Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
File:AC6 front.jpg
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	NA: October 232007 JP: November 1, 2007 EU: November 232007 AUS: December 132007
Genre(s)	Arcade / Flight simulator
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (エースコンバット6 解放への戦火, Ēsu Konbatto Shikkusu Kaihō e no Senka) is the latest installment of the Ace Combat franchise. It was released on October 23, 2007 in North America, November 1 in Japan, November 23 in Europe, and December 13 in Australia.

Game Premise

Ace Combat 6 covers the war between the Republic of Emmeria and the Federal Republic of Estovakia on the Anean continent, north of Yuktobania. It begins with the invasion of the Emmerian capital, Gracemeria, by the Estovakian Air Force on August 30th, 2015. Players take on the role of an Emmerian pilot and squadron leader Garuda 1 who has the callsign "Talisman". The player's wingman is Garuda 2 who goes by the callsign "Shamrock", and will fight along side Talisman throughout the entire game. Both characters are assigned to the Garuda team of the Emmerian Air Force's 28th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

The cut scenes between levels depict a few stories and how the player's actions influence their own. One story is of a mother, Melissa Herman, who became a refugee after the first battle. She went on a journey to save her daughter, Matilda, whom she believed died early in the game. On the way she meets an Estovakian woman, Ludmilla, who is heading to Gracemeria to be reunited with her boyfriend, Toscha Mijasik, a member of the antagonistic Strigon Team. Another story is about Lt. Col. Victor Voychek, an Estovakian soldier. Faggot He was the leader of the Strigon team until he became injured during the Estovakians' conquest of Gracemeria. There are also smaller plot lines in the cutscenes depicting Emmerian Army Sgt. Louis McKnight and his tank crew and of the new Strigon Team Leader, Ilya Pasternak, who is Mijasik's flight lead.

Aces

Like previous Ace Combat games, Ace Combat 6 features an enemy ace squadron that appears as an antagonist throughout the game. Estovakia's Strigon Squadron fulfills this role, fighting the player in over a third of the game's missions. Individual aces also appear in each mission; shooting them down unlocks their aircraft's special paint scheme.

ESM support can be employed by both allied and enemy forces. ESM greatly enhances the tracking ability of guided weapons, even ordinary missiles. It also reduces the tracking ability of enemy weapons. ESM is different from jamming since it doesn't entirely prevent affected units from spotting their targets through radar and their lock-on capability is not as severely hindered.

Multiple ESM fields can overlap each other for stronger effects. Having an allied ESM field over an enemy ESM signal doesn't negate each other but the effects are still experienced by units from both sides within the field's effective range.

Frontline resupply is another feature in the game where players can land in friendly airbases to resupply, in the middle of the battle. Players need to lower their landing gear (which is prompted when players enter the airbase's "landing corridor") and land their planes manually. As with base resupply using the return line, players may optionally skip the landing sequence by pressing the start button. Players can also abort the landing sequence by raising their landing gear or by straying further away from the landing area.

Aircraft

Fifteen officially licensed aircraft appear in the game. Players begin with the F-16 Fighting Falcon and can soon purchase the Mirage 2000-5, Tornado GR.4, or the A-10A Thunderbolt II.

Later in the game, additional aircraft are unlocked. These are the F-15E Strike Eagle, F/A-18F Super Hornet, F-14D SuperTomcat, F-117 Nighthawk, Mitsubishi F-2A, Rafale M, and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

While the Sukhoi Su-33 appears primarily as an enemy plane, used by the Estovakians' elite Strigon Team, it can also be purchased and flown by the player and his wingman.

The Sukhoi Su-47 and F-22 Raptor are the final real-world aircraft unlocked, and are two of the game's three best-performing aircraft. The third is the last unlockable jet in the game, the fictional CFA-44 Nosferatu, which is the game's official superfighter.

