Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation is the 9th game in the series and 6th game in the numbered series. The Spanish title is "La Guerra Por La Libertad" (The War For Freedom). The flagship Aircraft of the game is currently the F-15E Strike Eagle.

The game was released exclusively for Xbox 360.

Plot


AC6 follows the Anean Continental War, which takes place in 2015 and 2016, on the Anean Continent. There are three countries in Anea: the Republic of Emmeria, the Federal Republic of Estovakia, and the Kingdom of Nordennavic (Nordennavic is neutral during the war). The player's squadron is the Republic of Emmeria Air Force's 28th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Garuda" of the 8th Air Wing. The player's call sign is "Talisman", and is also referred to as Garuda One.

When the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid fell in 1999 it caused massive damage to the whole continent, but mainly to Estovakia. Emmeria had managed to sustain itself, but Estovakia collapsed into civil war and economic ruin. The war ends as a military government is established in Estovakia, led by "The Generals". After the war's end, the federation is restored and Estovakia re-enters a nation-wide peace. In 2015, this same government decides to invade Emmeria. The Emmerian capital city, Gracemeria, is hit by a surprise attack. The battle opens with two Estovakian Air Force F-16s flying over Gracemeria. One of them fires a missile at King's Bridge, a national landmark. Immediately afterward, EAF B-52s begin bombing the city, escorted by multiple fighters. Helicopters also arrive, dropping off Estovakian Army tanks. REAF fighters are scrambled from Gracemeria Air Force Base. Republic of Emmeria Navy ships fire SAMs at the invading aircraft. At first,Emmerians do not know who the attackers are. They soon discover that the attackers are Estovakian. AWACS Ghost Eye oversees the air battle for the Emmerians. After Talisman gets airborne, Ghost Eye notices he doesn't have a wingman. He assigns Shamrock, who was also alone, to be Garuda Two.

At first, the battle seems to be going well for Emmeria. After several minutes of fighting, all of the bombers and helicopters are shot down. Even though Gracemeria AFB's runway is bombed out and useless, it seems that Emmeria will win. However, at that moment, the Estovakian Aerial Fleet makes its debut to the world. Seemingly coming from nowhere, a large number of cruise missiles detonate all over the sky. Many of Emmeria's fighters are destroyed. More and more missiles are fired. During this time, the EAF's elite fighter squadron, the 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Strigon Team" enter the fight. Meanwhile, Emmerian Air Defense Command orders all Emmerian pilots to evacuate the city and give up Gracemeria. At first, the pilots are relunctant, but Ghost Eye is able to convince them to leave the area.

Soon after the capital had been taken by Estovakian forces, the Garuda Squadron met up with other Republic of Emmeria Air Force squadrons at Vitoze, a city on Khesed Island to form an armed resistance against the enemy forces. Campagna Airport becomes their base of operations. Meanwhile, Estovakian forces quickly capture almost all of Emmeria's mainland, except for a pocket of resistance or two. In an attempt to finish off the Emmerians and quickly end the war, the EAF launches a bombing raid of Vitoze. However, with help from Garuda Team and the other pilots, all 10 bombers are shot down, resulting in Emmeria's first victory of the war. Following the successful defense, they start to push back, first attacking a garrison of Estovakian Army soldiers, then by retaking Bartolomeo Fortress. With the Estovakians now evicted from Khesed, the Emmerians gathered all the forces they could and launched an amphibious assault on Ortara. After retaking the city and the nearby beaches, Garuda team and the other pilots are sent to provide support for Emmerian forces cut off, surrounded, and under seige in Silvat. During the Silvat operation, multiple members of the Strigon Team are shot down, adding to the squadron's casualties, which already included two shot down at Bartolomeo, and at least one, Lt. Col. Voychek (the squadron commander at the time), over Gracemeria.

Afterwards, the Emmerians continue to push back the Estovakians. They send their ground units through Selumna Peak, where they come under air attack. Though the attackers are defeated, the same cruise missiles used during the invasion of Gracemeria are used again on the Emmerian pilots over the mountain. Following this second attack by the missiles, the Emmerian commanders decide to stop these missiles once and for all. First, they retake San Loma, which they planned to use as a springboard. They then sent their pilots to attack the Estovakian Aerial Fleet. Thanks to great intelligence, they are able to approach while the Fleet's flagship, the P-1112 Aigaion, is being refueled. The tankers block its radar, so the Emmerians were able to approach undetected. All five super aircraft that made up the fleet were destroyed, ending the threat of the Nimbus Missiles. Also, many more members of the Strigon Team are shot down.

