Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Xbox)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.9 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Jeff Gerstmann
• Reviewed on: 10/23/2003
• Released on: 10/21/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Xbox) Review

While Xbox Live launched alongside several solid online games, the one that really stood out as a winner, almost immediately, was Microsoft's giant robot shooter, MechAssault. The hot action, combined with some nice mode selections (which were only enhanced over time as downloadable content was released) made the game a smash hit. Now, nearly one year later, Microsoft is in the position of doing what it can to keep the service's initial subscribers onboard for another year of Xbox Live. So what better way to do it than with another great online shooter? Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge takes the hot action to the skies for some furious dogfighting, and it does so with the same brand of pick-up-and-play as MechAssault. However, Crimson Skies does it at an even faster, more exciting pace, and does so without sacrificing the quality of the single-player game.

While playing the game online almost makes the single-player seem insignificant by comparison, the game's single-player campaign is very well done. The game is the same sort of mission-based flight simulator that you'd expect from a Wing Commander or Star Wars Rogue Squadron, but its structure and design is a bit different--and better. When it comes to this sort of mission-driven simulator, one level-type almost always brings the game to a halt: the defense/escort mission. Let's face the facts. Defending a large, sitting duck of a capital ship simply isn't as much fun as raiding enemy encampments or dogfighting with smaller targets. Crimson Skies has its fair share of defense missions, where you'll be protecting zeppelins or encampments from incoming attackers, but the game handles these missions pretty well. Rather than requiring you to baby-sit your zeppelin to prevent it from exploding, the targets you're defending tend to be fairly tough. Therefore they can stand up to some punishment, allowing you to go off and dogfight against enemy planes without having to always keep both eyes on your prize. Though these missions still aren't quite as fun as, say, the level where you man the gun turret on a moving truck and blow planes out of the sky while also destroying several airplane hangars, this slightly easier take on the formula really makes all the difference in the world, and it prevents you from having to meticulously play the game's escort missions to proceed.

The campaign is broken up into areas, and you'll often have more than one mission at your disposal, though only one path of missions takes you to the game's next plot point; the rest are just for show, letting you collect money that can be used for repairs or upgrades to your planes. The game's story takes place in an alternate version of the 1930s that saw the nation's railroads torn apart by wars between fiefdoms that run what's left of North America. With no railways to transport goods, society turns to the air, and large zeppelins are now used to move things from one place to another. This opens up the world to air piracy, and you play a pilot named Nathan Zachary, a smooth-talking Indiana Jones-type who leads a ragtag group of freelancers known as the "Fortune Hunters." After an opening cutscene in which Nathan steals back the plane he lost in a drunken poker game the previous evening, the game gets under way. The single-player campaign is of average length, clocking in at around 10 hours, but the game's optional missions and plane upgrades keep it interesting and fun.

Regardless of what mode you're playing, flying planes is already fun. The control is pretty streamlined, making it easy to learn, but there's definitely some depth to its gameplay. You can control your speed, to a certain extent, and you can also perform evasive maneuvers, like rolls and Immelman turns, with the right analog stick. Boosting your speed and performing stunts both drain your special meter, but it recharges quickly when it's not in use. You have a primary gun, with unlimited ammo, and a secondary weapon, with limited ammo, at your disposal, and some of the game's machines give you the ability to zoom in for a better shot. The game has a good collection of different planes. You can pick from them right off the bat in multiplayer, while in single-player you'll only be given the option to fly a plane, at will, once you've discovered it in one of the levels. You start out in a pretty strong plane, known as the devastator, but you'll earn the ability to fly plenty of other planes with a variety of machine guns, rockets, and railgun-style sniper shots. You'll even gain access to a gyrocopter that can stop completely in midair, which makes lining up those sniper shots a bit easier--at the expense of making you an extremely easy target.

As cool as the game's single-player section is, the online mode is where the real action is at. Up to 16 players can compete in six different games on five different multiplayer maps. Dogfight and team dogfight are simple shoot-'em-ups. Keep away is also available as a solo or team affair, and it works as a king of the hill game, where one player or team must collect and hold an item for a specified amount of time. Flag heist is your basic game of capture the flag, while wild chicken has the players chasing down a flying chicken for bonus points--in addition to trying to shoot each other out of the sky. Though standard free-for-alls are exciting, the capture-the-flag mode is the one that feels like it has the most depth. The game also has support for downloadable content. Though nothing is available at this time, it's pretty safe to assume that we'll eventually see more maps and/or modes added to the game.

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