- First flying action online game
for Xbox Live is perfect change of pace from so many FPS
crowding the Xbox Live lineup
- The long wait for the game’s conversion from PC title to Xbox
title was definitely worth it
- Jaw-dropping visuals, particularly the beautifully realistic
sky scenery
- Music perfectly fits the mood of the 1930’s era of adventuring
tales on the silver screen
- Great mix of arcade flyer and flight simulator
- Lack of feeling of speed while
flying
- Story falls back on average video game story conventions
instead of exploiting originality of alternate reality setting
- Race challenges can get frustrating and just plain annoying
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Crimson
Skies: Highroad to Revenge
Score: 9.2 / 10
Microsoft has had great success converting
some PC games into very good Xbox games, including MechAssault, Midtown
Madness, and the NFL Fever series. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
follows the same path to Xbox glory and not only is a solid PC-to-Xbox
title, but considering the incredible Xbox Live play it offers, is one
of the top Xbox games released to date, rivaling even the revered Halo
with its overall quality.
This was supposed to be one of the early great Xbox titles (along with
Halo) expected not too long after the launch of the Xbox system. But
Microsoft continually delayed the game, apparently holding off until
Crimson Skies could take advantage of the Xbox’s graphical power while
its online play could be fully developed along with the fledgling Xbox
Live online service. Holding back Crimson Skies’ takeoff out
of the Microsoft hangar turned out to be an
excellent gamble, because this is one high-flying Xbox game.
Nathan Zachary is your name, flying for pirating profit is your game.
Set in an alternate reality of 1930’s America, which is no longer
united, the world as Crimson Skies knows it is ruled by gangs of air
pirates and militia and their planes and zeppelins. Roadways have been
eliminated to
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keep the nation-states that exist separate from each other. Zachary
belongs to the Fortune Hunters, who gain their riches by pirating from
those who dare to take to the skies. It’s one big gang-fight for control
and the power that comes along in ruling the airways with
alternate-reality aircraft that combine bi-planes of the 1930’s with
some futuristic weaponry never seen.
The story has an original premise, but falls back on some old standby
stories in the video game world: avenging a fallen comrade and rescuing
damsels in distress. A shame, since Crimson Skies had a lot of potential
for originality built into its storyline. But it’s not the story that
makes Crimson Skies so special.
The amazing gameplay, with a perfect balance of simulation and
arcade-style flying & fighting action, sends Crimson Skies soaring into
the high-flying fun stratosphere. The game plays sort of similar to,
believe it or not, Grand Theft Auto, without the same level of murderous
bloodshed. Each of the five moderately-sized levels is broken up with a
bunch of mini-missions that you can complete in the order you wish. Most
require a lot of heavy-duty dogfighting, where you’ll face wave after
wave of enemy planes. Others require escorting or protecting friendly
aircraft, manning anti-aircraft guns on ground-based installments, or
stealing items in exchange for information that you need to ultimately
get your revenge on your nemesis, John “Genghis” Khan. The only
mini-mission that seems misplaced or at least frustratingly unwelcome,
are the races through obstacle courses for wagers, which feature too
many twists and turns to be much more than a tedious affair.
You’ll be piloting an array of winged crafts throughout Crimson Skies,
each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Some planes are well
balanced, like your main plane, the trusty Dogfighter-class Devastator.
Interceptors are faster and more maneuverable, but don’t withstand much
enemy gunfire. And Zep-Killers have hard-to-pierce armor and strong
weaponry, but aren’t as fast or able to perform aerial evasive moves too
well. Your best course of action in most flying endeavors is to stick
with your Devastator to achieve pirating (and vengeful) success.
Controlling your plane is easy to get a grasp on because of the
well-mapped control scheme. Even the faster planes don’t really give off
a true sense of speed, but the trade-off is much more efficient control,
which is a necessity for a flying game where you’ll be diving,
ascending, and doing all kinds of flying feats. By using both
thumbsticks, you are able to perform a variety of special moves and
rolls, which aren’t required much in single-player gaming, but become
critically important in your online flying adventuring.
Simply put, I’ve personally never seen another video game ever that’s
had as realistic sky scenery as Crimson Skies. It’s beautiful. Weather
effects are done extremely well and the planes are a colorful and unique
mix. Crimson Skies rivals Splinter Cell and Dead or Alive 3 for the most
wonderful graphics to appear on the Xbox yet.
In addition to the visual treat of Crimson Skies is the
perfectly-fitting musical score that flows throughout. The orchestral
tunes fit like a glove for the 1930’s-esque setting (albeit alternate
1930’s setting) of the game, with climatic music providing the
just-right amount of tension and edge to your battles. Unlike the
musical score, the voice acting isn’t special, but you could imagine
celluloid heroes of the 1930’s acting and speaking their dialogue like
the Crimson Skies cast.
What really defines Crimson Skies as a classic Xbox game is its online
gameplay via Xbox Live. In a Live line-up crowded with a plethora of
first-person shooters, even exceptional ones such as the Tom Clancy trio
[Ghost Recon, Island Thunder, and Rainbow Six 3], Unreal Championship,
and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, it’s refreshing to have an aerial
combat title finally available. Crimson Skies is really enjoyable
online, with many different online modes to choose from. There are the
modes you would expect, including Dogfights for deathmatch fans, Flag
Heist for the capture the flag crowd, Keep Away, Team Accumulate, and
the most unique of them all, Wild Chicken. You win by catching an actual
flying chicken and returning it to your base to score points for your
team. With nary a bit of lag in sight, and tightly responsive plane
controls online, battling it out with a dozen or so teammates/opponents
is a great gaming escapade that is virtually unrivalled on Xbox Live.
Crimson Skies really flew out of nowhere to land as one of the best Xbox
games available, especially with its amazingly engrossing online play,
near-flawless visuals and sound, strong overall gameplay, and
lightning-quick control responsiveness. Containing a perfect blend of
multiplayer and single-player gaming, Crimson Skies breaks through the
crowd of first-person shooters flooding Xbox Live’s roster to give Xbox
owners a unquestionably stellar alternative to the FPS genre for online
gaming that not even the mighty PS2 has yet to provide its owners.
