Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Dashing heroes, dangerous dames, and deadly dogfights! That’s what the friendly
skies have in wait for you when you pop Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
in your Xbox console. America does not exist as we know it. Texas seceded from
the U.S. in an alternate past, and it’s a collection of nation-states now. Fighting
is common among these nation-states and they have isolated themselves by demolishing
roads, bridges and railways. The zeppelin and airplane have replaced cars and
trains as the only reliable modes of transport. As these nations make war in
the air, a new breed of air pirates has taken to the skies to seek -and steal-
their fortunes. That’s where you come in, as Nathan Zachary, a rough and tumble
air pirate out to make his fortune.

Overall this has to be one of the greatest games created for the Xbox. There
are 10 different airplanes that vary in speed, handling, armor and firepower,
including a sniper like gyro-copter. Flying around is pure bliss, the levels
are huge and have beautiful mountains, caves, and canyons to hide from your
enemies. In the single player campaign you play from area to area, with the
ability to land and repair your plane, land it and steal another, and get into
land based anti-aircraft gun positions. All of this is done with some down right
impressive CGV footage of your plane landing, you getting out, and entering
whatever you may be, uh, borrowing!

The action is fast and furious with multiple enemies coming at you and your
wingman at the same time. Having trouble taking them all out before they shoot
you down? Then dock with your zeppelin, The Pandora, and get in one of it’s
gun turrets to blast the hell out of them! Finding yourself with wings full
of machine guns holes and fire spewing from your engine? Land at the repair
shop to get back in shape, but it will cost you. Money is earned in the game
by taking up jobs or racing through dangerous landscapes during missions.

You can also perform some aerial acrobatics to get out from in front of an
enemy with some fancy moves of the analog sticks on your controller. When the
enemy is gunning from behind, slam out an Immelmann to do an aerial 180 and
take him on head on.

This
is where the game really shines. A year ago Xbox introduced us to MechAssault
and it set the Live! community on it’s ear. 16 player dogfights are the hot
ticket for the day, if you can keep up and down straight while you climb, dive,
and swoop your way to victory. Trash talking your friends with the Xbox Live!
communicator takes on a whole new level at 10,000 feet!

5 different maps are currently available to play on Xbox Live! Sea Haven, Arixo,
Lost City, Chicago, and Windy City. Online game modes include dogfight, team
dogfight, flag heist, keep away, team accumulate, and wild chicken!

Downloadable content is also on the way to keep this game fresh for months
to come.

The default controller setup is illustrated in the diagram below. Moving the
left and right thumbsticks in different directions will also create some special
moves. The control is easy to get used to so you can jump right on in and fly
with the best of them, however mastering the moves will take a bit of time.
Overall the learning curve is short, perhaps twenty minutes.

Graphics in the game are drop dead gorgeous. The airplane models are very retro-futuristic,
if that is even possible! Draw distance is almost out of this world, you can
see for miles. Sweet effects like blurring when you use your speed boost almost
give you the need to have a barf bag handy! Your planes get a nice trashed out
look when you take major damage, and going into a flat spin after being punished
in the air is a site to behold. HDTV 480p is a supported mode in the game.

 

 

[ Additional Screenshots Temporarily Unavailable, Sorry. ]

Dolby Digital is the staple of all Xbox games, and the sound on this one is
dead on. Hearing the shots of your opponent coming from behind and whizzing
past your head really gets you into the spirit of this game. The soundtrack
for the single player game sets the tone perfectly, and the voice overs are
done excellently. Go into a steep dive, and listen to the wind whistle around
your wings.

Xbox Live! will keep you coming back for more, plus the downloadable content
will keep you busy while trying to become the top ace on Live!

Overall Score: 9.5/10 [Not an Average]

• Official Game Site
• Microsoft
  Game Studios
• Crimson
  Skies: High Road to Revenge Screenshots (Temporarily Unavailable, Sorry.)
• Crimson Skies: High
  Road to Revenge Cheats and Hints
• Buy
  Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge from Amazon.com
• Buy
  Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge from EB Games

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