=Update: 10/21/2018=
I honestly am very disapointed with the devs on this one. Now that the game's out of early access I figured I'd come back and play the game in it's final form. Unfortunately I have to say that this game feels like it's incomplete. Cutscenes consist of 1 still image and narrating voice actors that sound like they were amatures recording from their home computers, Dialog both in-game and in cutscenes cuts off prematurely or just flat out doesn't sync up with the subtitles, and the in-game audo levels are so bad, i have to turn voices up to 100% and bring everything else down to 10% just to hear what's going on, because I'm actually invested in the dialog and story they're trying to tell here. The only good thing about this game is the gameplay itself, but that's not enough to redeem it from my judgment.

It's obviouse that the gameplay and plot draws heavy inspiration from the Ace Combat Series, and that's not a bad thing. I'm genuinely invested in the story this game is trying to tell me as i listen to the dialog in missions and in cutscenes, but becasue they cutscenes are so boring it pulls me out of interest and i find myself doing something else on my desktop to kill time as i listen. In some cutscenes it just flat out ends ot the dialog gets cut off suddenly as if the timing of the actor was off and the editor just moved on to the next dialog in the script. Again had it not been for the gameplay i'd have been fuming mad that i invested money into the earley access development of this game.

Thankfully gameplay is very similar to Ace Combat, so Ace Combat fans might like it. Theres a campaign mode, skirmish mode, and the game even has multiplayer though i can't comment on that because i have no interest in playing multiplayer. There's also a mission editor which allows you to create your own missions, which is pretty neat but for me, ultimately uninteresting. This game has to much potential and could have been the next best thing i've played sinse Ace Combat, but ultimately it just turned into an unfinished mess of a game that I honestly am finding it very difficulty to like even though i really want to. And at a (Current) price tag of $24.99 I'd recommend NOT buying this game. Maybe on sale but I wouldn't even suggest it then...

I'm very disapointed in you, TimeSymmetry...Very disapointed...

=Early Access Review: May 16, 2015=
At first glance this game looks like an Ace Combat clone. Well, in some aspects yes, however it's not entirely that. Vector Thrust borrows elements of the classic arcade style flight simulator, however keeps all the difficulty of realistic air combat. You have various different subsystems that you can enable or disable in your aircraft using the keyboard and while controlling all of your primary weapon and engine systems with your joypad or flight stick. Enemies aren't dumb as rocks waiting to get killed by incoming missiles and will use flares just like you to evade incoming projectiles, and they will organize themselves and cover each other as proper wingmen should, covering their allies as you engage them and even doing their best to distract you from your main objective. Its a bit refreshing to fight against a properly and equally matched AI.

When playing this game, I was shot down on my second mission playing on normal difficulty. On any other game I probably would have thrown my arms up in rage and said "screw this, this is stupid!" but instead I smiled and nodded, accepting my defeat and coming to realize that this game doesn't treat you like the hotshot ace you think you are in Ace Combat. Aside from the game being in beta and using starter aircraft, the game didn't hold back, which in reality is "normal" behavior in a combat situation. I went off ahead of the squad and lost all my wingmen because I didn't properly cover them or cooperate with them, and as a result toward the end I was out performed and outnumbered ultimately leading to my failure, which is NORMAL in a combat situation, especially if you're in an aircraft unfit for long term dogfights like the starter aircraft.

Normally when I want to truly enjoy an arcade sim like Ace Combat I crank up the difficulty to hard, which is rare for me to do in many other games because they often fall back on cheap gimmics like enemies that simply have more health than you and pinpoint accuracy, or enemies that are too aggressive and bullrush players into submission. Ace Combat would subvert this, but when I wanted to feel the thrill of having an equaly matched opponent and actually earn that "ace" status I'd turn it up to 11. Ace Combat however, excluding Assault Horizone, was a very story driven franchise, (which I loved before it turned into "Call of Duty: Jets"), So it did very little to get in the way of progression, giving you just the right amount of challenge without making it too difficult to where you'd be stuck and frustrated with the game. Vector Thrust however treats each mission like an everyday sortie, and going it alone will only get you killed like the hotshot you are.

This game has the potential to be something great and I hope they continue with what their doing. Realistic combat in an Arcade style simulator isn't all that bad. "Operation Flashpoint: Red River" is a decent example of that fusion of Call of Duty mixed with Arma style gameplay. I definitely recommend this to anyone into old school flight sims, but also what the "pickup and play" style of arcade flight sims.

