Air Combat (arcade game)


Air Combat is a 1992 combat flight simulator arcade game developed by Namco. It runs on Namco System 21, made specifically for processing 3D polygonal graphics. Air Combat 22 is the arcade sequel to Air Combat released by Namco in 1995. Its name comes from it running on Namco's Super System 22 hardware. The games are considered to be predecessors for the Ace Combat series.

Gameplay

The player is given the task of eliminating all 6 enemy aircraft within a minute. The only enemies in the game are bombers and fighter jets. Bombers are slower, and fighter jets are faster. The player is also given three options for difficulty: Cadet, Captain, and Ace. The differences between the modes are as follows:
In addition, Ace difficulty requires the player to only shoot down the enemy aircraft with their machine gun, as the aircraft will use countermeasures against missiles. Once all of the aircraft are gone, the player has the opportunity to land on an aircraft carrier. Should they do so, the player can access an extra stage, where they will have to destroy one flanker, that is extra quick. The game then repeats until the player gets a game over.
Gameplay in Air Combat 22 is similar to the original Air Combat game, with the addition of longer, different, and more varied missions, also being able to choose between one of three aircraft, namely the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, Sukhoi Su-27 and the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. It was available as either a conversion kit for the original Namco System 21 Air Combat cabinet, or a dedicated deluxe cabinet.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Air Combat on their August 15, 1993 issue as being the most-successful upright arcade game of the year. Game Machine also listed Air Combat 22 on their June 15, 1995 issue as being the seventh most-successful dedicated arcade game of the year. Next Generation reviewed Air Combat 22, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "As it is, Air Combat 22 is just a good facelift."