Crimson Skies

The Good
Strap on tight and get ready for some barnstorming aerial fun as you take to the skies in the coolest flight sim to come out of Microsoft. Well, actually calling it a "sim" is stretching things a bit, in fact the game might better be classified as a "sci-fi sim" in the same vein as Wing Commander or Tie Fighter, regardless of the prop aircrafts in it.

The game is based on the boardgame published by FASA (of Battletech fame) and probably came to Microsoft as an added bonus when they acquired the Mechwarrior rights. Taking it's cues from early 20 century radio dramas (wow, doesn't that sound right out of star trek or something? :)) the game throws you into an alternate reality 1930's earth where the great war has torn apart countries like the US in several independent states (like the Kingdom of Hawai!!) and the primary means of transportation and warmaking have become the airplanes of the era. Sort of like Interstate '76, only with the look of movies like the Rocketeer or Indiana Jones, and boy is that "look" realized! This is one of the most perfectly designed games in terms of style and presentation. The whole interface has 1930's written all over it and the game constructs it's radio-drama feel perfectly with a blend of stylish B&W photos, newspaper articles you collect in your scrapbook, funny "memento" pictures you take aboard your plane as well as the "News on the March"-like style of the cutscenes and the amazingly orchestrated serials-influenced dynamic soundtrack. Heck, the soundtrack alone deserves a place in the spotlight as one of the most fantastic soundtracks I've heard for these types of games, beaten only by X-Wing Alliance and its use of John William's classic score.

As for the story and gameplay premise, you play as Nathan Zachary, your everyday "gentleman pirate". You know, dashing, courageus, a hit with the ladies, and honorable as opposed to the other aerial pirates out there. From your zeppelin/capital-ship you'll launch with your merry band of pirates to complete a series of mercenary campaigns that string together a larger plot as usual for these types of games. Said campaigns take you all over the place from the pacific ocean to sky-scrapper filled New York, glitzy Hollywood and sunny Hawai.

As mentioned the game plays like a sci-fi sim, meaning that it emphasizes action and gameplay over realistic game mechanics. In fact, your airplanes might be X-Wings for all you care, having no drag, no stalling or climbing problems and unheard of aerodynamic properties. Not a problem for me, as I love these types of games! Wisely, the developers included a variety of camera views, but placed the focus on the default fixed chase cam, which essentially turns the game into a much more detailed aircraft version of Rogue Squadron.

Of course, unlike that game you have a much less arcadey gameplay premise and the missions often span several complex objectives that go beyond "kill X thing" and involve puzzle elements and scripted events. Also included is the aspect of stunt-flying which is a winner for me and that involves precision-flying through narrow spaces and tight locations. Several missions are solely dedicated to that, like a race through manhattan near the end of the game and a kickass hollywood stunts trial. These elements seem to be love-or-hate for some, but I think they add an original level of excitement and fit perfectly in the game world, as well as serving as a nice extra for each mission (most of the times stunt locations are hidden in the levels and are there for bonus purposes as they unlock new mementos or scrapbook articles).

As the leader of the mercenary squadron you also get to choose what type of plane to take with you, and after you have accumulated enough cash, build a custom plane yourself in the best I76 tradition, selecting from a variety of wacky chassis and gun calibers as well as rocket types and even color. Unfortunately you have a few missions which force a specific plane on you, and your custom plane cannot be modified, but what the heck, right?

Technically speaking it's worth noting the great graphics engine under the hood of this game, which delivers great models and detailed textures as well as other niceties such as impressive ground detail and draw distance. And you also have a multiplayer mode to continue the dogfighting bonanza after you've beaten the main game!

The Bad
Practically the only bad thing I can mention about this jewel is that some of the missions can be a real pain (that gyro mission alone is unbelievable in it's difficulty) but fortunately the game allows you to skip the missions if you are not up to it and try them later on. Well, I guess that leaves the long load times and the graphic bugs as the only main gripe, but if you get the patch then that's about gone too.

The Bottom Line
Fantastic stylish sim that blends exciting action and killer production design into a masterpiece of the genre. Do not miss this game! It's unique setting and incredible gameplay alone makes it a clear home-run.