We've been eagerly waiting for some online modes, and with this latest iteration we finally get a whole lot of 'em. The game comes with four multiplayer modes: Team Battle which is the Team Deathmatch of the game, allowing for up to 15 players; Battle Royale, which is a regular Deathmatch mode offering support for up to 16 combatants; Siege Battle, which is an attack and defend mode with up to seven fighters per team; and the Co-op Battle, where you can fly two of the campaign's missions with up to four others. It was disappointing to see only two missions available for co-op as we would have loved to go through all of the campaign's sorties, but it's far from the end of the world.

The multiplayer modes suffered from a little bit of lag and some slight framerate slowdown, but nothing so drastic that it ruined the game. The head-to-head modes provide an even a more stressful experience than the single-player game as you'll have well over a dozen fighters jetting around with an entire team zeroing in to shoot you down. We did miss the CTF mode that was found in last year's PSP title, leaving us scratching our heads as to why it was absent, but with the rest of the multiplayer being such a blast, it's entirely excusable.

Yeehaw... Jester's dead!

A neat little bonus comes with the Ace Edge Flight Stick included with the limited edition of the game. For diehard fans of the series, this stick is a great bonus, but it's not without its problems. The biggest hurdle to get through is the fact that if you plan on using this stick, you'll need to use it on a desk, a television tray or whatever other rig you can manage that puts both sticks properly in front of you; otherwise you'll spend a lot of time getting adjusted to the steering. Another issue comes with the throttle, as you'll constantly have to move it forward and backwards during your flights which can become an issue especially considering the relative ease of using the triggers on the standard controller to adjust your speed. While it is a cool peripheral, it comes with a fairly steep learning curve; it really comes down to whether or not you're willing to shell out $149.99 and set up a playing area dedicated to a controller.

With this first foray into this generation of consoles, Namco Bandai provided one heck of a ride that any fan of flight sims, action titles or even "Top Gun" could get into. Providing solid gameplay throughout the duration of the game and the incredibly fun online modes, Ace Combat 6 ups the ante and more than makes up for the minor failings of previous versions.