Air Combat #8 | Destroy Enemy Staging Zone
0Welcome to a non-commentary playthrough of the original Ace Combat (Air Combat as it was named outside of Japan), where I'll be going through each of the game's 17 sorties and doing my very best to ace a lot of bogeys!
I have set myself some conditions for this run: Hard difficulty, no damage and (if possible), destroy any non-targets or as many as I can. I'm also using certain planes for certain missions. All of this is to try and unlock a bunch of achievements through the RetroAchievements website, just for some extra 'ace pilot' cred.
STORY:
With the ADRCS lost, the rebel forces were now in disarray. Commander Tyler decided that now was the time to push forward, but further assaults by the enemy's air power needed to be prevented first. Using data from the past aerial incursions, intelligence was able to locate a hidden staging area for what was apparently the last of the rebels' bomber wing, including both the regular B-1sand also state of the art B-2 Spirits that had been stolen from the government. The base was located in a remote island chain, unseen from prying eyes.
Intelligence suggested that the enemy intended to launch a major counterattack upon Donet City in order retake the strategically important area, using the bombers to level it if they had to. Tyler requested that Scarface make the attack, but not until the bombers had taken off in order to catch them unawares and prevent any chance of them being hidden on the ground.
Phoenix led the attack upon the base, but there was an unexpected problem to deal with. The enemy had also stolen two experimental YF-23 'Black Widow' stealth fighters, which were now in the hands of of two of their top pilots known by their callsigns, Ebony and Ivory....
BRIEFING:
"Regaining Donet City is a prime strategic consideration for the enemy. To forestall offensive operations we will strike their staging area. Target: Staging facilities and B-1 bombers. [1] Our goal is to hit them before their incursion begins. Good luck!"
Designated aircraft: F-15 Eagle
MY THOUGHTS:
So, this one was a toughie! The initial set of B1s and B2s are easy pickings (I made a point of gunning down the B2s just because I could) and the MiG-29 escorts are a joke.
The fun starts when you reach the staging zone itself. There's a lot of AA and at least one particularly nasty SAM on the topside, which you will need to take out before you even thinking about hitting the airbase itself. Use hit and run tactics as even the AA is quite adept at putting a few bullets into you if you linger too long.
The real threat however are the two YF-23s, which unlike the F-117As from 'Destroy Production Site' are more than capable of ruining your day. Not only are they highly maneuverable but they also have the advantage of stealth, so losing track of them is easily done. Whichever one you're not tailing can and WILL lock you up, so be prepared to evade. Taking them head on is also very risky (one of the outtakes is me eating a missile in the face from one of the blighters). Don't try to fight them over the ground defences; lure them away from the staging area. You also have a good chance of splitting them up if you do this.
Once you take care of them, finishing up should be a cakewalk. Just mind your approach to the base and don't try to destroy every target in one run.
NOTE: Played & recorded on DuckStation with RetroAchievements enabled.
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