Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge(IMG:
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2003/all/boxshots2/559078.jpg)
TITLE: Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
PUBLISHER: MS
DEVELOPER: MS
DATE RELEASED: October 21, 2003
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1-?
XBOX SYSTEM LINK: yes, 2-16
XBOX LIVE COMPATABLE: yes
HDTV Support: 480p
5.1 Surround Sound: yes
GENRE: Action
PLATFORM: XBOX
ESRB: Teen: Suggestive Themes,Violence
Retail Price: $49.99
Dont confuse this game with the old Crimson Skies that came out on the pc back in 2000, these two games are as diffrent as night and day.
First off i would like to point out that i been keeping close tabs on this game for a long time..at one point MS was disappointed with the team that was working on this title and replaced the entire team with a new team of developers and apperently this was the best move they could of done because Crimson Skies is a total blast to play, not only is Single Player mode rock'n good fun but the Online Play Mode is the meat and potatoes of this highly addicting game.
Gameplay/ModesI'll start off with single player and save the best for last not to say single player mode is lacking because its not. Single player is fun and exciting. The story driven single player missons are intresting and unique and bring a refreshing feel to this genre. Basically you start off in a section where your base is at which is an island of sorts and from that point on you'll fly by checkpoints either to repair your craft or to take on new missions & challenges. This i think was a perfect system for this type of game..it not only makes it fun to just fly around on your own to view the spectacular visuals but also lets you practice new flying techniques that you will need when you encoutner intense dog fights but when your in the mood or ready to tackle a new mission its as simple as flying to a certain check point and accepting that new mission or challenge.
Missions are varied and are not only just plain old dog fighting missions but you'll be assigned to defend a zeppelin which is your mother ship, escorting ships,eliminating certain objectives and even jump on double turret guns on your mother ship Zeppelin. Along with that you'll have multi choices in what missions you can accept at any given time which brings a feel of giving you the gamer the choice of where you want to take this game to rather then letting the game dictate where you must go and what you must accept...very nice touch from the developers i will say.
The gun turret missions are totally amazing..i was in a very very intense battle as i fought off dog fighters swooping in on my mother ship. I was knocking down fighter after fighter but they just kept coming from all directions, the feel of this mission was so intense i was litterly jumping out my couch in total excitment.......pure adrenaline rush!
The dog fighting missions are well done and the cpu fighters are no slouch. Not only are they intelligent but they are very well trained dog fighters making missions last long but never boring. Again, that same excitement as the gun turret fighting is as intense in plane to plane dog fighting..awesome indeed!
You will also be able to get new planes of course, there are many to get and all have their own strength and weakness so finding that craft that fits your liking will take some time but even the first plane you start off with controls great and looks pretty cool as it is.
Online play i just icing on the cake. Dog fighting on Xbox Live with Crimson Skies is the most intense fighting of any kind i've ever played online. Its really hard to explain the extreme intense feeling when dog fighting with a bunch of other real players online...words cant describe the insane amount of fun that is given to you when playing this game online. Just seeing planes flying around exploding here and there,etc is a blast to see and when another xbox live player gets behind you chasing you through the air as you two dog fight is a awesome but intense feeling.
There is a nice selection of modes for online play and if your one of those with Xbox Live, this is a MUST have title for Live. You wont be disppointed, Live play only gives this 50 dollar game more replay value.
Graphics/SoundIf i had one gripe about xbox games it would be that not many developers outside 1st party development truly take full advantage of the xbox hardware..well seeing how this is a in-house game developement i was expecting to see amazing visuals and my expectations were met and even exceeded.
The graphics in Crimson Skies are totally jaw dropping. I was floored once i got in my plane and flew around just looking at the enviorments. With insane draw distance and the best looking water & shores i've ever seen in a videogame to date and the plane models are just dripping with poly's ...oh and i cant forget to mention the nicely modeled terrain, not only do they look great but they look detailed and solid like any terrian enviorment should.
Particle effects and graphical effects in general are astounding. When you start to dog fight you see your enemy as you attack him start to stream smoke off its craft as you keep spitting bullets into it with your planes guns. Along with that you'll see smoke and fire spew out from damaged area's in crafts particularly the engine area....now thats nice detail i like to see. Explosions are amazing as well..when you shoot down the enemy planes with a rocket they explode in a very very realistic fashion making it a blast to keep coming back to dog fights, its very rewarding to see spectacular explosions after a long dog fight with a enemy fighter.
This is what i expect out of my big black xbox, i knew it had power and finally we are seeing that power being used. I was impressed with the games graphics and this is one of the best looking xbox games to date.
Sound is another thing i was hoping would turn out well and it came out as one of the best sounding games i've ever heard. Crimson Skies music score is dramatic and intense like any star wars flick. As i said..its very dramatic and gives you the feeling that your not just playing a videogame but an action/adventure movie and thats what sound should do to a gamer..give you a feeling that its not a game your playing but a movie your playing in. I suggest you turn your surround sound system up when you play this game so you dont miss out on this awesome sounding game. Everything in the sound dept is second to none and just like the games graphics and gameplay...the sound is just as amazing.
Final ThoughtsCrimson Skies surpassed my expectations bigtime..i knew it was going to be a solid title but i had no idea it would turn out this great. I would highly recommend this game as Game of the Year if i was given the chance. Not only is the single player mode fun and intresting but the real bang for the buck comes with Online Play.
I been trying to find negatives about this game and i really havent found any negatives worth pointing out. I know every game has its bad points and no game is ever perfect but this game in my opinion is near perfect.
Let it be known, xbox is here to stay and if MS can keep pumping out stellar titles like Crimson Skies i would not be suprised to see xbox eventually be the leading console in the world.
Positives:- Great single player mode
- Awesome Online Play
- Visuals and Sound are spectacular
Negatives- The single player missions run out sooner or later
- Controls take a bit to get use to
Review by TGD This post has been edited by DuDeR MaN: Jan 22 2004, 03:27 AM
