Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge Preview

Crimson Skies has been taking its sweet time in coming to the Xbox. The promising flight-based action game was first expected to hit the Xbox last year but was pushed back to this fall. While delays are sometimes a red flag for trouble, in Crimson Skies' case, the extra time afforded developer Fasa Studios the opportunity to include some impressive extras in the game's multiplayer modes. We recently sat down with a new preview version of the game that featured more of the single-player mode, as well as the multiplayer component, to see how everything is coming together.

For those unfamiliar with Crimson Skies, the game is set in an alternate universe first introduced to players in a PC game of the same name released in 2000. In the game, the world ended up quite differently following the Great Depression in the 1930s. In the gameworld, the Great Depression caused the United States to break up into a host of regional fiefdoms that were in a state of constant skirmishing. The fighting eventually led to the breakdown of the railway system, which forced these nations to rely on aircraft for commerce and travel. As a result, the skies soon became crowded with passenger and cargo traffic. Unfortunately, as airborne trade grew, so did the menace of "air pirates."

However, while Crimson Skies may share the same universe as its PC namesake, the similarities end there. Fasa has gone ahead and crafted an original game specifically for the Xbox. You'll find two main modes in Crimson Skies: single-player and multiplayer. Single-player follows your adventures as Nathan Zachary, a budding entrepreneur of the air pirate variety. Things start out lighthearted enough, as Nathan is literally caught with his pants down and must set out to recover his zeppelin, The Pandora, but the game's story quickly takes a slightly darker turn. A friend of Nathan's entrusts him with plans for a powerful device capable of warping the weather. While the item has many philanthropic uses, such as ending droughts, it also makes a swell weapon. So, faster than you can say "high road to revenge," the professor is pushing up daisies and Nathan is out looking for a little vengeance.

While the game's story obviously follows a very deliberate path, you'll actually have quite a few options when playing. Rather than follow a strictly linear path through the game, you'll find that you'll be able to freely roam the various environments and take on assorted missions from various NPCs. The main narrative will unfold via story sequences that are triggered when you complete specific missions. The nice thing about the free-roaming element of the game is that it actually rewards you for exploring. In addition to finding NPCs to interact with and get jobs from, which will earn you some nice cash rewards, you'll be able to collect the upgrade tokens strewn throughout the levels. The tokens can be used, in tandem with cash, to upgrade your plane. While not terribly essential at the start of your adventure, upgrades are vital to staying in the game as you progress.

The multiplayer mode will offer several options for you to play with friends on- or offline. You'll find a nice selection of game types for split-screen, system link, and Xbox Live play. There will be six types of games to choose from: dogfight, team dogfight, keep away, team keep away, flag heist, and wild chicken. Dogfight and team dogfight are self-explanatory sky battles between you and a group of friends. Keep away and team keep away require you or your team to hang onto loot in the game for a specified amount of time. Flag heist requires you to steal your opponents' flag from their base and return it to yours. The catch is that your flag must be in your home base for you to score. Finally, wild chicken requires you to catch and deposit a flying chicken at your home base for points. While you'll earn points for shooting down enemy craft in this game, the real money is in catching the chicken. The multiplayer games will be customizable to a degree, as you'll be able to choose the time limit and the number of points needed to win for each game. You'll be able to play each of the modes with up to four players on a split screen and up to 16 players via system link and Xbox Live.

The gameplay mechanics in Crimson Skies are both accessible and fun. You'll steer with the left analog stick and shoot your primary and secondary weapons with the left and right triggers. The Y and B buttons will speed you up and slow you down, respectively. The solid controls are spruced up considerably by the use of both analog sticks to perform special aerial maneuvers. While the flashy stunts are nice to look at when you start the game, they eventually become integral to surviving combat, as they'll allow you to dodge enemy fire and perform quick 180-degree turns. The X button also serves as a context-sensitive "use" button that will let you interact with NPCs, structures, and turrets and even steal other planes, if you so desire.

The graphics in the game have been polished to a high sheen. The plane models are made up of a generous number of polygons and look great. You'll also notice fine details such as moving rudders and weathered paint jobs with faded decals. Exhaust and heat effects around the propellers round out the package. The environments are pretty stunning, thanks to an excellent sense of scale and a host of complementary details. You'll even see weather fronts come up, complete with impressive rain and lightning effects. The plane and boss designs are pretty slick and certainly keep things interesting. Best of all, the game especially shines on HDTVs, thanks to 480p support.

The audio is shaping up quite nicely. Even if you can't enjoy the Dolby 5.1 support, Crimson Skies' overall aural presentation is pleasantly immersive. The voice acting in the game is solid and fits the game's tone well. The soundtrack features a suitably pulpy collection of tunes that recalls old Saturday matinee movies with Errol Flynn. The sound effects for the plane engines and weapons fire do an excellent job of placing you in the action.

Based on what we've seen so far, Crimson Skies is poised to be one of the bright lights in the Xbox lineup this fall. The single-player mode is strong, and the multiplayer options are impressive and varied. The game's control is tight and easy to pick up, making it quite accessible to players of all skill levels. Anyone looking for a well-rounded game with a lot to offer will want to keep an eye out for Crimson Skies when it ships this fall.