Finally got my hands on Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve last week. Sharing my thoughts on the game before I lose track of time doing something else, like playing more Ace Combat 8.

First off, the opening cinematics are interactive, which is pretty cool. I don't remember playing a game with this feature. Granted, I don't play that many games. But still, this was cool.

The opening cinematics also have this sort of Metal Gear feel to them. I don't know why, but I like it. It gave me goosebumps when I went through it.

I like that this game brought back some focus on your wingmen, or fellow pilots. The chatter during flight brings the game to life in a good way. I do not like the “voice in your head” approach to telling your character's story, though. If they're going to let you respond to dialogue in the game, then they might as well let you be your own character instead of having somebody else's voice in your head.

The graphics in the game are excellent, not just for the planes but for the character models as well. I can see why so many players are infatuated with Tasha.

I've played the first few missions, and the replay system and camera are much improved over Ace Combat 7. The replay camera includes some angles that make for great screenshots. And I already said the graphics are excellent, but my God, the planes in this game look really good!

You start the game in an F/A-18C. It seems slow to respond to roll inputs. Either that, or they decreased the sensitivity of the analog stick. I feel like they tried to slow the game down a bit, making it a little more simulation and a little less arcade.

But who am I kidding? This is still very much an arcade game.

Sorry I'm jumping back and forth, but back to the story. I much prefer the player's story and companions in this game over those in Ace Combat 7. It might be too early to compare the two games, though, considering I've only completed a few missions.

I'll end this post with a compilation of clips from my first few hours with the game.

Tags: #GameLog #AceCombat8