The freedom of flight is something Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve offers in spades. There wasn’t a second during the campaign where I felt shoehorned into an attack pattern. Instead, hunting amid the clouds with multiple attacking options at my disposal provided one of the most immersive and liberating feelings I’ve had in a long time. It doesn’t take too long until you get to grips with the nuances of flight, and when you’ve mastered the controls, taking to the skies with the wingmen of Joker Flight became beyond thrilling.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve features a story centred around an unnamed protagonist who becomes entwined with the soul of Cope, a beacon of hope and a tool for wartime propaganda that is shot down and presumed dead. You start to hear his voice, his thoughts, and his concerns, all while taking his place in the Joker Flight squadron. During this huge war that has broken out, the real story takes place among the people who fly with and the relationships you build between your fellow partners. Despite some cheesy dialogue, I was invested throughout.
It’s a story that revels in clichés and the Hollywood blockbuster, yet this is what makes the main campaign so grand. Like what Rocky does for sports movies, Wings of Theve is a bombastic tale filled with emotional beats and spectacular action that drives the narrative and gets your blood pumping. After a handful of missions that focus on getting the most amateur of pilots off the sofa and into the cockpit, it starts to become one of the most thrilling and intense games I’ve played in a while.
There’s a vulnerability to being a pilot in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Knowing if you make the wrong call or fly too close to a target, it could result in your immediate death. However, there’s also a great sense of control and power that comes with being tasked with wiping out squadrons of enemy fighters or structures on the ground. Manoeuvrability is tight. Turning in the air at tight angles and breaking away from a missile locked onto you requires skill, but mastering it feels wonderful.
Going full throttle by pressing the right trigger, only do decrease speed with the left just enough to be able to drop through the air without slowing down too much to cause a malfunction is a skill that feels great when mastered. Using your arsenal of missiles to take down singular or multiple targets, firing your guns to do incremental damage in the process, and utilising the clouds for moments of strategy all play into just how good it feels to pilot the different types of aircraft when taking part in the wide variety of missions.
I loved just how different each mission is. You’re never just engaging in dogfights. There might be ground targets you need to take out, or an ally in need of protection. Choosing which aircraft and the types of weapons needed before each sortie becomes a key aspect of learning every facet of Ace Combat 8’s gameplay. Some missions require disrupting an enemy’s weaponry, so using aircraft with electronic jamming capabilities is better than one solely experienced in air-to-air combat.
No two missions every felt the same, even when repeating the ones I unfortunately died in. You have your objective, but completing these is entirely up to you. This dynamic approach adds to the complete feeling of freedom you have. Your sky, your rules. Bandai Namco Aces gives you the tools and the training, but you’re the one in control. Being able to enter training between these missions became vital to me because it allowed me to learn every aspect of flight so that when I was in a mission, I knew exactly what my capabilities and boundaries were.
Some planes are better used for air-to-ground attacks, while others are multirole, meaning they work for when missions see you taking out fleets in the sky and targets on the ground. The different types of missiles and weapons you unlock can also be selected in the planning phase, meaning there’s a wide sense of customisation that can make all the difference. You also gain the ability to unlock new parts, weapons, and aircraft via the Aircraft Tree with the use of Military Result Points, earned from high scores and successful missions results.
Your team is also a key aspect of your tactics. They call be called to come and support you when you’re being attacked, or send off to take down different targets in the air. The command can be given for wingmen to use special weaponry as well, and they can also be sent away to target the same enemy you’re engaged with. In a split second, your choices can make a world of difference, and familiarising yourself with these tactics and using them frequently is key to your survival in the sky.
Visually, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is stunning. There’s so much detail in your cockpit and the targeting information that appears on-screen. As for what you see in the skies and on the ground, the draw distance is impressive. Not only that, but it feels as though you’re watching a movie due to its realism. The clouds are insanely beautiful; flying through them and witnessing the droplets of water appearing on your aircraft’s glass never stops being cool. Being able to watch your mission replays allows you to soak in every detail, showing just how good it looks.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is a superb entry into the series, giving players so many tools to master as they take total control over their fates. Flying through the dynamic clouds and changing tactics on the fly is exhilarating, and mastering each aircraft and its weaponry is a constant thrill, with missions that never feel the same. At times it can be challenging, and you’re never sure if you’re doing the best you can until your missions are ranked, but nothing can replicate the excitement of taking to the skies and saving the world with a squadron you care deeply about.
