ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

A combat flight sim that doesn't stress the 'sim'

- Phil Iwaniuk

For anyone who likes the idea of giving their life to the mastery of an incredibly complex piece of military aviation machinery, but then gave Digital Combat Simulator a go one evening and thought better of the whole endeavor, Ace Combat exists in a sweet spot between simulation and silliness.

If you were wondering whether this latest series entrant has found that same sweet spot, consider this: while there has been precisely no noise about how Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve ramps up the flight physics, ballistics modeling or air pressure simulation, Bandai Namco is keen to impress with the storytelling.

And that's what makes this title such a breath of fresh, high-altitude air. It's a dogfighting experience with a unique tongue-in-cheek tone, far more concerned with making you smile than adhering to the science textbooks. The big idea this time is to have you spend time outside the plane as well as up in the skies, and to tell you a story in first-person via interactions with your crewmates aboard the aircraft carrier.