Overall Rating: S (as in, on the Holy Trinity's place)
Story and Writing: A-
-Lot of ideas and potential explored, but yeah, given the whole rush job thing and plenty of not fleshed-out characters (Fencer? Skald? Tailor? What did they do again?) ...yeah. Not to mention the cut dialogue. The DLC missions, tho, acknowledged that military/intelligence people like David North and Kei Nagase tell a better story than civilians/journalists like Albert Genette and Melissa Herman, since they play bigger roles outside of cut-scenes. Significant writing upgrade though, with even apparently stupid decisions like Wiseman drawing Mr. X's attention and Harling apparently going into the ISEV handwaved by Wiseman caring a lot for his men like Knocker and Yellow 13, but far successful because unlike the latter, not one LRSSG member besides himself died, and the whole Harling thing being handwaved by A) Osea/the IUN being preoccupied by the war and burning too much time, B) Sky Keeper being unable to track everybody from point A to B, and C) thank Labarthe for exposition. Chopper and those trainees still make me r/saltierthancrait lol Unfortunately, brings to mind that one YouTube comment by Zygemaru/something <<eVeN aSsAuLt HoRiZoN hAs A bEtTeR sToRy ThAn ThIs>>. I wish I could unload an EML/MPBM shell into them at ultrasonic speeds >:( Gameplay and side content: S- Nigh-perfect, brings back AC3's difficulty, the PSP games' parts and emblems system, six paint schemes, etc. HOWEVER, PA apparently couldn't think of NFS/Forza- level customization, huh? Also, if we can PSM, why not the enemy too? Where are our wingman commands and plane selections as Strider 1? Level Design: S+ A LOT of variety. Charge Assault: Bomber intercept/tutorial Charge the Enemy: Base assault and drone dogfight Two-pronged Strategy: Air superiority and sky fortress encounter Rescue: Handful of Hope-esque radar evasion (except no transport escort), air superiority 444: Bomber intercept, EXCEPT the bombers and fighters are already besieging the base, making it much more intense Long Day: Land-based annihilation and UAV furball. Pure fun. First Contact: Small-scale land attack, UAV intercept, and ace squadron duel IN ONE PACKAGE. Oh, and careful of the thunderstorm rain :) Pipeline Destruction: Michael Bay-level EKSPLUSIONZ annihilation, and then UAV fight AND tanker intercept IN A FRIGGIN MEGA-SANDSTORM. Just...insane... Faceless Soldier: Radar raid and supersonic missile evasion huh? Tough nut to crack, but hey, okay. Nice 8492-esque twist and formation unity. Transfer Orders: Tricky as F, but if you are fast and tactical enough, the ground and air targets should be easy to dispatch. Fleet Destruction: Basically Aegir Fleet 2.0 except the fleet is in deep waters sailing status. Also, nice heavily defended marine platforms. Stonehenge Defensive: Really tense defensive mission, reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back's Hoth battle. Also, wow-inducing Arsenal Bird furball; the ground units are in on it too. Bunker Buster: Directing bombers to do the dirty work, no SP weapons, AND IRBM intercept? Unique. Unexpected Visitor: WOO-HOO! Basically Comona, Breaking Arrows (with planes as targets), Lifeline's Yellow encounter (except you can choose to either drive Mimic off or simply ignore them lol), and Juggernaut's Costner variant ROLLED UP IN ONE. PA really did fire up their cylinders this time, and I hope they do the same with future ACs. We'd be in for one Tartarus of a ride. Anchorhead Raid: Invincible Fleet 2.0 + Heartbreak One's Grabacr encounter + Infinite Warfare-esque assassination targets = HSQ above 3000 Ten Million Relief Plan: Haven't even experienced it yet, but I predict that it will be an epic Zero-esque final showdown mixed with Demons of Razgriz, set in the very place where the franchise began (the Skully Islands).