Because what the world really needed was another live-action video game adaptation, Bandai Namco has announced a new prequel series to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, because who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned cash-grab? The live-action prequel, titled Hour Zero, is a short film that aims to introduce newcomers to the Ace Combat series and its supposedly complex narrative. I mean, who needs gameplay when you can have a Hollywood-produced short film to explain the story, right? The film stars Josh Holloway and Brandon Routh, because when you think of high-flying jet combat, you think of the guy from Lost and the guy who played Superman that one time.
The Story So Far
Hour Zero takes place in the Ace Combat universe, where three strangers survive the opening days of the Republic of Sotoa’s invasion of the Federation of Central Usea. The film’s story description reads like a laundry list of action movie cliches: a pilot with nowhere to land, a doctor who saved his enemy, and a news anchor silenced for telling the truth. Because what’s a war story without a few token characters to make us care about the explosions and gunfire? The film’s narrative is told in reverse, because who needs a linear storyline when you can confuse your audience with a non-chronological mess?
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
But enough about the live-action prequel, let’s talk about the actual game. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is the latest mainline entry in the franchise, and it promises to deliver a highly cinematic experience with tighter dogfighting controls. Because what’s a game without a fancy marketing buzzword like “cinematic”? Our hands-on preview of the game praised its epic, fast-paced missions, ranging from defending bases from bomber runs to trying to take down a heavily armored battleship that can take to the land. Yeah, because that’s not something you see every day.
Release Date and Editions
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve launches on October 2 for PS5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC, because you can’t have a game without a simultaneous release on every platform under the sun. Deluxe Edition owners can get Early Access to the game starting on September 29, because who needs to wait a whole three days to play a game when you can pay extra for the privilege? It’s not like the game will be filled with microtransactions and DLCs or anything.
And so, another live-service game is born, complete with a live-action prequel and a fancy marketing campaign. Because what’s a game without a few hundred million dollars in marketing budget, right? As gamers, we can only hope that the actual game lives up to the hype, and that the live-action prequel doesn’t set a new standard for video game adaptations. But let’s be real, it’s not like we haven’t seen this all before. The cycle of hype, disappointment, and subsequent remastering will continue, and we’ll all be left wondering why we fell for it again. Ah, the joys of being a gamer in the modern era.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte, widely regarded as the “Shakespeare of Sh*tposts,” is a video game expert with a unique knack for turning pixels into punchlines.
Born in the small town of Respawn, Pennsylvania, Pixel grew up mashing buttons on an ancient NES controller, firmly believing that “blowing into the cartridge” was a sacred ritual passed down through generations.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
