One of the best arcade air combat games ever!
The graphics are generally gorgeous, with some of the best terrain ever seen in any flight game. While the look of things gets understandably a bit sketchy when flying under 1,000 feet... the overall experience is very pretty to look at. There are a ton of unlockable aircraft in the game, most of which you'll never have any reason to use, but they are all modeled very well for a game that really didn't need to bother with such details.
The single player game isn't mind blowing. The story is short and predictable, the voice acting generally bland and while the missions are solidly scripted, rarely are they challenging or especially memorable. You'll keep playing the game because you're having fun blowing stuff up and pulling off insane aerial maneuvers... But once you get the hang of the tools within the game, you'll often be completing missions in the first or second try. Sometimes things can get confusing in regards to mission objectives, as it's not always easy finding high priority targets with the in-game GUI.
The multiplayer is probably where the true value lies. While the single player game appears to have been designed with maximum accessibility in mind, there are no such free passes online. While I generally stink at the online game and consistently get my backside handed to me... I appreciate the gameplay depth that you won't find during the scripted missions. Good online pilots are an absolute joy to fight against, with every button on your keyboard / controller being needed to survive. (Well, either I'm fighting against good online pilots or I'm just really awful at the game... haven't figured that out for sure yet). Overall, I gave the game a "just right" for difficulty... Which is based on the single player game being somewhat easy and the online play being somewhat challenging.
In conclusion, the single player game is a generally lightweight romp of blowing stuff up and the multiplayer can get surprisingly deep and challenging. If you liked the old Ace Combat series, then pick this up. You won't regret it. If you're looking to set waypoints on your MFD and properly position your flaps and leading edge slats for a low speed landing on a rough runway... this is not the game for you.