Project Aces Adds 30-Plus Aircraft to Ace Combat 8 as Misinformation Shapes Story
Updated
Updated · CNET · Jun 4
Project Aces Adds 30-Plus Aircraft to Ace Combat 8 as Misinformation Shapes Story
1 articles · Updated · CNET · Jun 4
Summary
Six previewed missions showed Ace Combat 8 tying its campaign to smartphone propaganda, with the player assuming the mythic "Wings of Theve" identity to sustain morale after military defeat.
Kazutoki Kono said social media and misinformation are treated as modern challenges alongside rival aces, while the studio still avoids overemphasizing drones to preserve human dogfights and player fun.
More than 30 real and fictional aircraft branch from a tech-tree progression starting with the F/A-18E, with unlockable perks, loadout choices and three camera perspectives shaping each mission.
Later missions leaned into the series' spectacle, pitting players against a treaded land battleship, flying-wing transports and radar-jammed dogfights built around short-range missile combat.
The preview positions Ace Combat 8 as the series' first entry in seven years, blending photorealistic skies and arcade-style air combat with a more personal, media-savvy story.