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Crimson Skies

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Xbox owners, allow me to introduce you to the game that will make you forget all about MechAssault. Mech-what? MechAssault. You know, the first-party game that kicked Xbox Live multiplayer onto your radar. Yeah, that one. Well, now you have Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, the next Microsoft title that will turn your console online and your smack-talking into high gear.

For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, Crimson Skies is essentially "Indiana Jones" meets aerial combat, only the alternate universe isn't overrun with Nazis but with power-hungry gangs who fly tricked-out planes and are so trigger-happy that Al Capone would blush. With creative scenarios, a focus on action and engaging characters, you'll be sure this game is headed for the silver screen. But Indiana Jones this is not, neither in medium nor in pacing, and as a result, Crimson Skies at times can feel a bit slow and imbalanced.

Part adventure and part dogfighter, Crimson Skies places you in the anti-heroic cockpit of Nathan Zachary, an air pirate who's out for revenge and, if it happens to come his way, a little fortune and glory too. Along the way, hell meet a lady (or two), discover a nature-be-damned plot against the civilized world (a la "Wild Wild West") and embark upon an intricately weaved tale of his own.

Unlike "Indiana Jones," though, Nathan takes to the skies rather than a mine cart and relies on his trusty plane-mounted artillery rather than a bullwhip. And that, my friends, is where Crimson Skies grabs you by the joystick and gets your arcade-loving heart a-fluttering. Forget about flight sims, because Crimson Skies is arcade flying at its finest. From barrel rolls and Split S's to air braking and upside-down 180s, this game would make any pilot rethink the laws of gravity. The controls are easy to both learn and master, too, which means novices and pros are separated only by their ability to plan ahead and remain dedicated to the game, not by their familiarity with the instruction manual.

The arcade goodness doesn't stop there. Unlimited primary ammo? Check. Heat-seeking and cluster-bomb secondary weapons? Check. Dozens of airborne enemies swarming at once while terrestrial turrets fire on you with unfathomable power? Check. Yes, Crimson Skies seems to have it all. But not quite.

Each "level" is a virtual landscape that encompasses some serious real estate. The first, for example, is a small but tall island where you get comfortable with looking up, down and around for enemies. The second level is a wide-open desert so expansive you'll be thankful the Xbox has a built-in hard drive. Subsequent levels include an interpretation of a 1930s tech-savvy Chicago and other era-appropriate settings, and each presents some unique expansions of the basic gameplay.

The objective in each level changes depending upon your progress in the story, but invariably each level involves completing four to six "subgoals," most of which amount to mini-games that break up the dogfighting. Several levels ask you to get out of your plane and man a turret, for example, be it to protect an illegal stash of taxis or to defend your Zeppelin "base" from incoming fighters. Other subgoals involve switching planes to complete an objective or winning a race to win cash, which, once you fly another plane and thereby "unlock" it, can be used for upgrades or to repair your current craft in mid-mission.

Yet while each of these levels has slightly different subgoals, the actual gameplay behind those subgoals remains static from level to level. A turret battle is a turret battle is a turret battle, no matter how different the aircraft you're trying to shoot down. Yes, the scenarios will literally leave you sweaty with their frantic pace, but after three or four turrets you'll play through them just to get it over with and move on to the next dogfight rather than play them for enjoyment.

In the long run, of course, that ultimately speaks to the quality of the dogfights. And there's really no other way to say it: you've never played a dogfighting game this good. There's just something about the combination of tight controls, intense speed and a fully 3D environment. Air Force Delta Storm had the speed and dimensions, but its handling was too sim-like to let you stay in "hot pursuit" for very long. Lethal Skies II had the speed and environments, too, but the AI was so challenging that the only thing in hot pursuit was your PS2 controller headed for the TV screen. Crimson Skies, though, strikes such a perfect balance of speed, control, level design and challenging-but-not-impossible AI that you truly feel like you're an alternate-1930s-universe pilot.

