The game’s missions will sometimes feel similar to Ace Combat veterans like yours truly, but Namco Bandai has tweaked things a bit. Instead of relying on a progression of objectives, you are often given five or six objectives at the start and get to pick which ones you want to tackle. There’s probably an order that makes things a lot easier, but it lets you experiment a bit. Do I take out the anti-aircraft batteries first and let part of the front lines get overrun, or do I bite the bullet, fly into a hailstorm of anti-air missiles and take out the advancing tank battalions before they can attack allied forces? Each objective has benefits and potential consequences, depending on what order you take them in. These certainly help the game feel more like a real battlefield than just, “Go here, bomb that, then go there and shoot those guys down.”

The mission structure isn’t the only thing that’s different. In past Ace Combat titles, it was easier to nail enemy fighters, but the enemy aces were incredibly tough to shoot down. Ace Combat 6 ups the A.I. for all enemies, both in the air and on the ground. Anti-aircraft guns are more likely to hit you with stray fire and enemy aircraft try harder to avoid your advances. As for the Estovakian ace pilots… good luck. These guys are tough to shoot down, even in small numbers, as they will routinely pull crazy turns and loops to get you off their tail and lock on to yours. I spent 15 minutes just trying to shoot three of these fighters down during one mission. Thankfully, Namco Bandai is rather generous with the time limits in this game, giving you plenty of time to take care of business. Guess that makes up for the fact that there aren’t as many in-mission checkpoints this time around.

For a flight sim on a console, AC6 handles remarkably well. There is an alternate control method as showcased in the original demo, but for the most part, the default controls feel the most familiar and easiest to use. The controls do feel a little tighter this time around, and pulling off high-G turns in Ace Combat 6 is much easier and more realistically done than in past series titles. As for the $150 flight stick bundle, I don’t have any impressions on that because I am not filthy rich enough that I can afford it. Considering that the flight stick controller was designed with this game in mind, though, I imagine it performs well.