If only this could come to the PS3... I love Project Aces, and I loved Sky Crawlers, but I'll be damned if I have to buy another console just to play a decent flight shooter...
Fuck bad story if the gameplay is good.
AC0 has excellent gameplay and a really cool mission structure. And all the enemy aces and squadrons and shit like that. It's really good to PLAY.
I love all the aces from AC0. I would go through and it made me happy when they got on with their lives, and I felt kinda guilty whenever they were KIA. I felt the same way during Shadow of the Colossus, so there you go.
Zero was fucking amazing in giving us characters I didn't honestly want to throttle.
Yes absolutely I liked that they showed the characters in Zero as just mercenaries detached from the political aspect of the war. I enjoyed hearing all their personal reasons for fighting and trying to hunt down the demon of the round table.
Plus best final boss fight in a plane game ever. That song is so epic and makes the already epic fight even more epic.
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PunkBoyThank you! And thank you again!Registered Userregular
edited July 2009
Honestly, the last two missions in Zero are awesome set pieces, but that can be said of pretty much all the games in the series. I don't think I've ever been let down by the final missions in an Ace Combat game.
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I still consider AC5 to be my favorite, just for the pure variety of the missions. You have your usual air superiority missions and ground attack missions, but you also had missions like escorting the C-5 through the air defense grid, the air rescue mission, and the escape mission in the trainer jets. Yeah the characters could be annoying, especially Chopper, but I mostly ignored them during missions anyway.
Honestly, the last two missions in Zero are awesome set pieces, but that can be said of pretty much all the games in the series. I don't think I've ever been let down by the final missions in an Ace Combat game.
Eh, I thought the final SOLG mission in AC5 was pretty weak. One XLAA volley took out the enemy squad before they even officially entered the battlefield, then after that it's just plinking at armor panels to do enough damage.
But the huge mission in the city before that? Suitably Epic. The Unsung War theme should have been playing there.
The best part of AC6 was the trailer and the music accompanying it. Got you all revved up.
The best part of AC6 was turning on Highway to the Danger Zone when I did the final obligatory fly through a tunnel to save the country/universe/airplanes part.
Custom soundtracks are the best part of the 360. 8-)
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
The best part of AC6 was the trailer and the music accompanying it. Got you all revved up.
The trailers for Ace Combat 5 and Zero were equally awesome.
AC5
ACZero
Man every time I see an AC trailer I'm reminded why this series is so damn awesome. They could keep making these forever and I would play every one of them because a single nameless and faceless pilot saving the world while everyone goes "wow that guy is awesome" it the perfect set up for a game.
AC5 and AC0 are great in their own ways. AC5 had a slightly more epic feel to it, and the last few missions really make you feel it. AC0 is, in the end, all about the people. The last mission in AC0 with the "Zero" pseudo-flamenco background music makes it a lot more intimate than the choir in AC5.
Personally... right now I'm liking AC5 since I'm trying to grind up enough money to get my entire flight into Falkens, lol.
Zero had its moments; the last two missions are great.
However, it had gameplay issues. You were generally rewarded S ranks for time, not points, so essentially the game rewards you for ignoring a lot of the game's enemies and instead going against only the enemies that complete the missions. Missions ended abruptly after the main objective instead of letting you burn down enemies to your heart's content. It didn't help that the missions were all boring; the only one we hadn't seen before were the superweapons, neither of which were as interesting as the ones from previous games.
Someone pointed out the plot holes in 5; I found the ones in Zero much more jarring:
The Gladistant mission, where they proclaim you're hunting down a "superweapon V2," where do you get intelligence like that? And why is Belka supposed to be conducting weapons research on their outermost line of defense?
And where does A World With No Boundaries come from? It's an entirely justified war against an enemy that launched a major surprise attack against numerous countries and later used nuclear weapons against its own cities to stave off allied advance. Remember fascist Spain from WWII? It would've worked better if you had to "liberate" Sapin from Belka against its will. Controversy like that would make a lot more sense, and the game could've used a sweeping sense of liberation going from country to country occupied by Belka.
It's more Japanese schmaltzy "the world would be perfect with no nations and no military" that has been done to death in everything from Gundam to Metal Gear.
You'd think 8,000 years of human history would prove otherwise, but whatever, it's JAPAN.
I actually thought the 'ground' portion of the last mission was just as compelling a story as the air battle. Even though it's just voice acting, it's not what it 'feels' like when you're playing the mission. It feels like a whole unit of soldiers is fighting and DYING just so that YOU have a chance to survive. I felt determined to not fail them.
