If you own an Xbox, you should own this game. Period.
The game takes place in an alternate 1930’s past, with the zeppelin replacing the train, the airplane replacing the car, and the US being diced up into different states. Don’t like Hollywood now? They control the western seaboard in this timeline. The setting certainly makes for a great story as well as creating interesting gameplay opportunities. Because of the relative youth of the nations, as well as the frontier feel to the industrial complexes, piracy becomes the new entrepreneurial trade of choice, with freelancing a distant second.
The game starts with your super suave swashbuckling pirate adventurer Nathan Zachary in bed with a beautiful woman and a hangover. Standing at the foot of the bed is a man holding a pistol, as well as his zeppelin and plane that Nathan lost in a card game the night before. Before the cut scene is out Nathan has stolen a plane, rendezvoused with his wing mate, and devised a plan to win the day. In any other game, this would feel like a pretty flimsy pretext for the preceding 10 or so hours of gameplay, but it feels right at home with all the buckle you’ll be swashing. Nefarious schemes, damsels in distress, old scientists, and more twists and turns than.
The gameplay differs from its PC simulation roots, as it becomes an arcade style dogfight, with missiles and machine guns blazing in glory as you stick it to the bad guys. The maneuvers are varied, such as barrel rolls, 180’s, and fakies being performed at the click of the stick. The maneuvers can change the outcome of a fight, and are counterbalanced with a meter that runs down whenever you use a stung. It recharges at a fair pace, and keeps things tense. All the aircraft you encounter can perform these maneuvers, but that’s about all they have in common. Maneuverability, armor, and weapons all vary dramatically between the airplanes and feel equally satisfying whether in the tank or the fighter so to speak. In addition, upgrade tokens are hidden throughout the landscape that gives the player the opportunity to pimp their rides.
The game has the player performing a number of objectives, from plain dog fighting to defending a train from attack, or if you’re inclined to test your skills you can take part in a timed race through a selected track. If playing someone else’s game isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe you should go rob a zeppelin or add to your repertoire of plains by jacking someone’s ride. There are plenty of things to do, and a great deal of time to do it since the main story lets you swash buckle at your own pace. Even so, the story is so well delivered through exciting missions that you’ll probably be eating up what the game gives you.
The worst part of this game is that the single player offers you only a meager 10-hour serving of some of the best story driven action on the Xbox. Though the single player ends so quickly, the multiplayer comes in for the rebound, and offers an exciting if not unique experience. There are a variety of gameplay modes, ranging from the simple death match and team death match to capture the chicken, which has teams competing for the most time holding the animal. It can get pretty frantic, but it’s always a ton of fun.
The graphics in this game are absolutely top notch, particularly the water and explosions. Planes all look beautiful, even up to the point where they become smoldering wreckage. The zeppelins look good, and more importantly are built to scale, so none of this garbage of small capital ships that most games of this nature experience. Of all of the graphical goodies that this game got, special kudos need to be given to the level design. The cities feel like actual cities, with houses and factories being built realistically, and creating the illusion of an actual society.
The sound in the game couldn’t possibly be better. The musical score fits the game like a glove, tailored to every situation that could arise during your adventure. In addition, the sound effects couldn’t be better. The engines on the airplanes sound meaty and give a good sense of power, the weapons sound meaty and satisfying, the voice acting is top notch, and more importantly the dialogue gives the overwhelming sensation of the time that the game represents. In terms of immersion, this game scores a perfect ten.
Crimson Skies is a breath a game that shouldn’t be missed by anyone with a pulse. Aside from a short single player campaign, this game is nearly perfect, and anyone with an Xbox who hasn’t yet experienced the harrowing tale of Nathan Zachary owes themselves a gander at what makes this adventure so enticing.