The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces – Trailer





The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is an arcade-style combat flight simulator for the Wii based on the 2008 anime film adaptation of Hiroshi Mori’s novel series The Sky Crawlers. Developed by Namco’s Ace Combat development team Project Aces, the game was released in Japan by Namco Bandai Games on October 16, 2008. Xseed Games is currently planning to release the game in North America during the 2009 holiday season.

Plot
Set in an alternate history, the game follows the journeys and tribulations of a group of young fighter pilots involved in aerial dogfighting using propeller-driven fighter planes. Although the world is at peace, in order to ease the tension of a populace accustomed to war and aggression, private corporations contract fighter pilots to stage combat operations against each other for show.

In the game players control Lynx, a rookie pilot who joins a team of privately contracted pilots, the Sky Crawlers. As he tries to gain acceptance in the team, Lynx and the Sky Crawlers also become embroiled in a mystery revolving around the appearance of a group of seemingly immortal fighter pilots.

Gameplay
Players hold the Wii Remote in their left hand and the Nunchuk in their right hand. Using the motion detection of both controllers, movement of the Nunchuk is used to tilt, roll, pitch and yaw the player’s aircraft, while the Wii Remote is used as the throttle, with players tilting it up and down to accelerate and decelerate. The game also supports the Classic Controller and GameCube controller for more traditional control.

The game introduces a gameplay mechanic called the “Tactical Maneuver Command” system, in which players gain the ability to perform automatic acrobatics to better position themselves for attack by keeping in close proximity to their enemies. During the game players unlock new planes, which they can customize in seven areas, such as color, weapons and armor. Players can also replay previous missions that they have beaten.

Development
The game features cut scenes animated by Production I.G, who also animated the 2008 film. The film’s director Mamoru Oshii was a special consultant along with author Hiroshi Mori, and both played and tested a pre-release version of the game.

Release Dates:
North America – January 5th, 2010
Europe – First Quarter of 2010



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