One of the best final levels, EVER.
And Ace Combat 5 is much more enjoyable if you select all the douchebag/warmonger dialog lines to piss off your team mates. I like to think I was the only Ace of Sand Island that had any balls.
We should definately have had at least a teaser of the next AC game by now. And I hope the delay is because they need to add more planes, and not because they need to add $200 worth of DLC codes for plane reskins.
We should definately have had at least a teaser of the next AC game by now. And I hope the delay is because they need to add more planes, and not because they need to add $200 worth of DLC codes for plane reskins.
Seriously, I could go for AC7.
Funny note about AC6. I bought the game, saw some free DLC, downloaded it - and they unlocked planes for the Campaign (i.e. like the F-22, F-117, and Su-47): EASY MODE
Question: Worth finishing off AC6, or should I invest in 5 or Zero? Its in my backlog, I got it back when it first came out but just brick walled at the third mission (attacking the three different targets in the desert), and it seemed like every attempt took 20 minutes before I'd get killed by some kinda bullshit near the end just pushed me away from it.
I loved the shit out of AC04 but never got 5 or Zero. Worth hunting those down and doing them before returning to 6?
Question: Worth finishing off AC6, or should I invest in 5 or Zero? Its in my backlog, I got it back when it first came out but just brick walled at the third mission (attacking the three different targets in the desert), and it seemed like every attempt took 20 minutes before I'd get killed by some kinda bullshit near the end just pushed me away from it.
I loved the shit out of AC04 but never got 5 or Zero. Worth hunting those down and doing them before returning to 6?
Both. Finish 6, but also hunt 5 and Zero down... they're well worth your time.
And honestly, if they'd shut up about dancing with the angels, six is still a great game with a decent story.
Im playing through 6 right now and having a great time. Just got done the first air fortress type level, it took a few tries but was totally badass.
There seems to be a checkpoint system in place for some missions and not for others... im not sure exactly how it works. Most missions have multiple objectives, and a few times ive been gunned down and restarted at the latest completed one... while other times you have to start from scratch.
Its great when its in place. I know the level you mean, they definatly get trickier, but at least you dont always have to start over.
Someone pointed out the plot holes in 5; I found the ones in Zero much more jarring:
The Gladistant mission, where they proclaim you're hunting down a "superweapon V2," where do you get intelligence like that? And why is Belka supposed to be conducting weapons research on their outermost line of defense?
And where does A World With No Boundaries come from? It's an entirely justified war against an enemy that launched a major surprise attack against numerous countries and later used nuclear weapons against its own cities to stave off allied advance. Remember fascist Spain from WWII? It would've worked better if you had to "liberate" Sapin from Belka against its will. Controversy like that would make a lot more sense, and the game could've used a sweeping sense of liberation going from country to country occupied by Belka.
I think you're just supposed to wreck Gladistant so the invasion of the Belkan homeland and capture of WMDs can continue.
World With No Boundaries comes from angry soldiers upset with the political resolution to the conflict. IIRC there's a 6 month gap between Belka's final surrender and the rise of the organization, when it seems possible that the dispute over the spoils of war could lead to it starting again. They come to the conclusion that their naked greed for resources and territory ought to be blown up in nuclear fire.
Their genesis might be a little on the weak side, but AC5's LOL GREY MEN plot element that was introduced and dropped abruptly was much worse.
Like manwiththemachinegun said, schmaltzy but at least it's coherent.
Pixy was a lot more compelling and likeable than the other characters of the Ace Combat franchise.
He goes from detached mercenary bastard to crazed anarchist fanatic over the course of the campaign.
He also wasn't fucking useless like your AC5 wingmen, with their endless YES NO prompts about crap like "DO YOU THINK MY HAIR NEEDS TO BE CUT BLAZE?"
Someone pointed out the plot holes in 5; I found the ones in Zero much more jarring:
The Gladistant mission, where they proclaim you're hunting down a "superweapon V2," where do you get intelligence like that? And why is Belka supposed to be conducting weapons research on their outermost line of defense?
And where does A World With No Boundaries come from? It's an entirely justified war against an enemy that launched a major surprise attack against numerous countries and later used nuclear weapons against its own cities to stave off allied advance. Remember fascist Spain from WWII? It would've worked better if you had to "liberate" Sapin from Belka against its will. Controversy like that would make a lot more sense, and the game could've used a sweeping sense of liberation going from country to country occupied by Belka.
