Flight sim pushes pre-order specials

Namco Bandai Games have unveiled details of the pre-order incentive for New Zealand purchasers of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners pre-ordering the game at participating retailers will receive a special limited edition of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for the same price as the standard retail version.

As well as the game DVD, the limited edition box set includes the game’s original soundtrack on CD, a notebook signed by the Project Aces development team, and a code that can be redeemed to download the exclusive playable F-4E Phantom II fighter plane.

Assault Horizon is the latest game in the long running arcade combat flight simulator series that premiered with the release of Air Combat on the PlayStation in 1995. This will be the first Ace Combat game to appear on the PlayStation 3, the last game, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation released as an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Ace Combat games are traditionally set in an alternate version of earth with different geography and countries.

Previously only the PSP release Ace Combat: Joint Assault has been set in the real world. Assault Horizon also bucks the trend by allowing pilots to take to the skies in authentic real-world aerial theatres of war.

Previous Ace Combat games have featured dramatic human stories set against the backdrop of the conflict, providing players with an emotional hook seldom seen in combat video games. Namco Bandai has called upon the talents of New York Times Best-Selling military author Jim DeFelice to write the game’s story.

The game is set in 2015, where NATO forces have been called upon to control East African anti-government rebels. When the rebels wipe out a multinational task force, the US Air Force is drawn into a race to secure a mysterious super weapon as battle lines spill out all across the world.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will be available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 from 14th October 2011. Check out the trailer below.