=Update: 10/21/2018= I honestly am very disapointed with the devs on this one. Now that the game's out of early access I figured I'd come back and play the game in it's final form. Unfortunately I have to say that this game feels like it's incomplete. Cutscenes consist of 1 still image and narrating voice actors that sound like they were amatures recording from their home computers, Dialog both in-game and in cutscenes cuts off prematurely or just flat out doesn't sync up with the subtitles, and the in-game audo levels are so bad, i have to turn voices up to 100% and bring everything else down to 10% just to hear what's going on, because I'm actually invested in the dialog and story they're trying to tell here. The only good thing about this game is the gameplay itself, but that's not enough to redeem it from my judgment. It's obviouse that the gameplay and plot draws heavy inspiration from the Ace Combat Series, and that's not a bad thing. I'm genuinely invested in the story this game is trying to tell me as i listen to the dialog in missions and in cutscenes, but becasue they cutscenes are so boring it pulls me out of interest and i find myself doing something else on my desktop to kill time as i listen. In some cutscenes it just flat out ends ot the dialog gets cut off suddenly as if the timing of the actor was off and the editor just moved on to the next dialog in the script. Again had it not been for the gameplay i'd have been fuming mad that i invested money into the earley access development of this game. Thankfully gameplay is very similar to Ace Combat, so Ace Combat fans might like it. Theres a campaign mode, skirmish mode, and the game even has multiplayer though i can't comment on that because i have no interest in playing multiplayer. There's also a mission editor which allows you to create your own missions, which is pretty neat but for me, ultimately uninteresting. This game has to much potential and could have been the next best thing i've played sinse Ace Combat, but ultimately it just turned into an unfinished mess of a game that I honestly am finding it very difficulty to like even though i really want to. And at a (Current) price tag of $24.99 I'd recommend NOT buying this game. Maybe on sale but I wouldn't even suggest it then... I'm very disapointed in you, TimeSymmetry...Very disapointed... =Early Access Review: May 16, 2015= At first glance this game looks like an Ace Combat clone. Well, in some aspects yes, however it's not entirely that. Vector Thrust borrows elements of the classic arcade style flight simulator, however keeps all the difficulty of realistic air combat. You have various different subsystems that you can enable or disable in your aircraft using the keyboard and while controlling all of your primary weapon and engine systems with your joypad or flight stick. Enemies aren't dumb as rocks waiting to get killed by incoming missiles and will use flares just like you to evade incoming projectiles, and they will organize themselves and cover each other as proper wingmen should, covering their allies as you engage them and even doing their best to distract you from your main objective. Its a bit refreshing to fight against a properly and equally matched AI. When playing this game, I was shot down on my second mission playing on normal difficulty. On any other game I probably would have thrown my arms up in rage and said "screw this, this is stupid!" but instead I smiled and nodded, accepting my defeat and coming to realize that this game doesn't treat you like the hotshot ace you think you are in Ace Combat. Aside from the game being in beta and using starter aircraft, the game didn't hold back, which in reality is "normal" behavior in a combat situation. I went off ahead of the squad and lost all my wingmen because I didn't properly cover them or cooperate with them, and as a result toward the end I was out performed and outnumbered ultimately leading to my failure, which is NORMAL in a combat situation, especially if you're in an aircraft unfit for long term dogfights like the starter aircraft. Normally when I want to truly enjoy an arcade sim like Ace Combat I crank up the difficulty to hard, which is rare for me to do in many other games because they often fall back on cheap gimmics like enemies that simply have more health than you and pinpoint accuracy, or enemies that are too aggressive and bullrush players into submission. Ace Combat would subvert this, but when I wanted to feel the thrill of having an equaly matched opponent and actually earn that "ace" status I'd turn it up to 11. Ace Combat however, excluding Assault Horizone, was a very story driven franchise, (which I loved before it turned into "Call of Duty: Jets"), So it did very little to get in the way of progression, giving you just the right amount of challenge without making it too difficult to where you'd be stuck and frustrated with the game. Vector Thrust however treats each mission like an everyday sortie, and going it alone will only get you killed like the hotshot you are. This game has the potential to be something great and I hope they continue with what their doing. Realistic combat in an Arcade style simulator isn't all that bad. "Operation Flashpoint: Red River" is a decent example of that fusion of Call of Duty mixed with Arma style gameplay. I definitely recommend this to anyone into old school flight sims, but also what the "pickup and play" style of arcade flight sims.