I think you're just supposed to wreck Gladistant so the invasion of the Belkan homeland and capture of WMDs can continue.
World With No Boundaries comes from angry soldiers upset with the political resolution to the conflict. IIRC there's a 6 month gap between Belka's final surrender and the rise of the organization, when it seems possible that the dispute over the spoils of war could lead to it starting again. They come to the conclusion that their naked greed for resources and territory ought to be blown up in nuclear fire.
Their genesis might be a little on the weak side, but AC5's LOL GREY MEN plot element that was introduced and dropped abruptly was much worse.
Like manwiththemachinegun said, schmaltzy but at least it's coherent.
Pixy was a lot more compelling and likeable than the other characters of the Ace Combat franchise.
He goes from detached mercenary bastard to crazed anarchist fanatic over the course of the campaign.
He also wasn't fucking useless like your AC5 wingmen, with their endless YES NO prompts about crap like "DO YOU THINK MY HAIR NEEDS TO BE CUT BLAZE?"
I'm going to side with the whole 'the "World Without Borders" is totally goddamn laughable' crowd. Because it is. The reasoning isn't the problem--people become batshit-crazy anarchists with totally unworkable goals all time. The execution is the problem, rather, since it's basically "BAM! And now we have our own gigantic military infrastructure capable of developing incredible superweapons that took the entirety of the Belkan nation to develop, support, and operate!"
Seriously, that's just...hilarious. The Grey Men at least seemed vaguely plausible--they were the political autocrats in two superpower nations who came to agreement that war was mutually beneficial. In other words, they're conspiratorial war-hawks.
Also, Pixy is fucking useless. Just because you like his personality--which is entirely reasonable--that doesn't mean he isn't fucking useless like every other Ace Combat wingman ever (barring some sort of prescripted event). Frankly, I found a lot of his dialogue in-mission goddamn annoying--basically, his whole, long, winded tirade during the final encounter is fucking boring and stupid sounding--even if his FMV wasn't half-bad.
Pixy was a lot more compelling and likeable than the other characters of the Ace Combat franchise.
DAMN STRAIGHT. THIS IS WHY I HAVE TO DRAW HIM.
Also, Pixy is fucking useless. Just because you like his personality--which is entirely reasonable--that doesn't mean he isn't fucking useless like every other Ace Combat wingman ever (barring some sort of prescripted event). Frankly, I found a lot of his dialogue in-mission goddamn annoying--basically, his whole, long, winded tirade during the final encounter is fucking boring and stupid sounding--even if his FMV wasn't half-bad.
I'll just steal Synth's line: the concept is better than the execution. I'm sure in the design doc Pixy is more likable than the other AC wingmen, but mediocre voice acting, bad dialogue, and most importantly shoddy direction hold the character down. In fact, Pixy is for me the most annoying of the wingmen because his supposed "transition" is completely unbelievable and cheesy.
The best thing they can do for AC7, if it's coming this generation, is to pull a Mobius/Yellow and have a rotating squadron so no one person can irritate you for too long. Or, if they really want to go the deep story route, the Fortune Hunters are a good place to look to as an example.
The easiest explanation for Pixy is that he underwent a complete psychological breakdown due to the strain of war.
His detached "let it all burn", helplessness, betrayal thinking its a 'solution' and seeing his former comrade as his greatest enemy seem to point to this.
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
The best thing they can do for AC7, if it's coming this generation, is to pull a Mobius/Yellow and have a rotating squadron so no one person can irritate you for too long. Or, if they really want to go the deep story route, the Fortune Hunters are a good place to look to as an example.
Personally, I'd rather see full co-op story campaign. A squadron of 4 human players. Add more enemies and up their effectiveness when there's more humans flying.
Oh, and take the music back to 4/5/Zero's levels of awesomeness. AC6's soundtrack was pretty damn weak.
I'll just steal Synth's line: the concept is better than the execution. I'm sure in the design doc Pixy is more likable than the other AC wingmen, but mediocre voice acting, bad dialogue, and most importantly shoddy direction hold the character down. In fact, Pixy is for me the most annoying of the wingmen because his supposed "transition" is completely unbelievable and cheesy.
