay by Dantofu.

TEAM WORK

When it comes to multiplayer flight games, from the simulators to action arcade games such as Ace Combat, Player-Versus-Player modes have historically been the most prevalent. There's something that drives humans to want to compete with each other, and when it comes to aviation media, there's an allure to the romanticized idea of the dogfight; a test of skill and nerves between two pilots. In light of this, Infinity having Co-op PvE as its main game mode seems quite unusual. But Project Aces had a clever way to make this game mode interesting, even in the fast-paced, chaotic arena of an arcade flight game. In keeping with the game's lore of a private military corporation fighting under contract, players are incentivized to compete with each other, even though they are on the same side. Players are assigned to two four-ship flights, Alpha and Bravo; and the team with the highest score wins, being rewarded with a victory cutscene and, in the case of the MVP, their very own theme song - should they be carrying an emblem worthy of that honor. However, what makes this work as a co-operative game mode is that winning the mission - and the completion rank achieved upon doing so - still depends on the efforts of both teams, and at the end of the day, and this directly affects the amount of credits earned and how many research points players get at the end. This implementation creates a unique gameplay dynamic where players are incentivized both to work with and compete against their allies for the the highest score, adding in that layer of rivalry while still making sure that the most important thing - what actually affects your credits and progression in the game - is still inexorably tied to the success of both teams as a whole. The resulting effects could clearly be seen in more difficult missions, where getting an S-Rank was difficult; on Hard mode missions, where this was doubly true, and enemy air defenses posed a genuine threat; and most explicitly of all, in the Special Raid missions. Relatively rare to come by and occurring at random, these special events temporarily eliminated the boundaries between teams altogether, and the massively increased rewards bonus made sure all players worked together to defeat these boss battles.

A mixed formation of aircraft. Picture by Benjamin Bortkiewicz.

This dynamic made it a perfect game to play with friends, even if they ended up on the other team - the lack of a super-competitive environment kept it casual enough for just chilling out after a long day at work, while still rewarding players who were more inclined towards being ruthlessly efficient.

PEAK ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES

One unique example of how Infinity encouraged and rewarded teamwork was its implementation of ECM pods in Co-op gameplay modes. For most of Ace Combat's history, this special weapon had been relegated to a fairly minor role - and we have a whole article on the history of ECMP in Ace Combat if you're interested in a more in-depth look. Long story short, there just wasn't much of a reason to choose the pods over other SP Weapon options in a single-player game. The pods had appeared on multiplayer settings before, namely in AC6 and Assault Horizon - but their PvP nature required heavy restrictions in range and emission time to be placed on the pods' effects for balance reasons (Infinity's PvP modes had similar restrictions as well). It was Infinity's co-op modes which truly allowed the ECM Pod to shine.

A flight of Su-24M Fencer. (Picture by Benjamin Bortkiewicz)

Players equipped with one could create what was effectively a protective field around themselves, disabling the guidance systems of any enemy missiles which entered it. The decently large radius of this field, and its 20-second effect time, meant this wasn't just useful for self-protection - it could also be used as an "escort jammer", protecting several teammates (or indeed a whole team) from enemy weapons. Higher levels and performance-enhancing parts further increased range and reduced reload time, and the net result of this was that with a Level 5 ECMP and a jamming-focused build, players could provide consistent, nearly constant ECM coverage to their teammates, allowing a team to blaze their way through a mission with little concern for air defenses and other missile-based threats. When playing on Hard difficulty, this had an enormous effect - a single competent player running a max-level ECM platform could change the course of the entire game. Since the main feature of the harder difficulty settings was vastly increase damage dealt by enemy units, the ability to shield teammates from missiles effectively allowed a team to fly as if they were on a lower difficulty setting. If both teams had one such player, an S-Rank was almost guaranteed. This resulted in a curious phenomenon - even when playing alongside groups of random people with no communication, as soon as someone deployed ECM on a Hard map an impromptu team dynamic formed, with players naturally congregating around the jammer's protective bubble. Seeing this happen for the first time felt like a truly enlightening experience - the bonus of being able to strike down targets with impunity was too alluring for even the most individualistic players to ignore.

