It’s not often a website reviews a game a year after its launch. In fact, you might wonder what this content is doing here. To clarify, this article isn’t – just – about the Ace Combat 6 you get on the disk. It’s about everything that’s come after as well, and there’s actually quite a bit. Namco Bandai has set a remarkable example with AC6, and though not everything about it is rosy, there’s a lot to like.

Ace Combat 6 itself is summed up relatively easily, if you haven’t read any of the numerous reviews out there. Basically, this is an arcade flight game that does a remarkably compelling job of imitating a flight sim… in some ways. Certainly aircraft that carry hundreds of times their weight in missiles, and giant science-fiction inspired mid- and end-game bosses don’t belong anywhere in a “realistic” game, but Ace 6 fools you with a nicely accessible, but rewardingly skill-intensive flight model. Think of it as doing for the tactical/realistic flight game what Halo did for the tactical shooter, bridging the gap between true simulators (the kind with the 200-page manuals) and total arcade fluff like Blazing Angels or the venerable Afterburner series. We’ll discuss the niceties of story and gameplay in a moment, but permit me to tip my hand first. You might not know it, but Ace 6 is one of the reasons you got your Xbox 360.

Let’s get the niggling stuff out of the way first: the story. Contrary to what you’ve probably read, AC6’s story isn’t totally, unforgivably awful. The dialog is badly written, and there’s a sense that the story itself was somewhat edited or at least loses something in translation. Still, it’s more than possible to follow along, so long as you aren’t completely put off by shameless and pointless overuse of the phrase “dance with the angels.” A fascist (technically it’s led by a small group rather than a dictator, but the term applies well enough), heavily militarized nation decides to invade its continental neighbor; the victims fight back. That’s the story in a nutshell, though obviously the particulars ramble a bit. The player’s character is a traditional silent protagonist, never speaking a word throughout the game despite a significant amount of dialog from others. This makes for some slightly odd points in the story, but again doesn’t totally derail the storytelling. The hugely overstated role of air power in the course of the war is harder to swallow, from a realistic viewpoint, than the storyline events (and I haven’t even mentioned the gigantic, physically improbable boss enemies… oh, wait, I have). But really, let’s be honest – you wouldn’t buy a game like this for novel-quality writing. Or if you did, I at least would look at you funny.

Anyone who likes modern warbirds probably isn’t reading this article, or is at best passing time in doing so – they got Ace 6 on launch day. Checking out videos or stills of the game will show you why. Folks, if you love fighting aircraft, this game is porn. Or crack. While we’re still not quite to the level with our game systems that true photorealistic imagery can be produced, AC6 comes moderately close. The aircraft are the stars of the show, not only in their visual beauty but the remarkably detailed attention given their articulation points and weapon effects. However, nothing in the game looks bad. Ground textures do fuzz up a little when very close, but it’s forgivable and in any case something you rarely have time to notice even in the situations it appears.

The solo campaign of Ace 6 will take you between 3 and 7 hours, depending on the skill you select. In Normal mode, the worst danger is really crashing into the ground – the enemies aren’t really that competent. However, even without all the subsequent content, the 1p arc is actually surprisingly replayable, thanks to the various options available during battles. The base game offers 15 airframes (technically, you could say 14.5, since one is an advanced version of another – but the handling and loadout differ, so the similitude is only cosmetic), divided into pure dogfighters, pure ground attackers, and multirole birds. There are in-game medals, and Live gamerscore-garnering Achievements, tied to using each type consistently, and performing certain aerobatic or destructive feats therewith. After the first few missions, each battle is broken up into multiple sub-objectives, typically involving both the protection of a specific ally and the destruction of certain forces threatening that ally. After the first couple of missions, there’s enough going on in each sortie that you literally can’t complete all the possible objectives (though you can get involved in all of them). This is where the seemingly less-capable attacker planes can show their stuff, as plenty of missions involve objectives against heavy ground forces. That bleeds over into the multiplayer as well – it’s a good thing. More on that presently. Radio chatter is heavy, perhaps the thickest yet in an Ace title, and gives almost a Dynasty-Warriors-style byplay of the battle. While heavily engaged aiding your surface forces as they try to take over a local runway (which you can then use for resupply), you might hear an urgent distress call from a nearby air-support force being overrun by enemy fighter aircraft, with attendant blips on radar. Success or survival of that unit’s mission might be dependent on how quickly you can respond – but is it safe to abandon the current task? Each mission and sub-objective is graded, so it’s worth choosing carefully. Fortunately, you can get help from your ever-present wingman when the odds are too uneven. Once a certain number of enemies have been destroyed, you’ll also fill a “Super Gauge” (not called by that name, but that’s what it is) which allows you to temporarily focus the attack capabilities of all allied forces in your area on whatever targets you designate. In the later missions, this is often paramount to success. The already-omnipresent comm chatter becomes humorously indecipherable when calling in these allied attack or defense actions, as literally a dozen or more radio calls come in simultaneously promising help. Gratifyingly, if your timing is good, you’ll also see the indicator in the upper left flood with confirmed enemy kills.