Still, there's nothing like knowing you're hunting (or being hunted by) a human opponent, and Crimson Skies comes complete with some outstanding split-screen, system-link and Xbox Live multiplayer options. What's interesting about the split-screen with three players, though, is that it divides the screen in thirds horizontally, which makes for great lateral visibility but horrible up-down visibility. It's a unique treatment, but I've got to question the use of this technique in a game that relies so heavily on both horizontal and vertical sighting. But naturally, if you don't play with three players total, this is a moot point entirely.

Crimson Skies has the standard Dogfight, Flag Heist (Capture the Flag) and team-based modes, but our personal favorite here at DailyGame is the hilarious and addictive "Wild Chicken." This mode is sort of like Stayaway in Midtown Madness 3 with a bit of capture-the-flag base-defending flair. None of the game modes is a stinker, and every one runs smoothly online. Even with 16 people playing at once.

One of the most comical details of "Wild Chicken" is watching the feathers fall from your newfound "wingman" and act like a contrail, and it's details like this that make Crimson Skies feel as believable as an alternate-universe-with-tricked-out-planes videogame can. From blinking landing lights and animated flaps to deformable trucks on the streets of Chicago, Crimson Skies delivers Big Time in the graphics department. For Pete's sake, how many times is an Xbox editor going to say "Best. Water. Ever."? Well, apparently one more, because this game's got it. It's also got damage-sensitive "animations" and a framerate that never wavers.

Then why, oh why, must the non-dogfighting waver as it does? This game is fun. It's a blast. I'd even say it's the most enjoyable non-FPS on Xbox Live. But its development team was apparently so focused on making an outstanding dogfighting game that the "other" gameplay elements in Crimson Skies are a step or two behind. On their own, the turret scenarios and races are just fine, but taken with the rest of the outstanding gameplay mechanics, the game can feel a bit unbalanced and slow.

But pop in another controller or log on to Xbox Live, and all those issues fade into the horizon. If you have an Xbox Live account and/or at least one friend in the world, Crimson Skies is the next great multiplayer experience on Xbox. If you're a hermit or otherwise socially challenged, the game still has something for you, with an adventuresome story and entertaining dogfights that are the stuff of arcade dreams. Just don't go into the game expecting the End All, Be All of gaming. Crimson Skies is fantastic, but it's a little gameplay balance short of legendary.

ALOT of fun and another reason to get Xbox live

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I think there has been some confusion as to what this game is. At least by reading the reviews that I have seen on here so far. This is not a simulation game. It never tries to be or even hints at it which isn't a bad thing. This game is more of an arcade shooter. Comparing this game to Microsoft's flight simulator is like comparing Steel Battalion to Mechassault. With that said this game is a lot of fun. The environments are done very well. The planes look great they even show the elevators and flaps moving as you hit the brakes or go into a turn. Damage is also displayed on your plane with smoke and fire pouring out of the engine. There's a great variety of planes and hopefully more coming with downloadable content. The control is very tight. My only complaint is that I would've liked to have been able to control my speed a little more but the simple brake and turbo control scheme works well enough and fits with the arcade feel. The single player mode is done well enough. It will keep you playing all the way through. If it only featured single player I would still recommend it but only as a rental. The real joy of playing this game is XBOX live. There are a few options:
Dogfight - all out fragfest
Team Dogfight - all out fragfest with teammates
Flag Heist - Basically capture the flag
Wild Chicken - This one is a lot of fun. Basically there is a chicken that you try to get and bring back to your base. Your team receives 7 points for getting the chicken and 1 point for every plane that is shot down. This is definitely my favorite because I've played the other modes a thousand times on other games.

As far as recommendations go:
If you like arcade flying games or are looking for something to pass the time for a weekend but don't have xbox live then I would say go and rent this game. You'll have a good time. If you have xbox live then you're really going to enjoy this title. Lets just hope that they are a little quicker to add content then they were with Mechassault.

Enter the Phoenix

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Anyone who's followed this game's development is probably of the opinion that it has absolutely no right to turn out to be any good.

In the making for several years, it was slated to be an Xbox launch title, playing on the cult sucess of the PC game, and from there it would take the console by storm. In theory.

