ACE COMBAT 04: SHATTERED SKIES
								Graphics: 10 Sound: 9 Gameplay: 10 Replay Value: 8 Reviewer's Tilt: 10 Overall: 9.4
					Reviewed by Chris Currey
			The sense of realism in Ace Combat 04 is always there, making it one of 2001's best offerings. The controls are so perfect that you'll know how to fly without any tutorial. The super-fast framerate, maintained at a constant 60 fps, along with awesome controls, make this offering jump off the screen. Graphics? Beautiful! When you're in the air, you look at the land and see realism no flight sim has ever given you before. You can see telephone poles, but ironically, the scenery is flat, and there's no trees. Oh well, when you're at 40,000 feet you don't really see trees anyway. The graphics are so intense because when you start climbing higher, the ground becomes harder to see, and you fly into the clouds. I should discuss the gameplay, because it's so much fun. Shooting at enemies with two missiles at a time, then watching them explode in an awesome looking, highly-detailed explosion, is quite fun. You start the game out with some really horrible airplane, then progress in the game with a lot of money, then you eventually buy a nice airplane with lots of ammo and missiles, and a really fast top-speed. It kind of reminds me of Gran Turismo in the sky. The missions are varied and unique, ranging from shooting tanks in the desert (which strangely resembles Afghanistan) to having an old fashioned dogfight over the ocean...to the stunning climax level (I won't spoil anything, but think Star Wars). The missions never get old, even after you replay the game. Two-player is really interesting. Some two-player levels consist of getting the most kills on the other person, to doing a co-op, then seeing who can get the most kills from the beautifully-refined AI. Speaking of AI, it's definately improved. Missiles actually hit you in this game, and the difficulty was definately cranked up from the last game. The AI is just as deadly as any human opponent, yet hard mode isn't hard. When I say that the difficulty is cranked up, that doesn't mean it's difficult. Sure, the last mission is challenging...mainly because you're trying not to crash into the ground...but that's not saying much. My complaint is that the game is too easy still. But you'll want Ace Combat 04 for its stunning graphics and gameplay that any beginner can pick up quickly.