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The best Xbox Live game yet?
Since Xbox Live launched, there have been a few noteworthy titles. Ghost Recon provided lots of fun when it was released and the recent Rainbow Six 3 is getting a lot of support. Mech Assault was a first party effort by Microsoft and it proved to be popular with gamers. Crimson Skies is another first party effort that may just dethrone all the other games.
That isn’t to say that the game doesn’t have a decent single player mode because it does. The story is also pretty noteworthy. The United States has broken up and there are several mini-nations that hate each other. They hate each other so much that they destroyed anything connecting them so the best way to travel is by plane. You take control of Nathan Zachary in his quest to regain his lost fortunes. To do this he plans to steal from the currently rich people. Along his side are loyal friends Big John, Dr. Frassenbiender and Better Charles.
Along the way you’ll have to steal or destroy other planes while you enter a multitude of missions. These missions take place in United States staples like Chicago and Hollywood although they look a little different due to the war and all. Completing these missions will you earn you cash to improve your own planes.
It’s easy to see why Microsoft brought this franchise over from the PC. It seems to have been made with the Xbox pad in mind. The button layout is initiative and you’ll get used to it very quickly.
Multiplayer is where the game really shines. There are an ample amount of modes in the game. In Dogfight and Team Dogfight it’s a basic Deathmatch either everyone by themselves or in teams. Flag Heist and Keep Away have you trying to see how long you can keep a certain item. Team Accumulate has the same premise as Flag Heist and Keep Away except you work in teams. Wild Chicken is the craziest one. Here you’ll need to find a chicken and move it to your base.
You can play multiplayer in split-screen, LAN or Xbox Live. While the first two are good, playing in Xbox Live with sixteen people is insane fun.
The visuals in Crimson Skies High Road to Revenge are stunning. The planes in the game are wonderfully modeled and take impressive damage. The environments are great, too, with excellent textures and tons of space. You’ll fight in many places and they all have their own distinct look. Best of all, the frame rate is excellent and there is little to no lag while playing online. If you can, playing this in Progressive Scan is wonderful.
The sounds in the game are just as good. The music fits the game very well and matches the action on screen. The voice overs are well done and showed time and effort to include. There are tons of sound effects in the game. The planes, the various projectiles all have distinct sound effects and they all sound great. Dolby Digital is supported to hear everything even better.
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge is a very impressive game. Saying the game is a technical wonder isn’t an overstatement. But best of all, it’s a blast to play. There are tons of things to do and even more when you play online. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 7, 2003
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