In reality, the game was a mess. There were a thousand little problems that added up to one big one: The game was simply not fun to play. Typically, when this happens, the development team is well aware of it, but what are you supposed to do with a fundamentally flawed video game? Money has already been poured into it, probably a lot more than was intended, and it boils down to either canning the whole project and cutting your losses, or publishing a horrible game to little fanfare and hoping people buy it anyway. It's a lot like movies, actually, except with movies they never dispose of the bad ones.

Incredibly, neither route was taken with Crimson Skies. The game was scrapped, but it was then rebuilt, from the ground up, with a radically different premise. The entire project was overhauled, an extra couple of years were tacked onto the development time, and the game that should not have been came out anyway.

Thank God, because it's absolutely fantastic.

Right off the bat, the game just drips with quality. Plane controls are spot-on, the voicework is great, the story (a self-described "action movie plot") is lighthearted and campy in an "Army of Darkness" kind of way, and the whole thing is just a blast.

For a setting, the player is thrust into an alternate 1930's world, where the U.S. has become several different countries and roadways have been destroyed. The only way to get around the big land ocean is by air, and that's where we begin...

I won't ruin the actual occurences of the plot, but there's enough PG-13ish humor to keep adults entertained ("I hope you don't mind if I leave my socks on!") without killing the mood of the game.

When you get to the meat of the game, which is the flying, the new design standpoint comes across. Rather than approach a genuine flight model, the game goes in the opposite direction and completely ignores most basic laws of physics. While it's a little weird at first to be able to ignore gravity for the most part (you can't fly straight up for very long, but that's about it), it actually flavors the game with a familiar arcadey-space-sim feel. The dogfights will feel right at home to "Privateer" and "Freelancer" vets (sans the Newtonian drift physics) and "Wing Commander" fans will probably be howling with joy the moment they figure out how things are going to work in the game.

This inattention to reality is what frees the game up, and it's my personal guess that this is what the game was missing the first time around. A game like this could have gone wrong in all sorts of directons, and the fact that it feels as carefree as it does is a testement to the tenacity of the Fasa development team.

Finally, you have the single and the multiplayer; I recommend going through the single player mode on HARD to prepare for online combat. Not only is the single player a hoot, but it teaches a lot of the skills that will very quickly be put to the test in the online arena.

So, for everyone who's been looking for the "it" game for Xbox Live, this is it. For everyone who ever liked space flight games, this is it. For everyone who's a fan of well-done action games, this is it. In fact, got an Xbox?

This is it.

UPDATE 11/25/03: Alright, after having spent several weeks taking to the multiplayer skies, I figured I should re-visit this review with a much more prominent assertion that not only is the multiplayer fantastic, it's the lifeblood of the game. The single player, while great fun and an excellent game in it's own right, doesn't give you a whole lot of reason to return to it once you're finished.

The multiplayer, however, is a whole different ball of wax, and much like a PC game, it keeps the game fresh well beyond it's single-player lifespan.

As of this writing, there's only a handful of maps and the game is missing some of the better features found in other games (like keeping track of your total kills, deaths, time online, plane useage, etc.) But, it all becomes moot once you get out there and the bullets start flying. It's a rush, and because of the beautiful controls, it's a quick process to get accustomed to it. The planes are balanced very well (I recommend the Doppleganger if you're a good shot) and even when you're outmatched, you're having a blast because the game sticks you right back in the action.

If you were on the fence about this game, don't be. The scraps you'll get into are some of the most exciting and fun fights to ever go across a broadband connection, and the promise of downloads in the near future just sweetens the deal.

In short, it's the best thing out there right now.

My online tag is "DeusJester" and I'll see you over the skies of Chicago.

AWESOME BUT REPETITIOUS

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As this is my first experience with a flying game I found the graphics and control to be awesome. Never have I had so much in the way of all control. Usually you are confined to making someone run, jump, turn right, turn left and climb. This game allows you to fly over and around and all about.

That said I agree with other reviews. You get to feeling like you're doing the same thing over and over. You get a mission, choose a plane, shoot down some bogies while fulfilling an objective, killing this that and the other thing. Over and over without much change of pace or significant change in scenery.

Good for a first timer, but repetitious.