With the cruise missiles out of the way, the Emmerian forces continue to push towards Gracemeria. First they retake Ragno Fortress, then launch an attack on Estovakia's last line of defense in the Moloch Desert. However, just as the Emmerians are about to finish off the Estovakian forces, Ghost Eye, after receiving an "emergency transmission from Central," orders all Emmerian forces to cease fire and retreat immediately. Though stunned, most of the Emmerians comply. However, Shamrock, desperate to get back to Gracemeria (where he has a wife and daughter that he hasn't heard from since the war started) disobeys orders and engages the Strigon Team members who just showed up. Talisman, unable to leave his wingman behind, is forced to stay with him. The two of them shoot down all of the Strigon pilots, but afterwards are grounded for disobeying orders.

After the battle, the Emmerians are informed that the Estovakians have placed a "scorched earth" policy on Gracemeria; if the Emmerians continue to push the Estovakians back, they will use Weapons of Mass Destruction to obliterate Gracemeria. The Emmerians are forced to halt their advance for a time. However, when the Emmerians find that the WMD catalyst is being held in Fort Norton, they decide to destroy it. They are convinced, however, that the only way to destroy it is to send in Garuda Team. They are able to make their way down the canyon and destroy the catalyst. However, as they are leaving the area, a large formation of enemy aircraft attack them. As they try to hold off the enemy, reinforcements arrive, and all the enemy aircraft are shot down.

After this, Estovakia has no more trump cards keeping Emmeria from retaking Gracemeria. After a long, hard-fought battle, Gracemeria is liberated. However, just as the Emmerians begin to celebrate, Ilya Pasternak (who replaced Voychek as commander of the Strigon Squadron after Voychek was shot down) enters the area. Pasternak is flying the CFA-44 Nosferatu, AC6's only super fighter. He is escorted by a whole squadron of unmanned drones. After a long dogfight, Talisman is able to shoot down Pasternak.

At this point, Estovakia has been completely pushed out of Emmeria. The Emmerian leaders, apparently wanting the war to finally end, quickly begin peace talks with the Estovakians. However, the Estovakians aren't quite ready to give up. They launch several cruise missiles at Gracemeria from the Chandelier, a giant railgun. As the missiles are raining down on the city, EAF stealth fighters appear to take out the REAF pilots. However, most if not all of the missiles are shot down, and the city is safe.

After the attack, Garuda Team and many of the Emmerian pilots launched an attack on the Chandelier. As they approach, a strange voice is heard over the radio. The voice belongs to Melissa Herman, who sends them data she gained from Voychek, who decided that the use of the Chandelier on Gracemeria wasn't acceptable. Despite this the initially believe her to be a saboteur trying to interfere with the operation, however Voycheck convinces them otherwise. After destroying all the cooling vents on the outside of the cannon, it still refused to stop firing its missles at Gracemeria, because there was a backup in the loading trench at the bottom of the railgun. In an effort to help, Shamrock flew into the loading trench to gain intelligence for Ghost Eye. He succesffully navigated the trench and got Ghost Eye the needed intel, but the heavy air defenses around the trench damaged his aircraft. However, he made a timely ejection and survived, though he was injured and after the war was restricted to a wheelchair. After that, Talisman flew in to destroy the Chandelier's backup cooling unit. The barrel of the railgun then opened up to cool down the gun. Garuda One then, in a bold move, flew inside the barrel to destroy the core at the back. Fortunately for him, the explosion caused when he destroyed the core made a hole in the back of the barrel that he was able to fly out of. With the core destroyed, the Chandelier collapsed, and after wards the Estovakians finally gave in and the war was over.

Cut-Scenes
There are seven characters who tell the story in pre-rendered cutscenes.

Melissa Herman: The wife of an Emmerian pilot. She believed to have lost her daughter Matilda, due to Estovakian strategic bombing, which culminated in the destruction of the King's Bridge. But it turns out that Matilda survived.

Lt. Col. Victor Voychek: One of Estovakia's ace pilots. He becomes an intelligence officer after he sustains a career-debilitating injury, presumably to his legs due to the fact he is seen walking with a cane. He saw the order to destroy Gracemeria and has the outline of the Chandelier in his laptop.

Sgt. McKnight : A Tank Sergeant who was a refugee for sometime, but then participated in operations to stop the Estovakian advance. He used a tunnel leading to the Palace bank, which his tank blasted through. In doing this he rescued Matilda, her companions who had hidden the Golden King, and Voychek.

