It’s every hot blooded male’s dream - grappling with a phallic object to steer a billion dollar hunk of metal through the sky with ridiculously powered engines and explosives attached to it.
Why? To break sound barriers and wreck havoc in hostile airspace, of course.
Ace Combat 6 is a bit of a shock departure from its original home console, and upon firing up the demo it looks like the transition went quite smoothly. Everything in the game is reminiscent of the Ace Combat series - the style of gameplay; the incredible plane modelling; the hammy dialogue (I’ll never forget the ending final line of one particular Ace Combat installation - "Heroes do exist."); even the look and feel of the menus.
If you’re looking to buy this game on the grounds that you’ll be expecting new and revolutionary gameplay or if you’re looking for a painstakingly detailed jet-fighter simulation, you will most likely be sadly disappointed - it’s just the same classic formula but with next-gen filters all over it. This one is strictly for the fans and it will not disappoint them.
Sony stalwarts will lament the loss of this once exclusive title from its horde of franchises - I reckon this is a title that would actually make proper use of the six-axis controller - but alas, these things happen. Maybe money talked and Namco thought that Ace Combat 6 would reach a wider audience on the 360?
If you’ve ever dreamt of abruptly ending a tense dogfight by launching a guided payload into the underbelly of a MiG, then you’ll be right at home here. The promise of co-op play only sweetens the deal.
Looking forward to this one under my Aussie xmas tree…
