The Ace Combat series has always tried to fit into an odd niche. This 6th edition performs well and deserves a chance.
This 6th installment continues the tradition of fast paced air combat and compelling story driven action but, like all games, falls short in a few areas.
The first is in scope. The game developers clearly wanted to expand the average playing field and bring the game closer to real world combat by providing each mission with several different combat operations occurring at the same time. While this may sound exciting, it makes the game play tedious and overwhelming. While fighting various enemies you are constantly bombarded with requests for aid and reports on causalities and survivors. At one time or another you may have to kill several ground bases, 16 enemy aircraft and provide air support for several other units across hundreds of miles. The immense scope of the missions wouldn't be so down right monotonous if the objectives weren't so repetitive.
The second area of disappointment is in the ally support system that is a new feature in the series. On each mission you are given one or more allies that are there to support you in your mission. All they appear to do is to remind you of incoming missiles which you are already aware of thanks to the warning system in your cockpit. When their not telling you that "an enemy has a lock on you" they are complaining about being hit by missiles.
The third area of importance is the storyline. In Ace Combat 6 you play as a an ace for the Gracemerian Nation who have recently lost their country to the Estolovakian nation who decided, prompted by years of poverty, to attack. The story is primarily told through long FMV and during missions through the radio. The main problem is that much of the story is narrated from the perspective of a woman hopelessly lost in love and war. It might be good in a cinema or a book but in videogames, its best to focus on the action. It becomes really boring listening to her monotonic, sad voice every time a mission ends. Another annoying factor in the story is that you are always referred to as "support". It seems everyone says "Thanks for the support" or "we couldn't have won it without you!". Its frustrating because you are the one doing all the killing, all the saving, all the flying. The other units are doing about as much damage as would my toaster if it suddenly self-combusted. Also to add to my list of story woes is that the pace of missions is really unbalanced. A mission starts of as uneventful for the first 10 seconds, then for the next 30 minutes the action remains at a plateau with little break nor increase in excitement. Then, suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch, the mission is over. You hear the typical "Good job!" and such and the "success" sign.
It can be difficult at times to actually find and target enemies. Unless one figures out early on (with no tutorial to explain it) that by pressing the blue button on the controller you can change the radar to operation and tactical view, you remain hopelessly lost. Distinguishing enemies from terrain is nigh on impossible and you must rely on the fickle targeting system that will decide to aim at a unit 100 KM away in favor of the one 600 ft away. The lock on times are also disproportional as firing at an unmoving ground target is somehow harder to lock onto than a jet fighter moving at 500 KPH which locks on almost instantly.
But now for the good stuff; the parts of the game which went right.
The graphics in this game are amazing, both for the aircraft and for the effects. Explosions seem alive and clouds obscure your view and offer a picturesque image of the ground. Sadly the ground is the one thing about the visual presentation of AC6 that seems to lack improvement. It is basically a mesh with a texture applied and often lacks detail. This is hidden to some degree by a variety of buildings in city areas and by vast forests in the mountain regions of the game. My only negative comment towards the graphics of the game (bar the ground comment made earlier) is that the smoke trails left behind by planes seem to persist a bit too long and if one looks at a dog fight in progress you get to view an unsightly mess of trails all twisted together. I think they should last a little less long and transfer the frame rate savings onto the ground.
Another decent feature of the game is that the differences between the different aircraft to choose from can actually be felt and experienced. The starter aircraft performs well and an experienced player could likely stay with it throughout the campaign but other aircraft, such as the A-10 should likely be kept in the hangar as it lacks the speed and maneuverability needed to survive any of the missions.
Overall, Ace Combat 6 has done rather well for a game that hedges it's bets. Theres enough action, excitement and story for the casual gamer and just enough realism for most flight simulation junkies. Even if you own prior Ace Combat games, this one is worth it just for the graphics improvement and new storyline.
Certainly a game I will play for the many days to come.