oh lol ^^; well shoot...now I suddenly have the urge to play Ace Combat again... (I only have the one on the 3DS =w=;...I should get some of the others...)
If you have a PS2 I would highly reccommend getting the Legacy games- Ace Combat 4, 5 and Zero. They are widely regarded as the best in the series- Ace Combat 6 is a X360 exclusive and while the core elements are there they seem to have forgotten about the deep storylines exploring human sin, guilt, nuclear warfare etc. etc. and Assault Horizon is a glorified CoD shooter.
Did I mention the soundtracks? The 3DS version were composed by the dude for Monster Hunter soundtracks, being a spin-off, low-budget game. But the legacy ones and even Ace Combat 6 have some truly amazing pieces in them, especially 5 and Zero.
The simulation with Mara and Cortana is up to you guys. You can do w/e ya wish. Just assume w/e it is is realistic to the extreme (You can feel pain and all other sensory sensations.) I like to say that it even allows one to feel death.
Anyway, you can go ahead with that. Don't wait for me.
Now I'm gone. I won't be back for a long while since I got things to do. I'm forcing myself away from this as I have an exam on Monday I gotta get it really good or else I'm screwed...