Gaming Target - Xbox: Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Written by Nick Doukas on January 15, 2004

Full Review: Damn it feels good to be a gangstaЕ

Crimson Skies has been a long time coming. Originally slated for release in December 2002, the game was sent back to the drawing board and completely revamped. The development team spent a full year to include the addition of online play and redesign the story mode, as well as tweak the visuals and overall gameplay mechanics. Was it worth the wait? The answer is a resounding yes. Read on to see why CS is the flight combat game that Xbox owners have been waiting forЕ

High Road To Revenge places you into the role of Nathan Zachary, ace pilot, incorrigible sky pirate and all around scoundrel (with the requisite heart of gold of course). Welcome to Nathan's world, an alternate 1930's history where severe economic depression has split The United States into numerous separate factions, and tricked out warplanes, massive zeppelins and various other sky traffic are the order of the day. It's a fantastic and whimsical world and a true testament to the games art design, which is -- in a word -- brilliant.

Crimson Skies eschews traditional linear gameplay for a more open-ended approach. Each part of the story takes place in a УhubФ world, and launches you from your home base -- a huge zeppelin call the Pandora -- into the skies and allows you to simply fly around and look at the scenery. Once you've done that for a while, you can go after the numerous air-ships and take them out for some extra cash (hey, you are an air pirate after all, so why not grab some booty?). Just be forewarned that the local air militia frowns upon that sort of behavior; so be prepared for some dogfighting. Each world has several missions that can be picked up by following your radar to the blue cash icons scattered throughout the boards. Though all of the missions are great fun and add to the depth of the narrative, only certain ones will actually advance the story to the next level. Once you hit those, the plot unfolds through phenomenal looking cut-scenes that feature stunning visuals and excellent voice acting. The story takes you from the ocean front volcano burg of Sea Haven, to the ultimate high-rise metropolis of Chicago and on to the American southwest. Each area is chock full of fun things to do, and oozes personality.

The game controls beautifully. You'll steer your craft with the left thumbstick, while using the right to roll and pull off special maneuvers (click in the stick, and you'll perform snap turns, immelmanns and barrel rolls like a seasoned pro). The Y button activates the turbo boost (which is limited, but the meter recharges quickly when not in use) and B applies the brakes, which are invaluable when trying to stay on an enemy's six. The right trigger fires your primary weapon, and the left the secondary. Your main armament has unlimited ammo, but the secondary doesn't. You'll need to replenish it by scooping up the crates that drop from a downed enemy plane Ц health pick-ups are also jettisoned and retrieved in the same manner. The X button is used to activate missions (just hit it while flying over the designated area) and the directional pad allows you to view your plane from several different angles. The controls are spot-on, and make flying and dogfighting second nature almost immediately.

The missions in the SP campaign are a nice mix of straight-up fighting, raiding enemy encampments, escorting trains and zeppelins and various other seek and destroy sorties. Chasing down enemies as you blow away stationary guns, then turning on a dime and rocketing after the remaining bogies is quite thrilling. The game design really shines when you go up against the stage end bosses. A massive Zeppelin eater, a huge mechanical worm, and a giant mecha-spider are just some of the freaky machines you'll face. You can also land your plane and take control of various AA guns throughout the adventure, which is accomplished by hitting X as you fly near them. The game shows a nice animation of Nathan landing his plane and exiting the cockpit. When you're ready just hit X again to return to the skies.

Crimson Skies provides you with a nice assortment of fantasy aircraft - from Dogfighters to Interceptors and Zep killers. The default plane, Nathan's Devastator, is a nice balance of speed and power that features Quad machine guns and magnetic rockets. As you progress through the missions, you'll continue to find new planes, which can be stored in the landing bay of the Pandora and used at will (though all of the planes are available immediately in multiplayer). The Desert Fox, a speed demon loaded with Mini-rockets, the Brigand -- a big, heavy Zep killer with a rear mounted turret, and my personal favorite Ц the Dust Devil Ц all give the game a nice sense of balance and perform admirably. You'll also be able to find upgrade tokens scattered throughout the hub worlds, and these can be used to increase your plane's speed and armor. Repair stations are also found on the maps, and for a few bucks you can fully repair and rearm your damaged aircraft.

Graphically CS has few equals. Everything looks absolutely perfect Ц from the incredible landscapes dotted with cool structures, to the ultra-detailed planes (watch the flaps pop on the Devastator when you hit the brakes!) it's all stunningly presented. The water in particular looks insanely real, and if you skim the surface, water droplets spray your screen. Little touches like this make the game really standout, and push it to the forefront of Xbox visuals. Flying through Chicago at twilight -- with the sun reflecting off of the water -- is a surreal experience that simply can't be described, you really need to see it for yourself. Weapon's fire looks fantastic, and the enemy planes burn and break apart nicely, trailing black smoke and belching flames as the pieces spiral towards the ground. The sound is just as well implemented, with the bark of heavy machineguns and the whooshing of rockets as they launch towards an enemy plane sounding spot-on perfect. All of the voice acting is fantastic, and the music is some of the best original stuff I've yet heard in a game. The fanfare and flourish that plays when you waste the last enemy in a mission really gets you pumped, and while it's an obvious homage to John Williams, it's done so well that it transcends mere mimicry.

Crimson Skies can be recommended whole-heartedly for its single player game alone, but the multiplayer is where this title really pulls out all the stops. You can go at it with up to 16 players via Xbox Live in gametypes such as Dogfight, Team Dogfight, Keep Away, Flag Heist and Wild Chicken. All of the modes are incredibly fun, and coordinating attacks with your wingmen never gets old. The game performs well online, though those hosts with lower bandwidth should keep the numbers down. You may find yourself flying through a health and not have it register for a few seconds, a sure sign that junior is over-hosting. You'll rarely see planes teleporting around the maps, but that doesn't mean there's no lag. I personally prefer hosting a smaller game (8 Ц 10) even though I have enough upload to handle more. It gives you room to breath and prevents the match from degenerating into a dim-witted slug-fest. Much like Live's flagship title MechAssault, CS allows for downloadable content (new planes and maps). Currently, the Fury (a kickin' little dogfighter) and Caverns (an underground map) are available to DL, with more content to be offered in the near future.