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Ace Combat: The Belkan War for PlayStation 2
In Ace Combat: The Belkan War for PlayStation 2, you fly for Ustio as the mercenary Cipher with your wingman Pixy. The war against Belka takes place in the same fictional world as Squadron Leader, but fifteen years earlier. You intercept enemy formations, attack military targets and face specialised squadrons. Their flying styles call for a different approach each time: try to get behind an agile opponent, watch your speed and choose the moment to fire your missiles.
Your behaviour determines your Ace Style. Do you also shoot at low-threat targets and heavily damaged aircraft, or leave them alone? Those choices shift your reputation between Mercenary, Soldier and Knight, influencing radio conversations, opponents and parts of the storytelling. A mission therefore involves more than the compulsory objective. The extra reward for an attack may be tempting, but also changes how others judge your pilot. Before departure, you choose an aircraft and special weapons for the assignment ahead.
You play the campaign alone, supported by a computer-controlled wingman to whom you give orders. Separately, two players can fly against each other locally on a vertically split screen, each with their own controller; no Multitap is required. The duel areas have different rules, such as a points contest or a battle with limited ammunition. Between flights, interviewed pilots look back on Cipher. Their testimony shows how the same war was experienced from different cockpits, while your own combat decisions help shape the tone.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Ace Combat: The Belkan War for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Ace Combat: The Belkan War
Namco released Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War on PlayStation 2 in 2006. The European title dropped Zero and became Ace Combat: The Belkan War. For this third PS2 instalment, Project Aces returned to Squadron Leader's backstory. The Belkan War was already part of that world's history; now you controlled a pilot in the earlier conflict yourself. This provided a different angle without abandoning the familiar aircraft and aerial combat.
According to writer and art director Kosuke Itomi, around a year was scheduled for development. The team could reuse some aircraft models from Ace Combat 5, but had to create a new story. Itomi and the director decided early on to focus on duels with enemy aces. The different squadrons and the emphasis on your reputation grew out of that decision. The campaign assesses what you do during assignments, making opponents not just obstacles but also witnesses to your way of fighting.
The conversations with surviving pilots were filmed with real actors against digitally created backgrounds. Itomi wanted to evoke a television documentary investigating a vanished wartime pilot after the events. The music also fitted the duels: for him, Spanish guitar and flamenco influences referred to Westerns. This connection between battles, interviews and music gave the game its own identity within the series. While another team worked on Ace Combat 6 for Xbox 360, Belkan War remained rooted in the existing PlayStation 2 approach.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Ace Combat: Distant Thunder for PlayStation 2 shares the missile battles, aircraft selection and attacks on land targets with The Belkan War. It also tells the war through illustrations from a boy's perspective. Belkan War uses pilot interviews and lets combat behaviour shift your reputation. Both have local duels for two players. Distant Thunder follows a more fixed route through its campaign, whereas enemy aces and their reactions build Belkan War more closely around your way of fighting.
Ace Combat: Squadron Leader on PlayStation 2 is the direct predecessor in development terms, but its war takes place fifteen years later. Both games combine jets with radio conversations and orders to computer-controlled wingmen. Squadron Leader develops relationships within a larger squadron of your own; The Belkan War focuses more on your bond with Pixy and encounters with enemy aces. For a duel with someone on the same sofa, Belkan War also offers split screen, which Squadron Leader does not have.
Secret Weapons Over Normandy on PlayStation 2 also has you fight enemies in the air and on the ground within a war story. Its Second World War propeller aircraft place greater emphasis on aircraft guns and following opponents closely. The Belkan War uses modern jets, homing missiles and a fictional history. Duels with recognisable rivals connect both games, but Belkan War also responds through Ace Style to which damaged or less threatening targets you leave flying.
Energy Airforce for PlayStation 2 shares recognisable combat aircraft and the search for a good position in the air with The Belkan War. It places greater emphasis on realistic flight characteristics and practising procedures. Belkan War mainly uses its aircraft for story-led missions and confrontations with rival aces. In Energy Airforce, the challenge therefore more often comes from precise flying; in Belkan War, it comes from your attack choices, your reputation and responding to an enemy squadron's tactics.
Deadly Skies III for PlayStation 2 links an invented war to a large group of pilots and a broad aircraft collection. As in The Belkan War, conversations between characters make battles part of a bigger story. Konami seeks considerable variety in aircraft and crew. Belkan War keeps the focus closer to Cipher and Pixy, with enemy aces reacting to your playing style. The retrospective interviews also make memories of your pilot part of the presentation.
