Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Xbox 360, 2007)

ACe Combat 6

--Graphics--

This is like 97% of the reason I bought this game lol. The graphics are photo-realistic. Since I can't go out and purchase a F-22 in real life, I just turn on my Xbox360 and fly it in AC6. The planes are modeled to perfection and you can feel the difference in all the planes (whether it be the speed, turning ability, defense, and etc.) Explosions are nice but they need better damage models of things that get blown away like enemies on the ground and boats on the water. The levels are beautiful. The sky, atmosphere all feel so real. It feels as if you can fly to outer space in the game, you can't but i wish, the since of realism in the game is great.

--Gameplay--
The gameplay is what I expected in this game. Its fast-paced and you will be dodging missile attacks frequently in the later missions! It's awesome. It is very action packed and worth the purchase, just find it for reasonably cheap since its been out since like launch :) The missions are nicely done and can take awhile to complete...some are easy, some are difficult to manage, depends on your skill.

--Difficulty--
At first it's like "man i hope i get a challenge" but then as you move along and get to the later missions it's like "Okay, GET OFF MY TAIL!!" lol It gets pretty intense sometimes, especially with the bosses or Main targets in certain missions. Overall its challenging.

--Sound--
You need a theater room for this game. This game is made for a loud stereo system to get the experience that your flying a real plane in warfare. Its still nice on a regular setup but nothing compares to a nicely sounding system with all the explosions, jet engines, and other sounds

--Overall--
This is the finest airplane fighter game I've played in a long time.
The battles are intense and the graphics are very impressive and uses the 360 power like its suppose to be used. Battles are seen in the forground and background. Missiles fly just past your planes and gun tracers just zing past your cockpit. The action is movie-like! Emmersive and engaging! I recommend this game for airplane fighter lovers.

I've been a fan of the Ace Combat series since Ace Combat 3, which was the first game I ever played on the original Playstation. There aren't many games in the genre that can compete with Ace Combat at all until HAWX came around. I'm still incluned to play Ace Combat more than HAWX. Some of the classic fun of Ace Combat is there with the crazy story intertwined, the near impossible dogfights, and of course the epic superweapons.

But this installment is not quite as good as the previous console versions. The overall collection of aircraft is lighter than in any other game, augmented by the avility to unlock a few interesting/unique paint schemes, some that change the actual balance of the aircraft. For example, there's one that disables the SP weapon and enables only a larger cache of standard missles, in an homage to Ace Combat 2. But intersting and fun aircraft from previous games such as the Su-37, F-15 ACTIVE, and the delta-wing version of the F-16, are completely out. Most people who aren't all that familiar with the history of Ace Combat or various aircraft probably don't care or notice, but it was something I liked about the game.

The missions are fairly complex. They're not quite as linear as they used to be, which is a nice change. The battles are widespread and quickpaced. But somehow the mission mode does not "feel" quite as long as other games. There aren't as many missions as other console games, but instead there's the replayability of the various difficulty levels which has become a standard of the series. You'll no doubt get frustrated in the higher difficulties when you can't get hit by even a bullet from an AA battery without being shot down, but have to maneuver an inordinate number of enemies.

The addition of online play is kind of nice, but quite a nuisance. As one could have imagined, players online pretty much rely on the use of QAAM missles and whatever hyper maneuverable plane they've got, often the final plane CFA-44 Nosferatu. Be prepared to run around a lot.

Graphics wise it is easily the best in the series. That pretty much goes without saying for the only installment on the current generation of consoles.

All things considered, as an arcade flight game it's good. It's not great, but pretty good. It's worth a buy.

As of today, 3/11/2010, Ace combat is arguably the best Flight game for the xbox 360. It has excellent controls, great graphics and most importantly it is fun to play. The only real downside to this game is the story. While the Dev's tried to make a story that would make you care about the missions to save the people of your country, it just falls flat and really brings the game down. But dont let that stop you from getting the game. Also this game is not a "simulator" so as long as you dont expect that you will have fun playing it. (If you want that I recommend IL-2 Sturmovik with it's 3 difficulty modes of play) In AC6 you can pull off extreme maneuvers and your planes carry huge payloads of missiles so you rarely ever run out and you even get super weapons that can take out multiple targets in one press of the button. Ive heard ppl say all you do is turn in circles in dog fights, well if thats your strategy than yeah I suppose thats not much fun, I recommend learning better maneuvers and use speed to fly away from the enemy and then turn back and wait to lock-on to "fool" the AI. They have a warning system just like your own missle lock warning and if you wait until you get much closer the AI won't notice you until it to late. Yes you will still find yourself in a "loop" battle here and there but thats really not very effective. I really liked that you can give orders to your wingmen and once you have built up the allies meter you can call in strikes on the ground or air to wipe out enemies in front or behind you. Its really helpful and adds to the sense of being involved with an army rather that being out there by yourself. Another nice feature is once you beat the game you can play any mission using any plane and weapons you unlocked on your first play through which adds to the replay value. I havnt really tried going online, but I imagine it would be alot of fun if there are still people playing it. Overall if you want a flight game that is exciting and fun to play you cant really go wrong with Ace Combat 6. I give it a 9 out of 10

**The Good**

* Excellent flight model and smooth controls make flying simple and fun
* Exciting action surrounds you with huge explosions, radio chatter, and squadrons of enemy fighters
* Looks amazing, yet still maintains an even frame rate
* You can experience the excitement online with a number of great multiplayer modes.

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**The Bad**



* First half of the campaign is a little bland
* Not as many aircraft or missions as prior installments.

Talk to anybody from my generation that grew up watching Top Gun and they'll all tell you that, at least at one point in their life, they wanted to be a fighter pilot. And that for some reason volleyball left them a bit confused. With Ace Combat 6, you get to be Maverick. Or Goose or Iceman if you prefer, but the point is that you won't be able to play the game without at least once saying, "I'm gonna put on the brakes and he'll fly right by." And now that the Ace Combat series has made its way to Xbox 360, you can say that to a friend on the other side of the world in the midst of an adrenaline-pumping online match.

That's really the success of this game. It looks real enough and you're inside a real jet cockpit, but you can still be that imaginary ace that you've built up in your head all these years. Nose diving towards an ocean, only to pull up at the last minute in a gravity-defying move that sends you underneath a bridge while barrel rolling, of course, can be a reality. And you never run out of ammo, because the war is on your shoulders and you absolutely need to blow up every last thing on your radar, even if it is a radio tower on your home turf. The story doesn't really make sense. The giant flying manta ray looking enemy base you fight certainly doesn't either. But it doesn't matter, because you're in an F-22A that has over 200 explosives hidden somewhere on it and it controls just like you always dreamt it would…even if that isn't totally realistic.