Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

    Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Oct 23, 2001

    Ace Combat 4 is an arcade style combat flight game set in a fictional Earth-like universe in which a series of asteroid impacts have destabilized world politics and led to war between the nation of Erusea and the Independent State Allied Forces, or ISAF.

    Short summary describing this game.

    Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies last edited by Bowl-of-Lentils on 07/17/18 04:54PM View full history

    Release History

    Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies is a flight combat game developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan and North America on October 23rd, 2001 and in Europe on February 8, 2002, where it was distributed under the name Ace Combat: Distant Thunder. It was the first Ace Combat game released on the PlayStation 2 and was met with critical and commercial success. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was the first in three PlayStation 2 Ace Combat branded titles released for the console, and was followed by Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.

    Story

    Stonehenge Turret Network
    Stonehenge Turret Network

    In 1999 a massive asteroid known as Ulysses 1994 XF-04 struck the continent of Usea. The impact killed half a million people and caused widespread destruction. In the aftermath, the country of Erusea saw an opportunity to catch its neighbors off guard and occupy much of the continent. Helping the Eruseans in their conquest was Stonehenge, a giant railgun system the Eruseans had developed to shoot down incoming asteroids. The Eruseans quickly realize that Stonehenge could be used in warfare to gain air superiority.

    The game opens at the high point of the war for the Eruseans. The player takes on the ambiguous role of Mobius 1, a skilled fighter pilot of the Independent States Allied Forces, or ISAF. The ISAF finds itself pushed back to the extreme East Coast of Usea with most of its military might located on a small island known as Northpoint. Mobius 1 stops a bombing run against Northpoint, singlehandedly saving the remaining ISAF military. A counterattack is then launched that ultimately results on the liberation of the Usean continent. Mobius 1 is in large part responsible for many of the military victories, and as such is seen as a hero throughout the game.

    A separate, parallel side story is told through narrated slide-shows between missions. These cutscenes tell the tale of a young boy who lived through the war, occupation, and subsequent liberation. At the beginning of the war, this young boy sees his parents killed when a jet fighter crashes into his house. The jet fighter was shot down by an Erusean pilot named Yellow 13. The boy goes to live with his uncle, a drunk who lives above a tavern. Following their city's occupation, Yellow 13 and his squad become stationed there and frequent the tavern that the boy lives above. The boy ultimately befriends Yellow 13 viewing him as somewhat of a father figure. At the end of the game, Mobius 1 shoots down Yellow 13 and the story in the cutscenes are revealed to be a letter from the boy to Mobius 1.

    Gameplay

    Ace Combat 4 is an arcade style flight combat game. The game has 18 singleplayer missions and two multiplayer modes.

    Singleplayer

    There are 18 singleplayer missions. Missions usually involve reaching a certain amount of points in a certain amount of time through destroying aircraft, ground vehicles, and facilities. Most missions have story specific unique targets which have to be destroyed in order for the level to be completed. Money is earned by completing missions, the more points one accrues during a mission, the more money they earn. There are 21 airplanes that a player can purchase; each plane has additional weapons and 2 paint schemes that can be bought. The weapons are available for purchase once the aircraft has been unlocked whereas the paint schemes need to be unlocked by getting an S rank on every mission, or by completing the game on different difficulties, and shooting down the aircraft's named ace pilot, who usually appear during missions depending on a player's performance.

    Multiplayer

    There are two multiplayer modes in Ace Combat 4. The first mode is a 1 on 1 dogfight while the other mode has two players competing to score the most points. Multiplayer is limited to split-screen as there is no online multiplayer available.

    Missions

    MissionsOperationsDateLocation(s)
    Mission 01: Sitting DucksUmbrellaSeptember 19, 2004Newfield Island
    Mission 02: Imminent ThreatHarvestOctober 5, 2004Rigley Air Base
    Mission 03: The Northern EyeWhite OutOctober 10, 2004Mount Shezna
    Mission 04: BlockadeHunting HawkNovember 7, 2004NW of Comberth Harbor
    Mission 05: LifelineEarly BirdNovember 19, 2004Petrochemical Complex
    Mission 06: Invincible FleetRought SeaNovember 23, 2004Comberth Harbor
    Mission 07: Deep StrikeBlackoutDecember 16, 2004Faith Park
    Mission 08: Shattered SkiesCountdownDecember 31, 2004Comona Islands
    Mission 09: Operation Bunker ShotBunker ShotJanuary 24, 2005Halle/Crowne/Caranda Beach
    Mission 10: Tango LineWoodpeckerFebruary 28, 2005Tango Line
    Mission 11: EscortNoah's ArkMarch 14, 2005North of Chcoinbura
    Mission 12: Stonehenge OffensiveStone CrusherApril 02, 2005Stonehenge
    Mission 13: Safe ReturnBlindman's BluffMay 07, 2005Gnome Ravine
    Mission 14: Breaking ArrowsAuroraJune 18, 2005Ice Creek
    Mission 15: EmancipationFireflyJuly 10, 2005San Salvacion
    Mission 16: Whiskey CorridorSandstormAugust 15, 2005Whiskey Corridor
    Mission 17: Siege of FarbantiAutumn ThunderSeptember 19, 2005Farbanti
    Mission 18: MegalithJudgement DaySeptember 26, 2005Megalith

    Aircrafts

    Aces

    F-5E Wang

    • Callsign: Wang
    • Aircraft: F-5E Tiger II
    • Mission: 01

    A-10 Ciffreo

    • Callsign: Ciffreo
    • Aircraft: A-10A Thunderbolt II
    • Mission: 02

    F-16 Tempel

    • Callsign: Tempel
    • Aircraft: F-16C Fighting Falcon
    • Mission: 03

    MIR-2000 Rigaux

    • Callsign: Rigaux
    • Aircraft: Mirage 2000
    • Mission: 04

    MIG-29 Mrkos

    • Callsign: Mrkos
    • Aircraft: MiG-29A Fulcrum
    • Mission: 05

    F-14 Levy

    • Callsign: Levy
    • Aircraft: F-14A Tomcat
    • Mission: 06

    TND-IDS De Vico

    • Callsign: De Vico
    • Aircraft: Tornado IDS
    • Mission: 07

    F/A-18 Vaisala

    • Callsign: Vaisala
    • Aircraft: F/A-18C Hornet
    • Mission: 08

    F-15C Tuttle

    • Callsign: Tuttle
    • Aircraft: F-15C Eagle
    • Mission: 09

    R-M01 Faye

    • Callsign: Faye
    • Aircraft: Rafale M
    • Mission: 10

    SU-35 Neujmin

    • Callsign: Neujmin
    • Aircraft: Su-35 Super Flanker
    • Mission: 11

    F-2 Urata

    • Callsign: Urata
    • Aircraft: F-2A Viper Zero
    • Mission: 12

    F-15E Gunn

    • Callsign: Gunn
    • Aircraft: F-15E Strike Eagle
    • Mission: 13

    F-22 Abell

    • Callsign: Abell
    • Aircraft: F-22A Raptor
    • Mission: 14

    EF-2000 Olmstead

    • Callsign: Olmstead
    • Aircraft: EF-2000 Typhoon
    • Mission: 15

    F-117 Kwee

    • Callsign: Kwee
    • Aircraft: F-117A Nighthawk
    • Mission: 16

    F-15 Active Halley

    • Callsign: Halley
    • Aircraft: F-15S/MTD "Active" Eagle
    • Mission: 17

    S-37 Smirnova

    • Callsign: Smirnova
    • Aircraft: S-37A
    • Mission: 18
    sizepositionchange
    sizepositionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    bordersheaderpositiontable
    positionchange

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.