Back in 1996 we picked up the new PlayStation with Tomb Raider and Soviet Strike (which deserves more than 5.5 in my opinion; I loved it!). Next up was Air Combat and I played it to death. I completed all the levels on all the difficulties to get the alternate paint schemes for all the planes.

Ace Combat (they changed the name) 2 was even better, and so was AC 3. I remember playing the same level over and over on a demo disc for days. I bought my PlayStation 2 just to play two games; Final Fantasy X (in the hope that Square has redeemed themselves after FF IX) and Ace Combat 4. FF X wasn't what I had hoped for, and nor have any other versions after VIII which is where I like to think the series stopped. AC 4 had me hooked and so did AC 5. Today, just before heading out to buy Forza 2 I noticed that Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation will be coming out for the Xbox 360.

AC has always looked amazing. The aircraft looked great and the scenery incredible. But that's not all. AC has incredible playability. The PSP version alone has had me clock up almost 50 hours of game play. Unlockable paint schemes, aircraft and missions are like Xbox 360 achievements so that there is much more to get from the game than just completing the campaign (which usually has several different paths).

It might not be everybody's up of tea, but I was one of those kids that wanted to be a pilot and could name just about anything that flies. Having said that these games are just fun due to their arcade roots.

Everytime a flight sim like this is released I have to ask the question: Where's my Airwolf game?