Fantastically Fun both Single and Multi Player

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This aerial combat game involves an alternate universe - it's sort of like the 1930s, but with a twist. You get a lot of planes, fighting and nice graphics. Usually when we play games to review, we play them through and then are done. This is one of the few games that we loved so much that we replayed it many times.

It's sort of a swashbuckling adventure, like Indiana Jones, and the storyline really brings you along through the game. I love flying games, so it was great to have such responsive airplanes and such amazing graphics around you. When you're spinning in loops over a rippling ocean, with a gorgeous sunset overhead, it's hard to imagine anything much better.

I love the 3D strategy involved in handling attacks. I love the flying-through-canyon precise reaction flying involved. This isn't a "flight sim". You don't have to worry about flaps, landing gear, or anything else. Your ammo in your machine guns is unlimited. You just spin, fly, and shoot.

The sound is reasonably good - an action-adventure hyped theme playing that you can turn down if it's not your style. The Dames and Tough Guys all sound in style.

There are plenty of missions here to keep you entertained, and you can replay them at different difficulty levels to keep yourself challenged. Also, if you have XBox Live, you can in essence play infinitely against online players with a variety of really fun games.

Highly recommended!

Thumbs UP for Crimson Live. WAY UP!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game around Thanksgiving time. I hadn't purchased XBox Live at that time so I was playing the standard 1 player mission based game. The game has simple flight controls in which a monkey could operate with ease. Crimson Skies is not a flight simulator. The 1 player game flows like any mission-based shooter and quite frankly, gets stale rather quick. The missions are destroy this, escort that, etc. Fun, yet repetitive after a while. Whenever you take out enemies, you collect their money. Money is used to upgrade the different planes you commandeer. Stealing new planes and comparing the differences in handling speed and firepower is fun. The game's environments are huge and have hidden icons buried throughout, giving the single player reason to explore. These icons are used for upgrading planes as well. All this said about the 1 player game, I give it a 7 out of 10. I only played it for about a week (25% complete 1 player) when I purchased Live.

**Open doors**

Crimson Skies on Live is utterly amazing and gave me no reason to return to the 1 player mode. Modes such as Dogfight, Team DF, Capture the Flag, are all great. 16 players are allowed to join in one game (with a little lag, but not much at all).

It is on XBox Live that Crimson Skies allows you to see the vast handling and maneuverability of these planes. Live also keeps each pilot's stats, allowing the player to put everything in perspective compared to other Red Baron's out there.

The environments on Crimson Live are completely huge and amazing and the battles that ensue are nothing short of utter mayham.

I give Crimson Live 9/10 dumbfire rockets. If you are looking for a reason to purchase Live, look no further. This game to me, was worth the money.

Look on the horizon for the wispy flames coming out of my engine, for I am BOO75. :o)

Beautiful!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is amazing. The visuals are stunning, the controls are great, the story is interesting and the characters actually have character. One complaint, it's too short. I finished the game in about three hours. I was hoping for more. However, it was an amazing three hours.
The multi player is great as well, although you can't fly everywhere, it brings you back in once you go to far. It's endless fun flying through the city of Chicago while trying to avoid getting shot down. I haven't played any other flight game that comes close to being this fun. A definite buy.

Blood Wake + Planes + Action = Crimson Skies

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I havn't had an Xbox for very long and only had a few games. I have no idea what made me get Crimson Skies, but i'm sure gald I did. You play the role of Nathan Zachary a fortune huter (aka pirate) stealing hot rod planes from vairous enemies. The planes all have awsome wepons, such as Machine guns, flame rockets, Tesla shockers, shotguns, cannons, Sniper bullets, and more. All planes are different and the game has an exelent variorty of planes. and playing as a gyro-copter is a hoot. Theres not really anything wrong with the game except for the indoor ruins at the end that was frustrating and hard. Theres no navagation problems either, it's real easy to find objectives and the game dosen't let you choose a diffaculty theres just one and it's not too easy and not too hard, just right. Stalling is a bit annoying. Very simple controls, you can learn them in seconds. The Tricks are very cool to do in combat. The enemy AI is very good and the game isn't repetive. All in all if your looking for a game with a good story, simple controls, and all out fun Crimson Skies is for YOU!