Exactly. Even expecting he cracked under pressure, it doesn't explain how he goes from a normal, useless wingman to a psychotic with some sort of Death Star superfighter with cluster missiles and a high-intensity laser cannon that is only vulnerable from the intakes. Or how such a thing was developed when the original superweapons were gigantic weapons installations based on the ground.
Seriously, that's bullshit, even by AC standards.
I think we'll see another AC this console cycle (I hope it's available on the Xbox 360, since I prefer the controller, but the PS3 is also good). One possible way to avoid the annoying wingmen problem might be to allow you to choose your own wingmen from a pool (various pilots, with differing stats, suited to certain planes). That way, they can actually die should the circumstances become too overwhelming, rather than for a plot mechanism (other squadron or flight commanders could fill that role). Co-op would be good too. Then again, what I'd really like is some more complexity of weapons and flight mechanics, and fewer missiles carried on each craft--but that'll never happen, for obvious reasons.
I kind of hope that we'll eventually get an AC set from the perspective of the Yuktobanian Air Force, either during the Belkan War, or the Pan-Pacific War (or whatever the one in AC5 was). Being one of the world's two unquestioned superpowers offers a lot more cool material to work with, but we've already played as the Oseans. An equally awesome experience with the Yuktobanians would be fantastic.
I'll just steal Synth's line: the concept is better than the execution. I'm sure in the design doc Pixy is more likable than the other AC wingmen, but mediocre voice acting, bad dialogue, and most importantly shoddy direction hold the character down. In fact, Pixy is for me the most annoying of the wingmen because his supposed "transition" is completely unbelievable and cheesy.
Exactly. Even expecting he cracked under pressure, it doesn't explain how he goes from a normal, useless wingman to a psychotic with some sort of Death Star superfighter with cluster missiles and a high-intensity laser cannon that is only vulnerable from the intakes. Or how such a thing was developed when the original superweapons were gigantic weapons installations based on the ground.
Seriously, that's bullshit, even by AC standards.
I think we'll see another AC this console cycle (I hope it's available on the Xbox 360, since I prefer the controller, but the PS3 is also good). One possible way to avoid the annoying wingmen problem might be to allow you to choose your own wingmen from a pool (various pilots, with differing stats, suited to certain planes). That way, they can actually die should the circumstances become too overwhelming, rather than for a plot mechanism (other squadron or flight commanders could fill that role). Co-op would be good too. Then again, what I'd really like is some more complexity of weapons and flight mechanics, and fewer missiles carried on each craft--but that'll never happen, for obvious reasons.
I kind of hope that we'll eventually get an AC set from the perspective of the Yuktobanian Air Force, either during the Belkan War, or the Pan-Pacific War (or whatever the one in AC5 was). Being one of the world's two unquestioned superpowers offers a lot more cool material to work with, but we've already played as the Oseans. An equally awesome experience with the Yuktobanians would be fantastic.
AC6 did lack the quality soundtrack of AC5.
Wing Commander 3 had the whole wingman thing done right in 1994.
You pick the ones you like most, each one has a different skillset and in-flight personality.
Some of them can die, others can't. There are brash, aggressive, skilful but cowardly pilots who talk a lot but don't take your orders very well. There are mediocre pilots who are obedient and steadfast. There are some that are better flyers than gunners and vice-versa.
I'll just steal Synth's line: the concept is better than the execution. I'm sure in the design doc Pixy is more likable than the other AC wingmen, but mediocre voice acting, bad dialogue, and most importantly shoddy direction hold the character down. In fact, Pixy is for me the most annoying of the wingmen because his supposed "transition" is completely unbelievable and cheesy.
Exactly. Even expecting he cracked under pressure, it doesn't explain how he goes from a normal, useless wingman to a psychotic with some sort of Death Star superfighter with cluster missiles and a high-intensity laser cannon that is only vulnerable from the intakes. Or how such a thing was developed when the original superweapons were gigantic weapons installations based on the ground.
Seriously, that's bullshit, even by AC standards.
I think we'll see another AC this console cycle (I hope it's available on the Xbox 360, since I prefer the controller, but the PS3 is also good). One possible way to avoid the annoying wingmen problem might be to allow you to choose your own wingmen from a pool (various pilots, with differing stats, suited to certain planes). That way, they can actually die should the circumstances become too overwhelming, rather than for a plot mechanism (other squadron or flight commanders could fill that role). Co-op would be good too. Then again, what I'd really like is some more complexity of weapons and flight mechanics, and fewer missiles carried on each craft--but that'll never happen, for obvious reasons.
