''Ace 2'' (stylized as ''ACE 2'' as acronym for ''Air Combat Emulator'') is a

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mili ...

video game developed by Cascade Games for various home computers released in 1987, and a sequel to ''

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

''. The player takes the role of a fighter jet pilot on modern day missions in the Middle East. The display shows the plane's instrumentation and cockpit view. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the game for its new control scheme and introduction of multiplayer, while others criticized it for being oversimplified compared to its predecessor.

Gameplay

Compared to its predecessor, the game is much more simplified in terms of controls and is now largely focused on dogfighting between two enemy jet fighters. While being optimized for two players, it also supports singleplayer play against an AI controlled jet. Flight controls were simplified to just the joystick and pressing the keyboard to increase or decrease the throttle. A map of the area can be called up at any time, showing the position of the player and the enemy.

Reception

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', ''Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head with ...

'' said that it was "an excellent two-player head-to-head combat game", and calling it "very fast, very playable, and, more often than not, very tense". '' ZZap!64'' called the game "fun" despite being "oversimplified", and saying it was a "good game in its own right" despite the fact that fans of the original might be disappointed. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' said "the fiddly controls are kept to a bare minimum".

References

{{Reflist 1987 video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodore 64 games DOS games Combat flight simulators Multiplayer and single-player video games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Cascade Games games