Ace Combat 6 Fires of Liberation - Xbox 360

In Fires of Liberation, the decorated Ace Combat series roars into the current generation. The scope has expanded to include fantastic online play, and the game has found the perfect balance between a speedy, steady frame rate and quality graphics. The overall experience is innately rewarding, and it ramps up the challenge throughout the course of the campaign and finishes on a thrilling high note that may very well inspire you to replay the final mission (and others, too) over and over again. Ace Combat 6 doesn't always sustain this momentum, and you may actually find the early missions a bit tedious. But if you stick with it, it pays off in grand fashion.

There's a fairly complex web of personal stories that take place between your single-player missions. The breathtaking cutscenes follow a heartbroken mother, a stoic enemy pilot, and other characters on their journeys of discovery and redemption. The story feels somewhat disconnected from the gameplay, given that the scenes don't directly relate to what you're doing in the fiery skies. The bad lip synching (the English dialogue is obviously dubbed over animations meant for Japanese speech) certainly doesn't help the immersion, nor does some of the bland delivery from the voice actors. Yet for all its disconnected personal drama, it gives you a sense of the stakes at hand better than a more sweeping, political narrative would.

In contrast to the moving intermissions, battles are fast and furious, and even if you're a novice, it won't take you long to light up the heavens with your dogfighting prowess. Flying in Ace Combat 6 is a delight. This isn't a realistic flight sim--you won't even be forced to take off and land on your own if you don't want to. Instead, you can simply enjoy the fun, fluid flight model. Your speed is controlled by the triggers, you yaw with the bumpers, and your flight path is controlled by the left analog stick. If you're intimidated by flying games, there is a novice control option, but we encourage you to stick with the default control scheme. It's easy to use and gives you more precise control over your fighter. If you're a veteran and really want to feel like a top gun, you can grab the $150 package that includes flight sticks. The sticks work just fine and give you that great in-the-cockpit feel. But if you don't have the cash or are simply cautious about using a yoke and a joystick, don't worry: Your controller will get the job done serviceably

The missions themselves are quite exciting, though you may not get this impression from the first 5 or 6 of them, because the difficulty level slowly rises for the first few hours. In fact, until you reach the later stages of the game, crashing is your most serious threat. The early slow going is actually a little frustrating; it feels as if you are going from target to target without much sense of urgency or danger. Nevertheless, you'll be glad for the early stages afterward, considering that the later missions present you with persistent enemies that force you to constantly evade their missiles while destroying SAM installations, fighters, missile boats, power grids, and plenty more.
It sounds like chaos, and it can feel a little overwhelming at times. But even when the stakes are high, the game never works against you, and it always gives you the tools you need to succeed. One of the most helpful of those tools is your special weapon, which you choose before the mission starts. Depending on your mass-destruction instrument of choice, you might be able to take down multiple enemy aircraft at once, blanket the ground with a barrage of rockets, or throw missiles out of your tail. Not only can these weapons be crucial in your fight to survive, but they're also another reason to replay missions, just to see how a different choice might affect the tide of war.

Another helpful tool is your wingman, who will provide support or attack an enemy target if you want him to. He's a pretty smart cookie, and he manages to draw enemy fire when necessary (way to take one for the team, Shamrock!), and shows a good amount of prowess in bringing down the foes you specify. And when you have shot down enough bad guys, you can even order an allied attack or allied cover, which brings every friendly jet to your aid. Allied attacks are awesome to watch because your computer-controlled buddies will zoom to your side, setting the landscape on fire and bringing with them a barrage of radio chatter.

Aside from online play, Ace Combat 6 doesn't break any real new ground for the series. In fact, some cool past features, such as AC5's radioed yes/no questions, are nowhere to be found. Yet Ace Combat 6 makes up for it by providing the most immersive experience yet in an arcade flight combat game, thanks to smooth, gorgeous visuals and polished gameplay. And you'll want to play again and again: There are medals to earn, aircraft and special weapons to purchase with the points you receive during missions, and a good selection of Xbox Live achievement points to earn that are spread out evenly among the campaign and multiplayer modes. You can also save replays of your matches, and the cinematic camera views make them a pleasure to watch. Whether you're an Ace Combat veteran or a series newcomer, you won't be disappointed.