Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

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Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Distributor(s) Bandai Namco Games (USA, Japan), Atari (Europe, Australia)
Aspect ratio 720p
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release date NA October 23, 2007

JP November 1, 2007
EU November 23, 2007
AUS December 13, 2007
Genre(s) Arcade / Flight simulator
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen

PEGI: 12+
CERO: A
Media DVD-DL
Input methods Xbox 360 Controller, Ace Edge

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 developed by Namco Bandai exclusively for the Xbox 360 as part 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.

Contents

[edit] 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 alongside 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. 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.

[edit] Plot

The story is seen from various viewpoints which are tied together through the cinematic narratives presented in between each mission. They focus on the war from several perspectives:

  • Lt. Colonel Voychek - an officer in Estovakian Air Force; former ace pilot now assigned to the occupation in Gracemeria as an intelligence officer
  • Lt. Commander Ilya Pasternak - newly assigned lead ace tasked with destroying Emmeria's Garuda Team; placed in charge of the Strigon Squadron
  • Melissa Herman - a civilian and the mother of a daughter she believes had died in the initial attack on Gracemeria, now struggling to survive the war
  • Sgt. Louis McKnight - a tank officer in the Emmerian military; he leads his tank crew in following up a lead on easy money behind enemy territory, similar to the story behind the film, Kelly's Heroes

It begins in the Emmerian capital of Gracemeria, with the story of Melissa Herman as she watches her daughter getting on to a school bus for a field trip. As she watches, an enemy plane suddenly swoops in and fires on the King's Bridge, the one Matilda's school will be crossing, cutting it in half. Emmerian pilots are scrambled to meet what has turned out to be an all out surprise attack by the Estovakian Air Force and this is where the player is introduced into the game as Garuda 1, Talisman. Shamrock, a pilot who has also been scrambled into the fight, is tasked to join Grauda 1.

The Emmerian Air Force and Navy manage to beat back the first wave only to suffer heavy casualties from Nimbus cruise missiles launched from the P-1112 Aigaion. Ace pilots from the Estovakian Air Force's "Strigon Squadron" arrive on the heels of the attack to establish air supremacy over Gracemeria. An evacuation is ordered by Air Defense Command and all pilots are informed that the Army is planning a mass rendezvous on Khesed Island, still under control by Emmeria.

During the next few missions, Garuda 1 and Shamrock are tasked to assist ground forces cut off from the bulk of the Emmerian Army and eventually aid in conducting a landing at Rargom Beach in Anea, before rescuing various units trapped at Silvat Town. An eventual confrontation with the P-112 Aigaion leads to its destruction alongside several members of the Strigon Squadron assigned to protect it, removing the threat of its Nimbus anti-air missile system in future operations. During a later mission, Ghost Eye orders all forces to suddenly pull out just as they are on the verge of success. Shamrock ignores the order and engages members of the Strigon Squadron that are in the area, forcing Garuda 1 to assist. They are both severely reprimanded for disobeying orders. It is revealed that Estovokia is planning to detonate a nuclear warhead inside Gracemeria as a last resort option should Emmeria succeed in breaking through. After a short restriction from flying, Garuda Team is tasked with the destruction of the WMD catalyst stationed at Fort Norton. After its destruction, the Emmerian military is now free to begin the Liberation of Gracemeria.

After an intense ground, naval and air battle, the Emmerians manage to liberate Gracemeria. Ilya Pasternak, the new leader of the Strigon Squadron, faces off against the Garuda team in the skies over the city and dies fighting. Garuda and other pilots are then assigned to a nighttime air patrol over a city in celebration. During the patrol, Shamrock reveals that his family were killed in the war and that he could not call himself an Ace since he was unable defend them. Subsequently, a surprise wave of cruise missiles are launched at Gracemeria from a previously unknown Estovakian weapon, the Chandelier, accompanied by stealth fighters which engage the pilots. Garuda Team proceeds to shoot down the missiles before any serious damage is done.

The final mission takes place deep within Estovakian territory, the only time Emmeria enters Estovakian territory throughout the game. They manage to slip past the Chandelier's defenses and damage the railgun's cooling systems but fail to destroy the weapon. Garuda 2 then goes on a suicide mission to locate the final weakness of the weapon by performing a recon of the loading trench below the gun to confirm the position of a backup cooling unit. With his plane heavily damaged by anti-aircraft fire, he crashes the plane into the ground. Garuda 1 follows through with the destruction of the cooling unit, before flying into the barrel of the cannon to blast the core, destroying the Chandelier. Shamrock is later seen confined to a wheelchair having survived the crash. Lt. Colonel Voychek narrates the ending, stating that Estovakia's war was born out of desperation and convinced that it was still the right thing to do under the circumstances, but also hoping for a peaceful future between both nations.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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-2, Rafale M, and the Eurofighter Typhoon.[1]

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, the AC-130 Spectre and the SR-71 Blackbird.

[edit] Multiplayer

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

[edit] Battle Royale

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Downloadable content

Namco has released seven sets of downloadable paint schemes for Ace Combat 6's aircraft. These downloadable paint schemes modify the plane's maneuverability, speed, armor, and payloads.[2] 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. There are also a series of paint schemes modeled after various Ace Squadrons from previous games. These Ace Squadron colors are modeled after the Razgriz Squadron from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War; the Rot Squadron Typhoon, the Cypher and Pixy F-15C, and the PJ F-16C from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War; the F-22A Mobius and the Su-33 Yellow Squadron from Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies; the UPEO Typhoon and General Resources F-177 from Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.

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[3] and the Su-47[4] named "Idolmaster Miki", in allusion to Miki Hoshii; and Yukiho Hagiwara also has a paint scheme used on an F-117 Nighthawk.[5] Another Idolm@ster plane is named "Idolmaster Chihiya" which is used on the F-15E Strike Eagle.[6] Two Idolm@ster planes were released on March 27th, 2008; one of them is the F-22A "Idolmaster Haruka", with the other being the Mirage2000-5 "Idolmaster Yayoi".[7] The download content released on April 25th, 2008 included a Rafale M Idolm@ster plane named "Idolmaster Iori".[8]

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.

[edit] 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. The price of the package was $149.99 US dollars. The package also includes an Ace Combat 6 faceplate for your Xbox 360 console.

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.

[edit] Reception

[edit] References

  1. ^ ACE COMBAT 6 - Aircraft. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  2. ^ Ace Combat 6 DLC Coming Next Week, 1Up.com
  3. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  4. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  5. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  6. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  7. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  8. ^ その他 - マーケットプレース
  9. ^ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
  10. ^ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (X360).
  11. ^ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (X360).
  12. ^ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Xbox 360).
  13. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue #222, December 2007. pg. 122
  • EGC Games 83/100 [1]

[edit] External links

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