"We love to fly....and it shows....."

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

..... in the awsome graphics this game has.

Actually, let me make it quite clear that I HATE flying games. That being said.... I love this flying game! The graphics of the lush scenery and landscapes are gorgeous. The controls are basic enough for young players, but there's enough "trick" controls for those who want to spice it up a bit. The storyline is above average, and finds an excellent balance of cutscenes versus in-game narration. And that's all just the single-palyer. Multiplayer really pushes this game over the top. It is always more challanging taking on real humans instead of AI, and the satisfaction of blowing your friend's/sibling's/whoever's plane out of the sky is VERY gratifying! Of course, like any mulitplayer game, the split screen makes for smaller viewing areas, but if you can go online or link two or more systems together, you have hours of fun ahead of you. If you hate flying games like I do, GET OVER IT and buy this game!

Crimson Skies - Death from Above

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you are looking for a must buy title for the Xbox this holiday season, then look no further. Crimson Skies is one of the most entertaining titles to come out for any of the consoles this year and one of the best multi-player dogfight air-combat games of all time. (Say that three times fast and I'll give you a cookie.)

If you don't know the history of Crimson Skies, it's based on the FASA board game with an alternate history storyline in which the nation's railroads are destroyed by wars during the Great Depression in which the US broke up into separate factions (think Syndicate but in the 1930's instead of the future.) With the railways are no longer available, transporting cargo took to the skies, and so did pirating, and thus, Crimson Skies is born.

What about the game itself? Crimson Skies has some of the most visually gratifying graphics I have ever seen in a game, from the city of Chicago to the valleys and streams; the game is an incredible feat when you look at the drawing distances, as the amount of objects on the screen. To make a long story short, the graphics will be mesmerize you, not just at first, but from beginning to end (and then some.) The scenery, models, cut-scenes, and level design are well thought out, and make the game as fun to watch as it is to play.

If you think flight combat games are tough, you haven't played this one, although you can get flipped around at times, it has a fairly easy learning curve. Five or six people have come over and played the game since I've had the chance to review it, and every one of them have been able to catch on to the basic controls within 5 minutes, and catch on to the more advanced controls within 15-20 minutes. They were all able to hold their own, and enjoy the game immediately, including one that hadn't touched a video game since the days of the original NES, a complete non-gamer.

I've hyped the game to hell and back, but I do have a couple of small knocks on it before I bring up~ its biggest feature. When you're playing single player, and you have the big cut-scene came about. It really isn't that huge of an issue, it's nice to have the animation there, but how it disrupted the game-play so drastically at times frustrated me to no end.

The one other thing that has been mentioned to me by other dog-fight combat fans is the lack of a screen targeting system. You cannot target your nearest enemy by seeing an arrow on the screen as with most other combat system. I personally don't see a problem with this, as it keeps you much more aware of what's going on around you, and you do have the black button to help target the closest enemy and see where he is in relation to you.

So Crimson Skies by itself as a Single Player game is a lot of fun, and you could easily lose 10-15 hours on it, and even think about playing it all the way through twice (not like I know anything about that.) However, this title is Xbox Live compatible, and damn what a Live title it is. Playing with/against 15 other players can, and will extend the life of this title for a LONG TIME. There are Dogfights, Team Dogfights (Up to 8 vs. 8), Capture the flag, and another one that's similar to Keep Away. All of these make the game even more entertaining and enjoyable. Also with Xbox Live they will be adding new downloads for the game, I'm sure they'll have new maps, but the idea of new ships as well could extend the game even further. The game also comes with a two month free subscription to the Xbox Live service to get players hooked which is a great idea, get them hooked, if they want the headset, they can buy it separately.

If you're looking for a game that you can blast the baddies, fly around, explore, and enjoy yourself immensely, as well as have a game that you can jump in and blow up your friends, or nemeses, this game will give you that in spades. I give Crimson Skies a gun-blazing 5 out of 5 Throbbing Joysticks. Kudos to Microsoft and FASA for making me forget all about the PC game!

(note: Crimson Skies has already released an auto-update, check it out!)

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