Ace Combat 8 straddles the line between arcade destruction and military precision, with some melodrama thrown in for good measure.
Ace Combat 8 straddles the line between flight sim and arcade shooter expertly well. Some of the characters grate, and the line reads are overly-dramatic, but what does that matter when there's stuff to blow up?
I imagine flying a fighter jet feels like being fired out of a cannon in a tumble dryer. Men and women choose to strap themselves into what is essentially a flying explosive and travel faster than the speed of sound to do stuff. It's unnatural, unbelievably dangerous, and it's pretty damn cool. Ace Combat 8 put me in the cockpit, and while I feel like it respects the aircraft, I'm not so sure about the personnel.
The flying game series has been around for almost as long as I can remember; a strange, ever-present part of my gaming life. I can't say I've ever really fallen in love with Ace Combat, but it's a solid choice for those who want explosions without the faff that comes with other, more serious flight sims.
Ace Combat 8 hasn't stolen my heart, but it's given me more insight into the series' enduring appeal. It both does and doesn't take itself seriously - the presentation is Top Gun, the planes themselves look to be recreated with passion and (from my uninitiated eye) detail, but the cast surrounding it is borderline farcical.
I don't want to delve too deep into the story, as I feel it's likely one of the main draws here, but it begins with a dead pilot becoming the voice in my head. He's apparently a seasoned veteran who almost immediately tells me he's rubbish, and he lasts all of five minutes. I hear this man commenting on everything in a gravelly, overly serious tone. It's exhausting.
My squadron, on the other hand, is made up of a bunch of lighthearted-but-still-quite-melodramatic caricatures, who either don't seem to take anything seriously or react like a telenovela guest star at the slightest inconvenience. There is no in-between. The presentation and the tone are constantly at odds with one another, and it took time for me to adjust.
I got there eventually - not lowering my bar per se, but twisting it into something that would accommodate the experience. The Bad Guys blasting dramatic music whenever they show up? Sure. A famous rock band being another squadron on my side of the war? Why not. The chatter is constant and mostly inane - it reminded me more of Starfox than it did of, well, any war film ever.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.pcgamesn.com/ace-combat-8-wings-of-theve/review-sky-high-drama
