“Oh, dear”. Probably not a the most obvious way to start a review, but while playing, Air Conflicts: Vietnam, I found myself inadvertently speaking those very words aloud. Rather than screaming and shouting in frustration at all that is wrong with this rather disastrous attempt at a video game, I instead found myself sitting back, caught in a strange emotional quagmire of disappointment, shock and pity.
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AC: V is an arcade flight game that is set in the Vietnam Era, and is based on the historically accurate situations from 1962-1975, as understood from our own current perspective. The game boasts over 20+ types of aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and choppers, single-player campaign mode, 3 multiplayer modes (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag), 4 levels of difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard, and Navy Pilot), and Instant Battle, where you can immediately dive right into a dogfight and can choose aircraft, location, type of weather, and number of enemies. An auto-aim feature is also implemented in the game, but the degree of its usage is dependent upon the set level of difficulty, and is turned off altogether in multiplayer mode.
The Air Conflicts series has developed an impressive following on current-generation consoles. A heavy push with the release of Air Conflicts: Secret Wars back in 2011 saw the videogame being propelled to the top of a genre with very little competition. The likes of Top Gun and the once dominant Ace Combat had dealt only with the arcade spectrum of flight simulation on modern hardware, leaving the door open for Air Conflicts to capitalise on an audience that wasn’t otherwise being serviced. That it did, and it did it so well that a sequel followed. Also we received; we arrive at Air Conflicts: Vietnam: a considerable change of pace for the franchise.
