Demo,
Sounds like a video card problem, make sure you have the latest drivers for the video card your using...would also help if you posted what kind of vid card, cpu, sound card etc...
The following is from the AH help file...
If the game locks up after you have selected your preferences, try deleting the video7.cfg file out of your ../HTC/Aces High/settings directory and run the game again. When you get the Select Video Card screen, choose the lowest settings, ie. 16 bit color and 640X480 resolution and try running the game again.
bgm