Ludmila Tolstaya: An Estovakian woman who is engaged to a pilot in the Strigon team, Toscha Mijasik. She rushes to the battlefield to be at the side of her lover and meets Melissa on her way to Gracemeria. She eventually marries Toscha in the ending cutscene.

Assault Records


The assault records return on Ace Combat 6. You can get all the allied assault records by completing all operations with a paticular unit. For example, in order to get the record for the Quox Tank Battalion, you have to complete all operations that include Quox. For the enemies, shooting down a paticular enemy will unlock his/her battle record. Certain named planes (whose pilots are also known as Aces) and all Strigon Squadron pilots have assault records. In order the named aircraft are:


 * Mission 1: PEGAS, F-22A Raptor
 * Mission 2: EDINOROG, F-16C Fighting Falcon
 * Mission 3: DRAKON, Tornado GR.4
 * Mission 4: KENTAVR, Su-47 Berkut
 * Mission 5: ORYOL, F-15E Strike Eagle
 * Mission 6: VEGA, Rafale M
 * Mission 7: DZHOKER, F-117A Nighthawk
 * Mission 8: RUSALKA, EF-2000 Typhoon
 * Mission 9: FENIKS, Su-33 Flanker-D
 * Mission 10: OBLAKO, Mirage 2000-5
 * Mission 11: RYTSARY, A-10A Thunderbolt II
 * Mission 12: FLYUGER, F-2A Viper Zero
 * Mission 13: VALET, F-14D Super Tomcat
 * Mission 14: DAMA, F/A-18F Super Hornet
 * Mission 15: KOROL, F-4E Phantom II

Allied Support
A new feture in AC6 is Allied Support. By destroying enemies and completing certain parts of missions, a meter will fill up. By using the points contained in this meter, the player can call on allied aircraft and ground forces to attack a large number of targets, or to protect the player from enemies. This is in addition to the ability to have your wingman (Shamrock) do these tasks by himself.

Dynamic Mission System
This is a new system that allows Large Scale battles to change as you play them. Many missions contain multiple 'operations' (up to six at most) that need to be completed. These operations occur simultaneously, and in order to complete the mission, a certain number must be succesfully completed. The player can change his/her radar screen to show only the units involved in a paticular operation. Completing operations also add to the meter used to call on Allied Support.

ESM
ESM stands for Electromagnetic Support Measures. Certain facilities and planes provide an ESM field where allied units within range have enhanced missile tracking and protection. ESM fields also decrease the accuracy of enemy missiles. ESM mainly comes from radars, E-767 planes & battle ships. Ocasionally, it would come from the Strigon team and big mission objectives would contain a lot of enemy ESM such as capturing fortresses, destroying the Aigaion, defeating the CFA-44 and destroying the Chandelier. Playing on Xbox Live also allows you to use ESM on certain stages.

Xbox Live Multiplayer
Along with online modes, icons and other Xbox Live Marketplace items have been announced. Online play is enabled. Here are the following modes:


 * Team (Squadron) Battle


 * Battle Royale (All vs. all)


 * Siege Battle (Attacking vs. Defending)


 * CO-OP Battle

Plus downloadable modes from Xbox Live Marketplace:


 * Team (Squadron) Battle DLC 1


 * Battle Royale (All v.s All) DLC 1


 * Siege Battle (Attacking v.s Defending) DL 1


 * CO-OP Battle DLC 1


 * CO-OP Battle DLC 2


 * Ace of Aces (a series of ultra-difficult missions)

Other Information

 * The enemy ace squadron, the Strigon Squadron, is made up of eleven Su-33 models and one super aircraft, the CFA-44 Nosferatu.
 * There will be a battle against the aerial carrier, the P-1112 Aigaion, and its escorts, the two P-1114 Gyges aerial fire support aircraft, and the two P-1113 Kottos ESM aircraft.
 * For the first time since Ace Combat Zero, Missions will have checkpoints in them.
 * All the gauges inside of the aircraft are functional and give accurate information (from Sea Level).


 * Aircraft-Specific colors can be purchased from the Xbox live marketplace.


 * Producer: Ace Combat 04's Director Hiroyuki Ichiyanagi.


 * Director: Ace Combat 04's Planner and Ace Combat 5's Lead Planner, Natsuki Isaki.

Achievements
Altogether there are 49 achievements. The amount of points awarded are beside the achievements. All medals attained.
 * All Medals for 50 GP

The medals can be obtained by completing various acts throughout the game. The medals are divided between Service Medals and Operation Medals. You have to get all medals on both sheets in order to unlock this achievement.