I kind of hope that we'll eventually get an AC set from the perspective of the Yuktobanian Air Force, either during the Belkan War, or the Pan-Pacific War (or whatever the one in AC5 was). Being one of the world's two unquestioned superpowers offers a lot more cool material to work with, but we've already played as the Oseans. An equally awesome experience with the Yuktobanians would be fantastic.
AC6 did lack the quality soundtrack of AC5.
Wing Commander 3 had the whole wingman thing done right in 1994.
You pick the ones you like most, each one has a different skillset and in-flight personality.
Some of them can die, others can't. There are brash, aggressive, skilful but cowardly pilots who talk a lot but don't take your orders very well. There are mediocre pilots who are obedient and steadfast. There are some that are better flyers than gunners and vice-versa.
AC would really benefit from that setup.
WC3 (and to some extent 4) were the first games that came to my mind as well. 4 had a smiliar setup but had more wingman choices, and you could actually see their rated stats, but the majority weren't in the cutscenes (they all still had unique personalities).
Blair: <Break and attack>
Primate: "Maybe I'll just negotiate with them today. On second though......"
Posts
At least, that's the way I felt about them.
Emmerian 7-year-old: Go dance with the angels!
Estovakian Fighter Pilot about to scramble: Yeah, well go fuck yourself, shorty.
If only this could come to the PS3...
AC0 has excellent gameplay and a really cool mission structure. And all the enemy aces and squadrons and shit like that. It's really good to PLAY.
Zero was fucking amazing in giving us characters I didn't honestly want to throttle.
Plus best final boss fight in a plane game ever. That song is so epic and makes the already epic fight even more epic.
I never asked for this!
Eh, I thought the final SOLG mission in AC5 was pretty weak. One XLAA volley took out the enemy squad before they even officially entered the battlefield, then after that it's just plinking at armor panels to do enough damage.
But the huge mission in the city before that? Suitably Epic. The Unsung War theme should have been playing there.
Custom soundtracks are the best part of the 360. 8-)
I never asked for this!
The trailers for Ace Combat 5 and Zero were equally awesome.
AC5
ACZero
I never asked for this!
Personally... right now I'm liking AC5 since I'm trying to grind up enough money to get my entire flight into Falkens, lol.
However, it had gameplay issues. You were generally rewarded S ranks for time, not points, so essentially the game rewards you for ignoring a lot of the game's enemies and instead going against only the enemies that complete the missions. Missions ended abruptly after the main objective instead of letting you burn down enemies to your heart's content. It didn't help that the missions were all boring; the only one we hadn't seen before were the superweapons, neither of which were as interesting as the ones from previous games.
Someone pointed out the plot holes in 5; I found the ones in Zero much more jarring:
And where does A World With No Boundaries come from? It's an entirely justified war against an enemy that launched a major surprise attack against numerous countries and later used nuclear weapons against its own cities to stave off allied advance. Remember fascist Spain from WWII? It would've worked better if you had to "liberate" Sapin from Belka against its will. Controversy like that would make a lot more sense, and the game could've used a sweeping sense of liberation going from country to country occupied by Belka.
You'd think 8,000 years of human history would prove otherwise, but whatever, it's JAPAN.
And Ace Combat 4 will ALWAYS be the best.
"All aircraft! Follow Mobius One!"
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
/thread
I actually thought the 'ground' portion of the last mission was just as compelling a story as the air battle. Even though it's just voice acting, it's not what it 'feels' like when you're playing the mission. It feels like a whole unit of soldiers is fighting and DYING just so that YOU have a chance to survive. I felt determined to not fail them.
One of the best final levels, EVER.
And Ace Combat 5 is much more enjoyable if you select all the douchebag/warmonger dialog lines to piss off your team mates. I like to think I was the only Ace of Sand Island that had any balls.
Seriously, I could go for AC7.
Funny note about AC6. I bought the game, saw some free DLC, downloaded it - and they unlocked planes for the Campaign (i.e. like the F-22, F-117, and Su-47): EASY MODE
I loved the shit out of AC04 but never got 5 or Zero. Worth hunting those down and doing them before returning to 6?
Both. Finish 6, but also hunt 5 and Zero down... they're well worth your time.
And honestly, if they'd shut up about dancing with the angels, six is still a great game with a decent story.
There seems to be a checkpoint system in place for some missions and not for others... im not sure exactly how it works. Most missions have multiple objectives, and a few times ive been gunned down and restarted at the latest completed one... while other times you have to start from scratch.