Multiplayer in unmodified Ace 6 is fairly robust, with team-oriented missions spicing up the pure dogfighting.  Players can take on some of the more iconic campaign battles in groups, or work in teams to accomplish (or prevent) certain objectives.  As aforestated, this allows ground-attack aircraft to shine in certain circumstances – for example, when a specific mission’s targets are better disposed of en masse with fuel-air explosives than individually with guided missiles.

Here we get into, perhaps, the most interesting aspect of Ace 6 – the amount of post-launch downloadable support Namco Bandai have provided to date.  New planes are on order, to be sure, but there are also new multiplayer mission and battle modes, as well as enhanced-difficulty versions of some of the campaign missions.  It’s a surprisingly comprehensive package, and – save one aspect – is quite welcome, and a good way of allowing NamBan to help their game’s longevity.

Needless to say a staggering amount of planes are available for download; technically, they’re all modifications of the basic 15 airframes, but each DLC plane tweaks the handling, speed, armor and (sometimes) armament characteristics of the base models, so there’s reasonable difference.  Humorously, NamBan is utterly unashamed to make overpowered planes – and every last one of them is based on  their wildly successful Idolmaster product.  Any aircraft bearing the name and visage of an Idolmaster character is sure to have nearly-maxed gauges in several performance parameters, handle like a dream, and generally be able to kick large amounts of ass.  Fortunately, some of the game’s multiplayer modes are sensitive to the “value” of a chosen plane, and Idolmaster birds are all quite costly to your team’s total reserve of available points.    The super-planes are also, quite simply, fun to play – and that’s what any game should be about.

Ace 6’s new multiplayer mission types are also a welcome and excellent addition.  Quite a bit of voice-over content is present that isn’t in the campaign mode, which begs the question of whether this is actually content shipped on the disc but only unlocked via purchase .  The download size is pretty formidable, so it’s possible that this is genuinely new original content; if there’s a conclusive answer, I don’t know what it is.  Either way, the missions are typically among the least expensive content, and they’re something pretty much anyone who likes the game will probably want to have.

Oh dear – I mentioned The Flaw.  There is one significant fly in Ace 6’s ointment.  NamBan has treated DLC for this game much as they’ve treated new content for the aforementioned Idolmaster – you get very, very little for free.  Two free planes can be downloaded just for buying the game, but everything after that will set you back between 100 and 400 Microsoft points.  It’s entirely possible to spend quite a bit more purchasing content than you did on the initial game.

This opens the question of business models as regards DLC.  On the one hand, you’ve got EA’s insane-seeming “totally free” model, in the excellent Burnout Paradise.  On the other, the “every red cent” model in Ace 6.  Okay – that’s not entirely fair.  Some DLC planes do come in packs of two or three, at least.  However, as of yet, NamBan hasn’t adopted the Warhawk model of lumping content available for some time into larger packages, making it more affordable for people interested in the series who didn’t jump in at launch.

Quite frankly, even if the economy weren’t in a recession, gaming’s not exactly a cheap hobby.  The price of consoles, games themselves, and even the televisions we play them on has climbed steadily throughout the last few generations.  (I should put in a witty jab here about how PC gaming is that much more expensive, but I’ll be nice and just mention it.)  Over the long term, it benefits a game’s publisher more to reduce the cost of post-launch content to a significant degree.  Early adopters will typically have purchased everything piecemeal, recouping the investment; making the total package that much easier to grab and experience encourages more new players to come in after the fact, helping to freshen the community and extend the game’s popularity – which rewards those same hardcore fans who contributed to its initial success.  It’s not bad business, it’s good business that has the positive side-effect of enhancing customer loyalty.  More simply put, it means people will probably buy other games you make.

Downloadable content is really a big deal in this day and age.  With online support available on all three major gaming platforms, post-launch offerings by publishers are one of the most worthwhile ways to add longevity to a game, and make the initial purchase more worthwhile.  While it would be nice to see a little less rapacious consumerism from the publishers, I’m still firmly of the opinion that good DLC should be supported at least to some degree, simply to make the point to developers that it has a market and is appreciated.

NamBan are almost certainly at work on another Ace Combat game, and it will have some competition.  Ubi’s Tom Clancy series has decided to take on the skies with H.A.W.X., coming in early 2009.  This may presage a surge of interest in arcade/sim crossovers like the Ace series, which up to now has existed virtually without any serious competitors.  The end result, in theory, will be more fun for everyone who likes this kind of game – and believe me, you should try it if you haven’t.