Attain purchasing ability for all aircraft.
 * All Aircraft for 30 GP

You will unlock this as you progress through the game. The only aircraft you will not be able to unlock after beating the game on normal is the CFA-44; this requires you to beat the game on hard difficulty.

Clear Campaign Mode.
 * Clear Campaign for 20 GP

Finish the game.

Complete 10 operations.
 * 10 Operations for 10 GP

Finish 10 operations, not missions. You should get this achievement by the 7th mission, though it can take longer. The mission has to be "successful" in order for it to be considered cleared.

Clear all operations.
 * All Operations for 30 GP

Finish all the operations. There are 41 different operations that you can get medals for in this game. You will get this on your second run through if you check to see which ones you need first.

Complete 10 total frontline landings.
 * 10 Frontline Landings for 10 GP

A frontline landing is landing on an airport that is on the battlefield. On the lower left of your screen, next to your radar map, if you are near a liberated airport, you will see a "landing gear" animation show up. You need to drop your landing gear and be guided into the runway. If you are going too fast the control tower will tell you, you are on your own. You can land, takeoff, turn around, and then land again. Just keep in mind that you do have to have a mission successful to get this achievement though. NOTE: These landings must be done manually; you cannot skip them via the Start Button for it to count.

Destroy 50 enemies using airborne allied support.
 * Aerial Defence for 10 GP

See "Ground Defence"

Destroy 50 enemies using ground force allied support.
 * Ground Defence for 10 GP

When you are in battle and your allied support gauge has at least 1 block filled, you can push and hold up (attack) or down (cover) on your d-pad. Every enemy that the allies kill counts toward this goal.

Destroy 100 enemies while receiving electronic support.
 * Electronic Support System for 10 GP

You will get credit for this when, on the bottom right of the screen, your "E.S.S" shows a level. As long as that is showing a level and you get a kill it works toward your goal. You should get this fairly early on.

Destroy 10 Named Aircraft.
 * 10 Named Aircraft for 30 GP

A "named aircraft" (also known as "Ace" )is one in which after the name of the aircraft it has a call sign. These only show up in Expert mode. They are found here.

Destroy a total of 1000 enemies.
 * 1000 Enemies for 30 GP

You will get this by playing the game. All units count as long as you are the one that killed them.

Attain purchasing ability for all aircraft special colours.
 * All Colours for 10 GP

When you beat the game on normal you unlock the Estovakian colour set. The 3rd set is acquired by shooting down the named aircraft in Expert. You unlock 1 paint scheme for every plane you shoot down.

To get the second colour for the CFA-44 you have to buy every plane and every colour of each plane, then play and finish a mission. To unlock the third colour scheme for the CFA-44, have all "S" ranks in all missions from the Easy through Ace difficulty settings, earn all Operation Medals, have at least 15 Service Medals, have all Enemy Records, and have all Friend Records (in short, complete Fires of Liberation 100%).

Attain purchasing ability for original aircraft.
 * Original Aircraft for 10 GP

You will unlock this as you progress through the game. The only aircraft you will not be able to unlock after beating the game on normal is the CFA-44; this requires you to beat the game on hard difficulty.

Attain complete Emmerian assault record.
 * Allied Assault Record for 20 GP

Just complete all the operations. As you finish all the operations a certain "ally" is in you will unlock his record. The only way to get the final Emmerian assault record position is to finish the Estovakian assault record. So you will get these two simultaneously.

Attain complete Estovakian assault record.
 * Enemy Assault Record for 20 GP

Strigon 1-12 are in the campaign mode under any difficulty. The named enemies will appear 1 per level on expert mode or higher. They are found here.

Successfully retreat from the fallen capital Gracemeria.
 * Mission 1 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the first level.

Prevent the aerial bombardment of Vitoze.
 * Mission 2 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the second level.

Attain victory at Sipli Field.
 * Mission 3 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the third level.

Destroy Bartolommeo Fortress, and recapture Khesed Island.
 * Mission 4 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the fourth level.

Ensure the success of allied ground forces on the Anea mainland landing.
 * Mission 5 for 20 GP

Play the game and beat the fifth level.

Rescue allied ground forces cornered in Silvat.
 * Mission 6 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the sixth level.

Rescue allied forces amidst Aigaion attack.
 * Mission 7 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the seventh level.

Capture the Cavallia Air Force Base, and establish an Aigaion attack point.
 * Mission 8 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the eight level.

Destroy the heavy command cruiser Aigaion.
 * Mission 9 for 20 GP

Play the game and beat the ninth level.

Capture the Ragno Fortress.
 * Mission 10 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the tenth level.

