Right on Target

Even the most discriminating connoisseur of fine dining must occasionally tire of the pomp and circumstance, and feel some primal need to jet out for a burger and fries. There is a place in the world for such quick fixes.

Ace Combat 6 is a satisfying King Sized Value Meal when you don't have the time or inclination to savor the finer points of a 60-hour Zelda quest.

Being a huge fan of the effectively-defunct genre of PC space-flight simulations (oh, Freespace... what we had was amazing), I am frequently stricken with the itch to climb into the cockpit of something -- anything -- that can fly and shoot. And since the reportedly misguided Project Sylpheed is the only space-flight sim on the XBox 360, I'm happy to come back to Earth and welcome Ace Combat 6 into my inner circle of favorite dogfighters.

Basic Gameplay:

It really couldn't be any simpler. When the evil Estovakian empire invades your peaceful (but shockingly military-minded) nation of Gracemeria, you're left with no option but to take to the skies and gun them down. What follows is the joyous task of cycling through targets, and picking them off one-by-one. There are missions and sub-missions, but they generally boil down to "kill them all" with relatively minor strategic variations.

Your enjoyment of the game will hinge directly on how much you enjoy the wash-rinse-repeat style of play inherent to nearly all dogfight simulators.

The Details:

Unlike full-featured PC flight simulators, which afford the use of an entire keyboard of buttons to control every niggling aspect of flight, Ace Combat strips out the details, and pretty much leaves you to steer and shoot. The arcade style will likely disappoint hardcore sim fans, but they aren't the target audience. This thing is rigged for mass-market appeal.

Missions are kept simple because the limited control options of a console gamepad absolutely preclude the sort of complex targeting and flight options that drive the detailed campaigns of PC games. The designers of AC6 have found an intelligent compromise. Missions are generally divided into sub-missions that can be quickly toggled on radar, allowing you to focus only on immediately relevant targets. It's a neat idea, and it works well enough in practice.

Although different planes offer tradeoffs in speed, maneuverability, and stability, you will generally just choose the one with the highest stats. Some strategy is needed in selecting a secondary weapon, since some are designed to efficiently dispatch air targets, while others are better suited for bombing runs of ground units.

Controls:

I did not shell out the extra cash for the "deluxe" version of this game that ships with a flight-stick and throttle controller. While alluring, I have enough electronic clutter around my place (including a similar PC controller), and don't need any more lying about. But the game controls accurately and "feels right" using the standard 360 pad.

New players will need to adjust to the flight-style controls in which up and down control your pitch, and left and right control your roll. You do not turn left by pushing the stick left... you need to roll left, and then pitch your nose up to follow that curve. Although there is an option to use a simpler scheme, it will afford the player far less precision, and the default settings shouldn't take more than ten minutes to understand.

Presentation:

Graphics:

Ace Combat 6 is a gorgeous game, with wonderfully detailed planes, and some of the most fantastic explosions I've ever seen. The exhilaration of taking out an enemy fighter and then triumphantly flying straight through his fiery remains is enhanced ten-fold by the convincing graphics. After a satisfying kill, you'll often find yourself visiting the replay option in the pause menu to watch it from different angles.

The ground below has a sort of Google Earth realism which fades a bit on closer inspection, but works well from up high.

And I kid you not... I'm not sure what demon magic was used to paint this game's clouds, but they are eerily real.

Plot, Dialogue, and Cutscenes:

If the game has any major hang-up, it's the jarringly goofy plot that weaves its way through the mission structure. I have to give credit where it's due... they tried something different. But perhaps they could have consulted a writer?

The game endeavors to show the human side of war, laboring through bizarre cutscenes of a mother who has lost her husband in combat, and who's daughter has gone missing since the Estovakian invasion. These scenes alternate with some time spent with enemy soldiers and generals, trying to show that enemies are people, too. It's a legitimately admirable attempt, particularly given our current state of war and global concerns about its cost in human life... but since the game surrounding it asks you to enjoy the act of war itself, it just doesn't make sense to address the issue here.

Even beside worries of their questionable inclusion, these scenes are otherwise cloying and head-scratching. In the fictional land of Gracemeria, "Go dance with the angels," is some sort of demented militaristic challenge which children and soldiers alike are inclined to spout with embarrassing frequency. With their nation in ruin, these people remain inordinately concerned about the theft of the prized golden statue of their "Smiling King" (which was temptingly left in the middle of an unsecured public museum). It's an awkward criss-cross of Western and Eastern culture, underscored by the jarring juxtaposition of real-life aircraft flying above this very alien version of Earth.

But all this weirdness is skippable, save any that manages to filter over to the mission briefings and in-flight chat. Still... you may find yourself compelled to watch with the same sort of fascination that you'd regard a train wreck. Sometimes, you just can't look away.

Longevity:

It can be difficult for this type of quick-fix game to survive beyond the initial completion of its campaign, but AC6 holds up well. Apart from the inclusion of on-line dogfighting (where I have been humiliated), you are encouraged to replay missions to hunt specific enemy pilots, and complete your collection of jets and weapons. New planes and weapons are purchased using money that you earn during the campaign (ummm... just like real fighter pilots?), and you are allowed to carry your spoils from the first completion into your second try.

The missions are also frequently designed so that all the sub-missions can't be completed in one pass. Only with replays will you be able to finish out the extra objectives.

And the ease of play will always make this game a welcome option when you're just in the mood for some simple mindless action... you won't have to spend fifteen minutes learning how to play again, so you might find that this becomes a favorite go-to option when you have half-an-hour to kill.

I am a little disappointed that new content is largely being provided on a pay basis... you can purchase new planes and maps. But even at such nominal fees, some free content would be nice. Welcome to the nickel-and-dime world of downloadable content.

Problems?

By and large, the game performs its intended role masterfully, but there are a few glitches now and then. The checkpoint system doesn't always kick in at the best times, and you'll often have to replay a good half-hour if you get shot down late into a mission. This is doubly frustrating when you aren't shot down, but otherwise fail because you can't grasp the goal of a nebulous mission. Objectives are occasionally unclear, despite the relatively simple mission structure.

And you will certainly have some unpleasant run-ins with the game's necessarily simplified targeting controls, as you struggle to get a lock on that one particular enemy. One mission required me to take out a few specific trucks in a small window of time, and I couldn't get them in my sights and target them quick enough... it's tough to find a truck in tight quarters when your plane is buzzing the surface at supersonic speeds! If the objective is so important, maybe you can at least auto-target it for me? They'd drive off, and I'd have to start from scratch. Ugh.

But these complaints are subtle scratches in a very shiny surface...

Summary:

Ace Combat 6 fills a hole that has been gaping for some time, and has finally provided a satisfying casual aerial combat sim. The bread-and-butter dogfight gameplay is exceptionally well done, and will appeal to anybody with an itchy trigger finger and a fly-boy yearning. And the arcade sensibilities should allow the mass market to take to the skies with minimal fuss.

While the repetitive style of battle may turn off some gamers, it is the nature of the beast. But I've definitely found a new favorite on my short list of quick-fix action games. It may not be a five-star meal... but sometimes, that Double Whopper just hits the spot.