A number of NPC-only aircraft also appear in-game. These include various bombers, transport aircraft, and helicopters. Some NPC-Only aircraft seen in Ace Combat 6 include the F-4E Phantom II, the B-52H Stratofortress, and the SR-71 Blackbird.

Multiplayer

Ace Combat 6 includes 4 default multiplayer modes: Battle Royale, Siege Battle, Team Battle, and Co-Op Battle.

Battle Royale

Basic Deathmatch game mode, up to sixteen players shoot each other down to earn points, highest points by the time limit wins.

Team Battle

In Team Battle, a basic Team Deathmatch game is created, with a couple of changes.

• The teams don't have to be even. Up to 16 players can join, but one team can have up to 15 members.
• Points are awarded based on the type of aircraft destroyed.

Siege Battle

A unique type of multiplayer game, Siege Battle is played with two teams, Attacking and Defending. The Attacking team attempts to destroy the target (usually heavily defended by flak) within the time limit. The Defending team tries to halt their attack.

Co-op Battle

The co-op battle mode consist of two singleplayer missions without AI that can be played with up to three other players. In order the play the second co-op mission, one needs to complete the first co-op mission.

Downloadable content

Namco has released five sets of downloadable paint schemes for Ace Combat 6's aircraft. These downloadable paint schemes modify the plane's maneuverability, speed, armor, and payloads. Among the schemes available are those of Ace Combat 2's protagonist, paint schemes based on aircraft prototypes, an A-10 with the Shark mouth, and a Halloween paint scheme for the F-14D that gives the plane stealth capabilities.

In addition to the above, allusions to several characters exclusive to the Namco Bandai game The Idolm@ster are featured. These paint schemes include both the Su-33 and the Su-47 named "Idolmaster Miki", in allusion to Miki Hoshii; and Yukiho Hagiwara also has a paint scheme used on an F-117 Nighthawk. The most recent Idolm@ster plane is named "Idolmaster Chihaya" which is used on the F-15E Strike Eagle.

Furthermore, Japanese players were awarded a bonus for pre-ordering the game online. The bonus came in the form of a card with two codes on it. Both would unlock special paint schemes for the F-15E Strike Eagle, based on the "Yellow 13" Su-37 and "Mobius 1" F-22A from Ace Combat 04.

As of early November 2007, GAME, a leading UK gaming retailer, awarded the same pre-order bonus to buyers in the United Kingdom. This is a rare bonus seeing as how it has not been released to the American market.

Ace Edge

The Ace Edge is a joystick and throttle controller designed specifically for Ace Combat 6. Produced by Hori, it was only made available for purchase in a special-limited edition package of the game. The Ace Edge package was only officially released in North America and Japan.

It is called "Flight Stick EX" in Japan. It is very similar to the Saitek X45 HOTAS joystick / throttle system popular with PC flight simulation players. The throttle unit is identical, while the control column is slightly different (likely to better accommodate Xbox button maps). The top of the X45 stick featured two 8-way hat switches, one on the left and one at the bottom, and three thumb buttons above them with one under a safety cover; the Ace Edge retains the left 8-way hat switch, but swaps the positions of the thumb buttons and the second hat switch, with three of the Xbox controller's four main buttons in a rearranged order (Y, B and X, left to right, A being the trigger) below an analog mini-stick rather than a second hat switch. The stick also features both a flexible sleeve over the shaft and spring, and a wrist pad, neither present on the Saitek X45.

Reception

• GameSpot - 8.5/10
• IGN - 8.4/10
• GameSpy - 4/5
• TeamXbox - 8.8/10
• Electronic Gaming Monthly - 6.5, 6.5, 8.0
• X-Play - 4/5

External links

• Ace Combat 6 Official Site United States
• Ace Combat 6 Official Site Template:Ja icon
• Namco Ace Combat 6 Site Template:Ja icon
• Press Release Announcement
• A list of Xbox 360 Achievements for Ace Combat 6