Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

"Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines"

My story begins in the 1930's. The war in Europe was well and truly behind us and life was just starting to return to normal. Well, as normal as life could get, what with the 50 states of America going their separate ways and all that. Sure it was a divided country, but then again it was a divided world. Why should we have been spared? Back then I was known as Nathan Zachary, a womanizer to some and a hero to many. As leader of the Fortune Hunters, we traveled the Independent States of America, seeking out fame and fortune wherever we could find it. Life was good to us back then and we did well for ourselves. That was... until one day... the professor... my friend... I had received his urgent call late one night. Rushing to his laboratory I found my old friend and confidant dead, murdered in cold blood. As I held his still warm body in my arms, I vowed to extract revenge on the bastards that had done this to him. With my zeppelin the Pandora and its loyal crew of pilots and mechanics, we scoured the ends of the Independent States... hunting those responsible.

''We interrupt this monologue to bring you an important review...''

Though it may seem dramatic initially, the story keeps its tongue placed firmly in the cheek throughout. The equal portions of Indiana Jones and The Rocketeer have been liberally mixed together resulting in a rollicking good adventure that is sure to entertain and excite. The hero of the story, Nathan Zachary, is a loveable rogue of the Han Solo variety. Dashing and all so charming, his many wise-cracks during the heat of battle are sure to make players smile, if not chuckle outright. And why not laugh? At your disposal are some of the most lethal flying machines of their albeit, fictional era. In keeping with the alternative reality setting, each of the 9 aircraft combines a basic 1930's propeller design aesthetic with a near modern day level of technology. These are without a doubt some of the most visually pleasing avenging angels this side of an Edinburgh Air Show. Their high tech afterburners and slim line designs conceal their true low tech nature. Machine guns, shotgun style flak cannons and semi-guided missiles round out the range of armaments and while basic, they still manage to pack quite a wallop. Fire and forget they're not...

With all this low tech weaponry being thrown around, players raised on diets of jet powered aerial combat could be forgiven for thinking that Crimson Skies is lacking in the all important adrenaline factor. Thankfully this is far from the truth. What we have here is perhaps one of the single most well thought out examples of how to craft exciting dog fights without running the risk of having pig-headed players forever circling each other. By implementing an ingenious system that allows for a limited number of special evasive maneuvers, Microsoft have ensured that combat remains exciting and unpredictable at all times. Via a quick left/right stick combination, players can perform lighting quick barrel rolls and 180 degree turns that suck up the G-forces. It's a good thing then that the controls are wonderfully intuitive and arcade like in flavor. Who wants to worry about the minor inconveniences of physics when you've got bad guys to splash? With some differences in the way each aircraft handles, experimentation is often needed to determine which plane is best suited for a particular mission. If the objective seems too difficult then chances are you're probably sitting behind the wrong flight stick. Nice try fly boy but it's back to the zeppelin for you!

Viewed from a slightly raised rear third person perspective, the camera gives players the perfect view of Crimson Skies' panoramic environments. Vastly beautiful and littered with detail, these mammoth stages are as much of a joy to observe as they are to fly around. Desert canyons open up far below revealing quaint little townships and mining communities while flood lights fill the evening skies over Chicago as monster sized zeppelins patrol the area. It's all so totally and utterly breath taking. The fact that players are able to fly in, around and often through most of these background elements makes for some very slick action sequences. Honestly speaking, the layout of each map is as close to art as level design can possibly get. It's into these lush environments that players are dropped with just enough freedom to create their own free-forming gameplay experience. Progress can be made through the game by completing some of the many challenges and side quests found scattered around each map. How you go about it though is purely up to the player and while this sort of sandbox play mechanic may be common enough now days, rarely is it done better than this.

