NAMCO BANDAI Games America has announced the latest entry in the Ace Combat series, which is set to hit the PSP sometime this year. Ace Combat Joint Assault is a notable departure for the series, because this time around the air war takes place above real Earth cities instead of fictional locations.

Graphically, Joint Assault appears to be a significant upgrade over the series' previous portable outing, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, and that game was no slouch. The most interesting change, however, is the focus on multiplayer. Joint Assault will include online play for up to eight players in adversarial skirmishes, and a four-player cooperative mode in which pilots break off into pairs and fight on separate maps. Completing objectives on one map will somehow impact the ongoing engagement on the other.

Crucially, they claim that the sense of speed will be improved, and judging by the gameplay screenshots, this appears to be aided by a slick motion blur effect. Those screenshots also reveal a handful of the forty aircraft featured in the game, a roster that includes iconic American and Russian designs.

When more information is available, we will be sure to pass it on, so keep an AWACS in our airspace if modern aerial combat is your thing.