AIRCRAFT SELECTION

And what exactly made a viable jamming platform in Infinity? Well, the answer is, pretty much anything that could carry an ECM pod - provided you had some performance-boosting parts to go with it.

Therein lies one of the most beautiful things about Infinity - pretty much any aircraft in the game's vast roster could be made viable if you spent the time and effort to upgrade it. Sure, the high-tier special aircraft would still be the top performers, but there was absolutely nothing keeping you from taking a page from Brazil's or Thailand's book: shoving a bunch of shiny new parts in your old F-5E, and then somehow keeping up with your teammates flying much fancier aircraft.

This meant players could stick to their favorite aircraft and remain effective with it even if their jet (or prop!) of choice didn't have particularly flattering base stats; this was doubly true if you happened to have a special version of said aircraft. A player in a fully kitted-out Jack Bartlett or Shin Kazama F-5E was a force to be reckoned with, and let's not even get started on the min-maxed stats of the Idolmaster collab aircraft.

Typical multiplayer gameplay by Pandazooka.

There was no lack of options to choose from when it came to aircraft. Featuring what is easily the largest aircraft roster in the series, Ace Combat Infinity had almost every aircraft ever featured in Ace Combat (With some notable exceptions, such as the poor, forgotten Skyhawk), including the first (and so far only) appearances of Ace Combat 3 original aircraft - the Night Raven and Delphinus - since AC3 itself. Whether it was a real life design or an AC fictional, chances are you would most likely find your favorite aircraft somewhere.It also featured first-time entrants into the series’ playable roster, such as the ATD-0 Shinshin and Su-24 Fencer. There were also some more unusual aircraft: playable strategic bombers, first introduced in Assault Horizon, made a comeback - and one of the updates brought piston-powered WWII fighters into the fray, complete with a custom HUD made to resemble analog dials! Players could choose to take to the skies in a P-38L Lightning, Spitfire Mk. IXe, Bf 109 G-10, or an A6M5 Zero. 

To put the complete Ace Combat Infinity aircraft selection in perspective, let's refer to a data point from Acepedia, the Ace Combat Wiki:

"Ace Combat Infinity is one of the largest rosters introduced on the franchise, surpassing the previously featured in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (53 aircraft on total). Ace Combat Infinity features 68 playable aircraft from their stock versions, 151 special aircraft versions, and 145 additional skins for all the available aircraft that could range from Ranking Tournaments, Random drops or Challenge Events."

FINAL THOUGHTS

Ace Combat Infinity was a bold gamble on the part of Project Aces and, in many ways, it could be said that it's what kept the Ace Combat series alive - its success proved to Bandai-Namco that there was demand out there for a new Ace Combat mainline game, and no doubt made them more aware of the game's considerable - and fairly loyal - fanbase. In paving the way for Ace Combat 7, though, Infinity's success was ironically responsible for its own demise. After its servers were shut down to make room for 7's online mode, Infinity was sealed behind its title screen, its virtual skies never to be flown in again; and with it, its unique gameplay formula which had made it the ideal place of pilgrimage for the series' fans. There's not been any other Ace Combat like it, before or since. 7's multiplayer mode doesn't quite cut it - it feels like something's missing. So, even if we cannot play the game again and look at it objectively, even if we must look at it through the lens of nostalgia - we think it's safe to say, when it comes to an Ace Combat multiplayer experience? Nothing else comes close.

Picture by Fighterman.

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About the Writer

Caio D. "Hueman" Barreto

An incurable aviation fanatic since childhood, fascinated by the design and history of practically anything that flies. A long-time fan of flight games, he holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering and pursues his hobbies of drawing, writing and flight simulation on his spare time. See Staff Profile.