The Ace Combat games never really appealed to me—many of these classic airplane-combat games always came across as too technical, motion-sickness-inducing, and impersonal for my taste. Revisiting some older titles over the past few weeks, I think some of those beliefs hold true, but I'll say this: they most certainly do not apply to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which might very well be one of the most glorious and thrill-inducing games I've ever played.
Ace Combat has always been relatively niche, but Ace Combat 8 could be the entry that changes that. It's not without flaws, which mostly come down to story presentation and pacing, but given how nearly flawless the game's encounter design, controls, and setpieces are, I'm left wondering how much these flaws really matter. Because when it comes down to fundamental, hands-on-sticks quality, Ace Combat 8 is about as good as it gets, and a gripping reminder of what AAA gaming can accomplish when done right.
At the same time, this is most definitely an Ace Combat game, top to bottom. Ace Combat 8 doesn't feature any out-of-airplane gameplay, strongly punishes ignoring build-crafting and mission briefs, and often places excessive emphasis on story details like battle tactics, technological specifications, and miscellaneous aero-minutiae. The whole package may not appeal to every fan of action games or military shooters, but if you can fully embrace the pilot's seat, you'll be in for an exceptionally captivating ride.
Mission and encounter design are what have stuck with me the most since rolling credits on Ace Combat 8. The game features over two-dozen story missions (I don't want to spoil the exact count), and not a single one could be reasonably called filler. Most missions take place on unique maps, and when maps are reused, it's always with the addition of one or more quirks that meaningfully alter the gameplay, and augment what it demands of the player. Even seemingly small tweaks, like the time of day, can completely change how you engage with a given map.
Ace Combat 8's mission design is complemented by its fantastic controls and mechanics. With the default controls, which I personally recommend, flying is supremely intuitive, and an admirable translation of traditional car-driving mechanics to 3D space. The various planes you collect all feel meaningfully different from each other in every moment, in ways that make sense. For instance, a hefty bomber plane will struggle with hairpin turns and deceleration, whereas a nimble jet can pull off incredible maneuvers, like near-90-degree pull-ups, barrel rolls, and inversions.
I played Ace Combat 8 on PlayStation 5, so I can't speak to other platforms, but I did not experience a single crash, performance hiccup, or noticeable glitch over the course of dozens of gameplay hours.
These qualities are constantly and purposely recontextualized for each campaign mission. You might want to choose the cumbersome, bomb-equipped Thunderbolt II for an assault on a land base, while the agile F-35 is better for dogfighting. Regardless of which plane you choose, you'll have to manage your position relative to obstacles and other enemies, for which you'll need to juggle various different pieces of numerical and visual data, including different radar types, altitude levels, and speed. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but over the course of the campaign, you'll gain greater mastery of these skills than you could have imagined, pulling off breakneck stunts left and right.
Ace Combat 8's gameplay is surprisingly deep and deceptively nuanced, considering how easy it is to get the hang of the fundamentals. I was learning new tricks and techniques up until the game's final mission, and I expect that I'll continue to unfurl Wings of Theve's multilayered combat and traversal systems over the coming months, and perhaps even years; I certainly don't plan to uninstall Ace Combat 8 any time soon.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/ace-of-combat-8-wings-of-theve-review/
