'Ace Combat: Assault Horizon' video shows entire first level

(All rights reserved - Project Aces / Namco Bandai)

Explosive arcade flight sim Ace Combat is returning this October, and its latest trailer showcases ten minutes' worth of in-game tutorial.

With overblown soundtrack and characteristic radio chatter in place, there are slo-mo explosions, juddering zooms, machine guns, and missile lock-ons a-plenty, with some flaming hot ejector seat action to boot.

Though the focus is still very much on Close Range Assault, there's at least the opportunity to see in action over a longer period in comparison to previous trailers.

Assault Horizon is a departure for the Ace Combat series, swapping out make-believe countries for real world locations, and replacing fantastical aircraft for improbably visceral impacts.

It's a risk, but perhaps a necessary one if the series is to attract the attention of a mainstream that measures success by a Call of Duty yardstick.

The HAWX series challenged Ace Combat when it was first released in 2009 but so far HAWX 3 is missing in action.

The flight sim genre seems to be in better shape away from consoles, as the PC has two MMO variants in development, Gaijin's World of Planes and Wargaming.net's World of Warplanes, as well as Microsoft Flight.

Watch Assault Horizon's Combat Ready tutorial trailer at youtu.be/DmhLFzwdtfo, or check acecombat-assaulthorizon.com for updates.