Mach Storm

Mach Storm
General Information
Developers	Bandai Namco Games
Publishers	Bandai Namco Games
Release Dates	JP December 2013 INT February 2014
Gameplay Modes	Single-player
Platforms	Arcade
Distribution	System ES3
Websites	Japanese Product Page North America Product Page

Mach Storm is an arcade game developed by Bandai Namco. It utilizes assets from other Ace Combat games released near the same time, and is one of the first international arcade games to use a modified Namco System N2 "P.O.D." display. Parts of its gameplay are taken from Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield, which also used the N2 P.O.D. system.

Mach Storm was released in December 2013 in Japan, and available internationally by February 2014.

Gameplay

Mach Storm uses an special cabinet called P.O.D. (Panaromic Optical Display). The player flies as the flight lead of Storm Squadron in a COFFIN-equipped CFA-44 Nosferatu while battling enemy forces in locales across the world. The P.O.D. reacts to the user's actions, activating fans when flying at high speeds or vibrating the chair if the aircraft gets damaged. The aircraft is controlled with a flight stick for motion and a throttle control for acceleration and deceleration.

One credit (price dependent on location) allows the player to select any of the five available missions. After selecting a mission, the player permanently flies in a scripted path in Dogfight Mode, engaging and destroying enemy units. Bonuses are awarded for destroying enemies in quick succession, without getting damaged, and with gunfire. Like Dogfight Mode in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, levels will include cinematic sequences like collapsing buildings and flying through cramped spaces.

If the player survives to the end of the mission, they will enter a timed boss encounter specific to the mission they're playing. If the boss is successfully destroyed, the player has the option to use another credit to play a bonus round to potentially double their score. The bonus round lasts for 60 seconds, but time can be extended by destroying certain enemies, and each kill will fill a gauge to use multi-lock missiles to gain more points.

At the end of the session, the player is ranked for their actions and placed on a local leaderboard.

Missions

Location	Difficulty	Final Boss	OST
Miami	Easy	2x Tu-160 Blackjacks	If the Sky is Burnin' Out! (2011)
Paris	Normal	Ace Su-47 Berkut	On the Verge
Dubai	Normal	Cruise missiles	Surrender Me (2011)
Washington, D.C.	Hard	Enemy fleet	Arcade Riding High
Tokyo	Hard	Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser	Arcade Ripping Air

The optional bonus round at the end of each mission always plays the OST Arcade Do or Die, along the game have 3 original tracks(the one which plays on the Boss Battles, and the ones used for Mission Clear and Mission Failed).

Development

Mach Storm was initially titled Sonic Storm. Its development took place sometime in 2012, following the release of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. It was first demoed in February 2013 in a Dave & Buster's in Illinois, followed by demos in Japan in June 2013.

In August 2013, the game was renamed to Mach Storm, trademarked worldwide, and fully announced at a Bandai Namco public "business meeting" in Japan. On November 5, Bandai Namco confirmed that Mach Storm would be among the company's other arcade games at IAAPA 2013 two weeks from then. A trailer was released on November 15, but is no longer available. Mach Storm received massive success at the show, and was one of the most popular games being displayed.

The success of Mach Storm led to the creation of Star Wars: Battle Pod, which uses the same arcade P.O.D. system and gameplay mechanics, including Dogfight Mode (except with only laser fire and no missiles).

Ace Combat references

Except for the voice clips, Mach Storm is entirely made of re-used assets from other Ace Combat games, particularly Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation and Ace Combat Infinity (which fully released in May 2014, five months after Mach Storm released in Japan).

• Screenshots from Assault Horizon are used in the mission select screen.
• The player takes off from the CVN-30, which also has ASF-X Shinden IIs on the flight deck. The CVN-30's captain is Nicholas A. Andersen.
• The player's Airborne Warning and Control System is AWACS Heavy Cloud, who later appears in Infinity.
• The CFA-44 Nosferatu that accompanies the player uses Color 1 from Assault Horizon, even sporting the Republic of Emmeria Air Force roundels.
• The Tokyo boss is an Aigaion-class cruiser, which uses the same model featured on Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, but now with the addition to Steel Carnage effect on the damaged model.
• The game's soundtrack (see #Missions) comes from the Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Original Soundtrack and ACE COMBAT 3D: CROSS RUMBLE Original Soundtrack.
• The sound effects, particularly the menu selections, are from Assault Horizon and Ace Combat 6.
• The description of the First Lieutenant rank says "You are the Demon Lord of the skies!"
  • Also, the 6th rank it´s called "Demon Lord"
• The pilot of the CFA-44 on the dome's exterior is wearing a Bone Arrow Squadron emblem from Infinity.
• The gameplay is centered around Close Range Assault's Dogfight Mode. It's more fast-paced than in Assault Horizon, and the missile charge circle is much larger.
• The player is restricted to Novice controls (renamed to Optimum in Assault Horizon); left and right on the flight stick turns the aircraft respectively, instead of rotating as in Normal (renamed to Original in Assault Horizon).
• The Clear Rank icons later would be featured on Ace Combat Infinity as part of the Ranks system icons.

Gallery

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  Mach Storm P.O.D. arcade cabinet

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  Pursuing an enemy near the Eiffel Tower

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