Ace Combat 7 Gets Extensive Gameplay Video

Bandai Namco Games had a pretty cool set-up during last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, not only with the popular Dragon Ball FighterZ, but also with Ace Combat 7, which is currently set for a release sometime next year.

As expected, the game continues to follow the mantra set by previous Ace Combat games, with very intense aerial action, beautiful visuals and the ability to choose between different control types, depending how you take to the air.

And to show us just how far along the game has gotten, Bandai Namco Games and IGN have released a new gameplay video featuring Ace Combat 7 in action, with commentary from series director Kazutoki Kono (in Japanese with English subtitles).

The video was featured during E3 last week and was a big hit with fans looking to find out more about the campaign. Featured above, it discusses “two-pronged strategy” and the various options players have when it comes to commanding the skies. This includes choosing between Standard and Expert. Standard, as you might guess, is a more user-friendly set-up where you can coast through the air with ease; whereas Expert is a bit more demanding, requiring you to learn other controls to keep your bird in the air.

The game’s new graphic engine is put on full display in the video, as you can really see how well it’s coming together in terms of realism and beauty. Even in cockpit mode, it looks pretty fresh. On top of that, the weapons look to come into play better than they ever have before, and some new ones appear to mix things up as well.

In addition, a new campaign mode will be introduced, written by Sunao Katabuchi. It’s unknown if it will revolve around previous Ace Combat games (like Assault Horizon), but it nevertheless looks intriguing. And, of course, you can always take on friends in online multiplayer battles, should you feel like taking to the sky and blasting them out of it.

Enjoy the video above. It’s a great, lengthy look at the sequel that’ll be coming our way, and Ace Combat fans should be thrilled.

Ace Combat 7 arrives in 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.