More of the same but still pretty brilliant never-the-less...
The latest instalment, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation offers more of the same action that has been available since the beginning of the series with very little major changes. But is that really so bad? In a lot of cases I would argue that it is, especially looking at all the clones that are on the market now-a-days (Need for Speed ring a bell?) but with Ace Combat I couldn't care less. I can't put my finger on exactly why I feel this way, maybe I'm just a fan boy, but the more likely reason is that I believe the many very minor changes in the gameplay have altered the game enough to make it feel slightly new and refreshing.
Basically, the new game is very similar to the previous games in that it features a terrible storyline about some fictional world in which two fictional countries (one of which is the indisputable evil country and, as a result, is full of scary men with Russian accents that make the use of some sort of "doom-weapon") have a war utilising entirely licensed real-world military aircraft. Also alike to the previous games is the terrible voice acting coupled with an even worse script that just makes you realise that Japan really hasn't been involved in a war in a considerable amount of time; they really have no idea how it works. Good on them though, as that's far better than being a nation that enjoys beginning wars with developing countries, usually full of communists, and then trampling all over them and running out declaring victory. I do pity these script writers however; it really is cute how seriously they take their stories of love and war where as I only watch the cut-scenes to laugh at it all. Having said all this, the script nor the voice acting really lets the game down at all because only an idiot would buy an Ace Combat game expecting a Hollywood script with Hollywood actors to go along with it that makes aerial combat feel so real, deep and involving that it makes Saving Private Ryan look like a slapstick comedy.
The new features/changes I mentioned are very minor and perhaps only a die-hard Ace Combat fan will notice them. One of them is the return of the ability to choose different special weapons for each of the aircraft, a feature in Ace Combat 4 but was removed from Ace Combat 5, but not only that – you can return to base to change the weapons around mid-mission. As well as flying to the edge of the map to return to base (which was always so slow and laborious) you can now land on captured or allied airstrips on the map during the mission which is much more interesting and actually requires a tiny but of skill to accomplish. Another very welcome improvement to the game is that your wingman can actually achieve something now; you tell him to attack a target and he'll actually do it successfully, you tell him to cover you and he'll actually attack the enemies targeting you. This may not sound like ground-breaking AI but compared to the previous game it's a God-sent gift. A feature that some people may like, though I despise, is the "high-g turn" system that, simply by pressing the two triggers in together, makes you turn in an incredibly small arc at the expense of speed. Sounds good? No! It takes all the skill out of the game because it is essentially a "dodge" button that, when instigated at any moment, immediately tells the missile chasing you to give up. Another not-so welcome change is that in Ace Combat 5 there were some where around 30, maybe even 40 planes. The new Ace Combat, sadly, only has around 15, also some of my favourites from 5 are missing. I can understand this decrease in option somewhat as it is probably due to the stunning visuals that I'll get on to next…still, it's very disappointing.
The graphics are fairly amazing, although the ground isn't exactly spectacular, it's a huge improvement on previous games and from way up high in the clouds it looks pretty photo-real. Another huge improvement is on the allied and enemy units, although the plane you pilot has always looked amazing, other units have always looked like something from a PS1 game, now though they are just as good as your own visually stunning aircraft and even the tanks and guns on the ground look much better. The best visual effects have to be from the smoke and clouds in the game though; they're easily the best Dx9 smoke effects I've ever seen in a game. It's truly wondrous to see the fantastic amount of jet trails, missile trails, lingering smoke and clouds left after a long battle.
A disappointing aspect of other wise fun and exciting gameplay is how easy it is. Although first time fliers may find it difficult, I found it considerably easy even on "Ace" difficulty especially seeing as after "Hard" you unlock the super-amazing "Doom-Plane" that fires 50 missiles at a time or something ridiculous. Also, although the first play through may take you anything between four and eight hours (which is still pretty short) your next few tries may only take you a couple of hours, again thanks to the "Doom-Plane".
The multiplayer I have very mixed reactions about. There isn't a huge amount of people playing it, even now, and only one gamemode seems to have anyone playing it at all. When you do find a good game that isn't really laggy though it can be quite entertaining, even if all of the gamemodes are a bit peculiar – sometimes I wish there was just straight up team deathmatch instead of "team deathmatch with shipping containers full of special abilities" and such abstract ideas. Entertaining as it might be, it can get fairly repetitive and dull after more than a few games; this is down to the fact that it requires little, or no, skill. It seems only to be a game of picking someone to chase then idly flying round in circles until you get a lock-on and then mashing the fire button until they die (you have something ridiculous like 60 missiles so it doesn't matter if you miss), doing all this while praying that the three people chasing you don't kill you first isn't exactly much fun. Another low point is that all the fun is taken out of the game by the "high-g turn" system employed in the singleplayer.
Overall though, the game is a solid combination of winning gameplay elements combined with spectacular visuals and multiplayer that may entertain some for varying amounts of time.