Attain victory in the Moloch Desert invasion.
 * Mission 11 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the eleventh level.

Unlock all hidden contents.
 * All Secrets for 30 GP

You unlock all the hidden content by beating the game on different difficulties. Most are unlocked by beating the game on normal; however there are a few that require you to beat the game on expert.

CFA 44 Nosferatu Fighter - Beat the game on Hard difficulty. It will appear in your hangar, purchase it for $229,500.

Music Player - Beat the game once.

Scene Viewer - Beat the game once.

Unlock Expert Difficulty- Beat the game once.

Unlock Ace Difficulty - Beat the game on expert.

SP New Game - Complete campaign once on any difficulty setting.

You also need to unlock all planes and colours.

Win 10 Battle Royale matches. See "Battle Royale (100)
 * Battle Royale (10) for 10 GP

Win 30 Battle Royale matches. See "Battle Royale (100)
 * Battle Royale (30) for 20 GP

Win 50 Battle Royale matches. See "Battle Royale (100)
 * Battle Royale (50) for 30 GP

Win 100 Battle Royale matches. When you play online, just make sure it is in Battle Royale Mode. Can be done on Player match.
 * Battle Royale (100) for 40 GP

Win 10 Team Battle matches. See "Team Battle(100)"
 * Team Battle (10) for 10 GP

Win 30 Team Battle matches. See "Team Battle(100)"
 * Team Battle (30) for 20 GP

Win 50 Team Battle matches. See "Team Battle(100)"
 * Team Battle (50) for 30 GP

Win 100 Team Battle matches.
 * Team Battle (100) for 40 GP

When you play online, just make sure it is in Team Battle Mode. Can be done on player match.

Clear Stage 1 of CO-OP Battle.
 * CO-OP Stage 1 for 25 GP

Just finish Stage 1 of CO-OP.

Clear Stage 2 of CO-OP Battle.
 * CO-OP Stage 2 for 35 GP

Just finish Stage 2 of CO-OP.

Win 10 Siege Battle matches. see "Siege Battle (100)"
 * Siege Battle (10) for 10 GP

Win 30 Siege Battle matches. see "Siege Battle (100)"
 * Siege Battle (30) for 20 GP

Win 50 Siege Battle matches. see "Siege Battle (100)"
 * Siege Battle (50) for 30 GO

Win 100 Siege Battle matches. When you play online, just make sure it is in Siege Battle Mode. Can be done on player match.
 * Siege Battle (100) for 40 GP

Shoot down 50 total other player aircraft online.
 * Online Kills (50) for 20 GP

You will get this eventually; just keep shooting down other players online, ranked and player matches count toward your online kill total.

Shoot down 100 total other player aircraft online.
 * Online Kills (100) for 30 GP

You will get this eventually; just keep shooting down other players online, ranked and player matches count toward your online kill total.

Shoot down 200 total other player aircraft online.
 * Online Kills (200) for 50 GP

You will get this eventually; just keep shooting down other players online, ranked and player matches count toward your online kill total.

Secret Achievements

Enemy Strigon squadron leader Ilya Pasternak defeated.
 * Pasternak Defeated for 20 GP

Pasternak certainly is a force to be reckoned with. The second you lose sight of him, he goes stealth and you have to find him all over again because you automatically lock onto a UAV that is aiding him. Once he is shot down though, all the UAVs explode & the mission ends. NOTE: every time Pasternak uses his ESM he has to slow down, and cannot go stealth. Try to just follow him, until he uses his ESM then machine gun him and missile him. If you are playing Expert difficulty try to stay as close to the ground as possible since the radar advantage is lost for the enemy. When you get a chance get close to him and send allied assault, shoot a couple missiles and bail. Rinse and repeat. Another way to beat him is by fighting fire with fire (that is, Nosferatu vs. Nosferatu): use the CFA-44 and use the EML. Two shots and down he goes.

Weapons of mass destruction destroyed in transport.
 * Mission 12 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the twelfth level.

Capital recaptured and liberated.
 * Mission 13 for 20 GP

Play the game and beat the thirteenth level.

Capital successfully defended from enemy cruise missile attack.
 * Mission 14 for 10 GP

Play the game and beat the fourteenth level.

The Chandelier destroyed, and the war brought to a close.
 * Mission 15 for 20 GP

Play the game and beat the fifteenth level.

=Names= Certain names are analogous to those referred to in the Cold War.
 * Stovakia is related to Estovakia as well as the nickname "Stovie," which is an anagram of "Soviet."
 * Emmeria is America with the "c" removed, an extra "m" and the first "A" converted to an "E."