In a blink-and-you’d-miss-it announcement at Sony’s State of Play on Tuesday, a game about Norse mythology—not the new God of War—slipped in between the louder and longer trailers for third-person action games. That game was Ace Combat Zero. It is 20 years old, and later this year it will be only the third game in the long-running series to arrive on PC.
Bandai Namco is offering up a port of Ace Combat Zero as a pre-order incentive for folks who splurge on the deluxe edition of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, which is out on both PS5 and Steam on October 1. It was originally a PS2 game, and has never gotten any sort of HD remaster treatment, let alone a PC release. Presumably it’ll also be available for sale separately from the pack-in giveaway alongside AC8, and despite its age it may actually be the Ace Combat I’m more excited to play.
Ace Combat Zero sounds cool as hell.
It’s got the usual drama and dogfighting that had become staples of the series by that point, nine years in, but it’s the Norse mythology and some new underlying systems that make the game stand out in hindsight. Depending on your actions during a mission—basically how many defenseless targets you blow up—you’ll earn a reputation as a Mercenary, Soldier, or Knight, which then affects which factions you’ll face off against.
Meanwhile, your squadron’s name, characters and vehicles pull from Norse mythology and you’re duking it out with rival pilots over a chunk of the land nicknamed The Round Table, and the whole game apparently culminates in a 1-on-1 jousting match. It’s even more Arthurian themed than it is Nordic, using both mythologies to add a fantastical grandeur to its conflicts.
Ridiculous! I have no notes.
The reputation system brings to mind the other AC, Armored Core, in which the missions you take on as a mercenary in some of the games determine which evil future megacorps thrive and which ones want to see you ground to dust. But what Armored Core doesn’t have is flamenco guitar.
Ace Combat Zero doesn’t have its own entry on Steam yet, but presumably will be available alongside, or before, Ace Combat 8. The deluxe edition pre-order also lets you jump into one of those annoying early access periods to play AC8 on September 29. You’ll be paying $90 for the privilege—a mark-up I would normally say isn’t remotely worth it—but getting Zero for free certainly sweetens the deal.
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