Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is the third installment in the Ace Combat series of games. A major departure from every other game in the series, it featured a futuristic storyline involving a war between a group of multinational corporations, shades of the Armored Core series of games.
The plot, taking place in the distant future, revolves around a war between a group of corporations fighting over territorial disputes, and eventually a prototype fighter known as the X-49 Night Raven. During a period of financial chaos, the many governments of the world have eroded to nothing but corporatocracies. These corporations, not unlike the governments they control, have disputes often, and eventually a war is sparked.
General Resource LTD. is a successful company, formed through a merger of many worldwide financial assets. It was once Gründer Industries, a military corporation found in Ace Combat 5. Focusing on the domination of common products, General Resource is always in constant disagreement with Neucom. A massive corporate war was sparked when General Resource's armed forces engaged fire with Neucom's forces. General Resources has a para-military force called General Resources Defence Force (GRDF). Dission and Keith are members of the GRDF.
The UPEO (Universal Peace Enforcement Organization) is a military organization controlled by the U.N. and originally a General Resource puppet, ultimately dedicated to stopping the corporate war. However, it is referred as a paper tiger, since it requires weapons from the corporations to support itself. UPEO is supervised by NUN General Secretary Gabriel Clarkson. UPEO's military arm is named Special Armed Response Force (SARF). Main Character , Rena , Fiona and Erich are members of the SARF. Gilbert Park is the commander of the UPEO and SARF, however he is distrusted by almost every character in the game. (reason of which later revealed) After all hell breaks loose at the near the end of the game, main character and Erich decide to take the battle to Park in order to save the UPEO from corruption and stop the Ouroboros, while trying to save Rena from her cruel fate.
Neucom Inc. is a generally struggling corporation that focuses on progress through technological advances.It was once the Erusian Air and Space Administration (EASA), a corporation found in Ace Combat 04. Formed by a group of defecting scientists from General Resource and a former government agency, Neucom has similarities to real-life defense contractor McDonnell Douglas. Neucom's para-military force is named Neucom Emergency Unit (NEU) and it's only side that uses its own design aircraft. Cynthia is a member of the NEU (as is Fiona, defecting along with the main character if player wishes, in the later missions). For some reason, Neucom is named Neuwork in the seriously downgraded english versions of AC3.
Ouroboros is a mysterious organization formed from members of all units, with its own shadowy agenda. According to the story, Abyssal Dision seems to be its lead pilot and executive officer while Gilbert Park, commander of the UPEO is actually its leader, operating behind the scenes. Cynthia (and main character, if player wishes) later join Ouroboros for unknown reasons although she later realizes the madness behind the organization's true intentions and decides to escape. (again, with main character)
AC3 was the first game in the series to feature a third-person 360-degree camera that could be rotated on all three axes with the right thumbstick; allowing the player to keep enemies in constant sight. A welcome feature, this was carried over to later games. It was also the first game to allow the player to choose their aircraft's armament.
It is the only game in the series so far to feature a mission in outer space. Although there is only one, it featured a reasonably accurate physics model of a zero-gravity situation. The game was also a departure in other ways; the style is reminiscent of the Wipeout series of games, especially the Head-Up Display (though some found it was too bulky and interfered with the player's view). The company logos of Neucom, Ouroboros, General Resource and the UPEO bear resemblance to the works of The Designers Republic. The soundtrack consists of a variety of electronic music, largely ambient mood setting tunes (as opposed to the rock music found in Ace Combat 2), composed by much of the same team responsible for the critically-acclaimed Ridge Racer soundtracks.
UPEO Aircraft:
EF-2000E Typhoon II - Fighter; MiG-33 Fulcrum SS - Fighter; F/A-18U Hornet ADV - F/A (Multirole) (UPEO paint scheme version of F/A-18I); F-16XFU Gryfalcon - Fighter (UPEO paint scheme version of F-16 XF); R-101U Delphinus #1 - F/A (Multirole) (UPEO paint scheme version of R-101); R-200 Asterozoa|R-201U Asterozoa - Attacker (UPEO paint scheme version of R-201); Su-37 Super Flanker - Multirole & Su-43 Berkut - Advanced Fighter
General Resources LTD. Aircraft:
F-16XA Sakerfalcon - Attacker; F-15S/MT Eagle+ - Fighter; A/F-117X Navhawk - Attacker *; F-22C Raptor II - Fighter; F/A-32C Erne - Multirole; RFA-12A Blackbird - Strato-Fighter; XFA-36A Game - Advanced Fighter; F/A-18I Hornet ADV - Multirole *; F-16XF Gryfalcon - Fighter
Neucom Aircraft:
R-101 Delphinus #1 - F/A (Multirole); R-102 Delphinus #2 - F/A (Multirole); R-103 Delphinus #3 - Advanced Fighter; R-201 Asterzoa - Attacker; R-211 Orcinus - Attacker; R-311 Remora- Strato-Fighter; R-352 Sepia - Space Craft; XR-900 Geopelia- Advanced Fighter.
Ouroboros Aircraft:
Su-37 Super Flanker - Multirole; Su-43 Berkut - Advanced Fighter; R-103 Delphinus #3 - Advanced Fighter; XFA-36A Game - Advanced Fighter; X-49 Night Raven - Advanced Fighter; UI-4054 Aurora - Advanced Fighter.
Development history:
Released in 1999, the Japanese version is extremely story-driven, featuring anime cutscenes, detailed characters, and 52 missions, with multiple paths through the game and 5 possible endings. The Japanese version introduced some elements carried over to Ace Combat 04, including radio chatter between comrades and enemies, and intelligent wingmen. The American and European versions, released a year later, have been extremely criticized for removing almost all of the story elements, including all of the cutscenes, and cutting the game down to 36 missions. Fans of the game feel there is no excuse for Namco Hometek to have taken a year's time to release it in America, only for it to be a shell of what it once was. Features such as the intelligent wingmen and all individual characters were also removed. The anime cutscenes and the fictional aircraft also alienated Japanese fans of the series, who were expecting something closer to the arcade style of Ace Combat 2. However, sales in Japan were still strong, but the cutting down of the storyline led to a lack of success in other markets.
Manufacturer's description:
3rd flight shooting, "Ace Combat" series popular. Graphics are more powerful, even representation of movement and airflow cloud in the sky. Adopted to reflect the storyline missions and the "will of the player", the story branch system. Carry out a mission to crush the conflict in the near future as a pilot!
Features:
- First or third person perspectives.
- 3D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Combat planes & Anime themes.
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