Its great when its in place. I know the level you mean, they definatly get trickier, but at least you dont always have to start over.
World With No Boundaries comes from angry soldiers upset with the political resolution to the conflict. IIRC there's a 6 month gap between Belka's final surrender and the rise of the organization, when it seems possible that the dispute over the spoils of war could lead to it starting again. They come to the conclusion that their naked greed for resources and territory ought to be blown up in nuclear fire.
Their genesis might be a little on the weak side, but AC5's LOL GREY MEN plot element that was introduced and dropped abruptly was much worse.
Like manwiththemachinegun said, schmaltzy but at least it's coherent.
Pixy was a lot more compelling and likeable than the other characters of the Ace Combat franchise.
He also wasn't fucking useless like your AC5 wingmen, with their endless YES NO prompts about crap like "DO YOU THINK MY HAIR NEEDS TO BE CUT BLAZE?"
Seriously, that's just...hilarious. The Grey Men at least seemed vaguely plausible--they were the political autocrats in two superpower nations who came to agreement that war was mutually beneficial. In other words, they're conspiratorial war-hawks.
Also, Pixy is fucking useless. Just because you like his personality--which is entirely reasonable--that doesn't mean he isn't fucking useless like every other Ace Combat wingman ever (barring some sort of prescripted event). Frankly, I found a lot of his dialogue in-mission goddamn annoying--basically, his whole, long, winded tirade during the final encounter is fucking boring and stupid sounding--even if his FMV wasn't half-bad.
YOU TAKE THAT BACK
The best thing they can do for AC7, if it's coming this generation, is to pull a Mobius/Yellow and have a rotating squadron so no one person can irritate you for too long. Or, if they really want to go the deep story route, the Fortune Hunters are a good place to look to as an example.
His detached "let it all burn", helplessness, betrayal thinking its a 'solution' and seeing his former comrade as his greatest enemy seem to point to this.
Personally, I'd rather see full co-op story campaign. A squadron of 4 human players. Add more enemies and up their effectiveness when there's more humans flying.
Oh, and take the music back to 4/5/Zero's levels of awesomeness. AC6's soundtrack was pretty damn weak.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Exactly. Even expecting he cracked under pressure, it doesn't explain how he goes from a normal, useless wingman to a psychotic with some sort of Death Star superfighter with cluster missiles and a high-intensity laser cannon that is only vulnerable from the intakes. Or how such a thing was developed when the original superweapons were gigantic weapons installations based on the ground.
Seriously, that's bullshit, even by AC standards.
I think we'll see another AC this console cycle (I hope it's available on the Xbox 360, since I prefer the controller, but the PS3 is also good). One possible way to avoid the annoying wingmen problem might be to allow you to choose your own wingmen from a pool (various pilots, with differing stats, suited to certain planes). That way, they can actually die should the circumstances become too overwhelming, rather than for a plot mechanism (other squadron or flight commanders could fill that role). Co-op would be good too. Then again, what I'd really like is some more complexity of weapons and flight mechanics, and fewer missiles carried on each craft--but that'll never happen, for obvious reasons.
I kind of hope that we'll eventually get an AC set from the perspective of the Yuktobanian Air Force, either during the Belkan War, or the Pan-Pacific War (or whatever the one in AC5 was). Being one of the world's two unquestioned superpowers offers a lot more cool material to work with, but we've already played as the Oseans. An equally awesome experience with the Yuktobanians would be fantastic.
AC6 did lack the quality soundtrack of AC5.
Wing Commander 3 had the whole wingman thing done right in 1994.
You pick the ones you like most, each one has a different skillset and in-flight personality.
Some of them can die, others can't. There are brash, aggressive, skilful but cowardly pilots who talk a lot but don't take your orders very well. There are mediocre pilots who are obedient and steadfast. There are some that are better flyers than gunners and vice-versa.
AC would really benefit from that setup.
WC3 (and to some extent 4) were the first games that came to my mind as well. 4 had a smiliar setup but had more wingman choices, and you could actually see their rated stats, but the majority weren't in the cutscenes (they all still had unique personalities).
Blair: <Break and attack>
Primate: "Maybe I'll just negotiate with them today. On second though......"
So Mr. F22 is in. Not really surprising.
How about the Su37, Su47, Thyphoon and Rafale?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_jc7INJ42o
Are those in?