Proving that you can never have too much of a good thing, Microsoft have wisely seen fit to fill each and every map with all manner of interesting distractions. If players find themselves getting tired of all the dog fighting, they can always land their aircraft and man one of the many ground based AA guns. Or perhaps a simple break from the action is all that's required. If that's the case then it's time to take the gyro-copter out for a spin as upgrade tokens and bonus aircraft lay hidden around each level! Deliveries, racing, escort duties, lions, tigers... oh my! It's all good. There is simply so much to see and do that often the amount of time spent at each location seems woefully inadequate. If ever there was a game that needed another 10 hours of flight time then it would have to be Crimson Skies. Just as soon as the enemy pilots begin to get serious and the challenge begins to mount, the game is over. Thank you for playing, did we make a wrong turn at Albuquerque? Still this is a common complaint for any game worth its weight in salt, and it must be said that the time spent with Crimson Skies is golden none the less.

Once the single player quest has been completed, players should have the necessary skills to take the good fight online. Boasting 5 online game modes, there's definitely something here for everyone to enjoy. Deathmatch fans can get their fix with Dogfight while Flag Heist is made to order for the capture the flag crowd. Keep Away, Team Accumulate and Wild Chicken round out the selection by picking up the players looking for something a little different. It's this final game mode, Wild Chicken, that's sure to raise the most eyebrows though. It has, without a doubt, one of the most unique gimmicks ever to be seen online. Players earn points for their team by capturing, believe it or not, an actual flying chicken and returning it to their base. Quite what they do with it afterwards is anyone's guess, but I'm willing to wager that there's a smarmy Southern Colonel involved in there somehow. The whole online experience is first class as always with lag rarely, if ever rearing its ugly head. There's even downloadable content in the form of new maps and aircraft for crying out loud! Crimson Skies proudly stands on its own as being the show piece title for Xbox Live users. Invite it into your home and you'll find it to be a game that just keeps on giving!

It's right smack bang in the heat of the action that the inspired sound effects come into their own. Explosions and gunshots ring out with all the super heated fury of depleted uranium shells being fired at point blank range. Realistic and wonderfully macho, this is an audioscape that deserves to be played loud. The engine sounds have also been realistically presented with great attention to detail. Whining and charging in time with the action, they contain the perfect amount of testosterone fueled goodness to make boys feel like men. So well implemented are the sound effects that the player can almost smell the acrid stench of burning oil as they plummet out of the sky raining death upon an unsuspecting target below. The music is equally as effective in generating that all important 1930's atmosphere. With an abundance of dramatic flair, it resembles the orchestral brilliance of John Williams' Indiana Jones soundtrack in both scope and theme while managing to retain its own style. Talk about an impressive feat of flattery over imitation! It's a soundtrack that's well suited to the likes of Crimson Skies, minus all those pesky lawsuits of course. Very nice indeed...

All things considered, it's really quite amazing that Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge turned out as well as it did. Originally released on the PC over 3 years ago, the first entry in the series was far from impressive. Though it may have been pleasing to the eye, under the surface lay a bug riddled mess that suffered from some overly repetitive gameplay. Having spotted the diamond in the rough, Microsoft have fashioned what is without a doubt one of the top 5 games currently available for the Xbox. Period. Thrills, spills and high altitude kills collide to make Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge one long distance flight that players won't want to miss. If you've ever felt the urge to spread your wings and fly then this is the game for you. Ladies and gentlemen, please return your seats and tray tables to their upright positions. Cabin crew to their positions, we're about to open a can of whoop ass...

Pros
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* Responsive controls give players all the confidence they need
* Amazing environments to explore and duel within
* There's a great selection of aircraft, each handling slightly differently
* Inspired free-forming gameplay
* Players are free to vacate their aircraft at anytime to use the ground based weaponry
* Large range of side quests and mission objectives
* Each map has an abundance of hidden items to find and collect
* Outstanding graphics and sound
* Some of the BEST Xbox Live support since... well ever
* Downloadable content

Cons
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* The single player game is over far too quickly

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/04, Updated 06/13/04