CRIMSON SKIES: HIGH ROAD TO REVENGE (XBOX)


Clearly, this is no plain plane game

By WILLIAM BARKER

There's something nostalgic about the 30s. Perhaps it has something to do with pantaloons, or bootleg liquor, or the word 'dapper chappy', but whatever the case, it makes for a you-beaut videogame setting.

From the get-go, Crimson Skies: High Road to High Revenge (CS2) has the same such early 1900s industrial age vibe down lickety split.

From the brown-and-white intro, to the voice-overs, to the uniquely carburetted engine sounds, aircraft designs and even to the freaky Mechano-esque robotic end bosses, it's all so deliciously ambient and faithful to the era that it's hard not to smile and feel happy that the development team has put in so much effort.

Zoom out from the finer details however, and CS2 is a very solid action-oriented flight sim, with heaps of guns, rockets, explosions and thrilling escapes. It could be seen as the sequel to the well-regarded Crimson Skies PC game that was released late in 2000, and which introduced a novel approach to a combat flight sim - that of an alternate 1930s aero-reality.

The Xbox version of Crimson Skies uses an all-new game engine, which incorporates fantastic graphics, adds a few interesting new features to the mix and, best of all, you can invite 15 of your favourite militant monkeys to a multiplayer compression session and have a slapdash time via system link, LAN or Xbox Live.

The gameplay that made the original game so solid is back, and even better than before. It's really quite compelling, and if not for the impressive multiplayer capabilities, I'd be whining and whinging about the fact that there should be more single player missions.

That's not to say that the single player game is over quicker than you can say "Wow, those stains ARE real!" but it's just that because it is such a gripping single player campaign, it's very hard to put down and therefore seems short. Kind of like Halo, I'll be playing through the single player game for quite some time to come on the different difficulty levels.

Before I go any further, allow me to set the scene: It's the 1930s, but a slightly different 1930s than the one we have recorded in dusty old books. In this world, the four-wheeled terrestrial vehicle (a.k.a the car) plays second fiddle to the aeroplane - the most popular mode of transport in the world.

As such, everything in society has evolved to accommodate this high altitude method of transport, so the cities reach high, the roads are few and massive zeppelins serve as drive-through fast food outlets. Not surprisingly, your headquarters is aboard one of these gas filled and heavily armed vessels, but sadly you don't get to serve soggy saltified filth to unwitting customers. Maybe next time, eh?

The single player game is made up of four major regions, each of which can be accessed by completing the proceeding area.

While each region has an overriding mission goal, which is closely related to the story, you are free to just cruise around, look for missions and collect tokens scattered around the landscape, which can then be spent on upgrading your aeroplanes.

Having been a big fan of the original on the PC, I was a smite hesitant about how the control scheme would work on the Xbox. After all, keyboard-mouse-joystick combinations are far more versatile than any wannabe gamepad device.

But I'll give credit where credit's due, and this here game offers brilliant controls.

It's not so much the fact that everything works effectively and without delay - you can perform deliciously ostentatious Immelmans, Yo-Yos, Barrel Rolls and Inverted Esses with ease - but it is when push comes to shove that the controls truly shine.

When its time to pop a few caps in the peeps who haven't been giving you props, pick off a few bogies, mow down some pointy-hats, CS2 is very rewarding. Played from the third-person perspective, CS2 somehow manages to offer a very precise and rewarding combat engine, and while there's no cockpit view, the aircraft look so good that this won't be an issue for most.

Dog fighting with small and agile enemy attack craft similar to your own is always a challenge, even on the easier difficulty levels, but a very satisfying challenge at that. The controls are very responsive, are not overly complex (which will please the newbies) and the way enemy aircraft slowly disintegrate looks awesome after you've peppered their fuselage with hot lead.

In your repertoire of airborne tricks, you have primary and secondary weapons, brakes and a turbo gauge. This last number can be used to dramatically increase speed and get away from a marauding pack of adversaries, and the turbo meter also drains when you perform special moves, such as the Inverted Immelmans and so forth.

While the feel of flying the planes about, and being relatively unrestricted in where you go is superb to say the least, the intensity of combat is heightened by the impressive aesthetics.

The "thud-thud-thud" of high calibre machine guns of yore never tires, the booming explosions would make Joel Schumacher flinch and the eerie whine your plane makes as you attempt a dive from high altitude are all highlights.

The orchestral score is quite grandiose, but very fitting given the 1930s setting. And the graphics? Slap me with a rainbow trout and call me William Melty Eyes, 'coz this is some sweet, sweet sugar folks.

For starters, the anti-aliasing is extremely impressive, and when combined with some clever bump mapping it makes the game look amazingly detailed, whether from afar or up close.

The planes are immaculately detailed, weapons fire is more than drool worthy and the seamless fashion in which cut scenes for landing in planes and using turrets unfold gives the game a real high quality feel.

The clipping range is impressive, object complexity is high, and texture detail well above the norm.

The big-bastard end bosses and larger craft, such as zeppelins, are often massive, giving you a sense of dread in such situations as you circle gargantuan opponents looking for weak spots.

Whether you're flying over beautifully reflective ocean scapes or deep brown canyons, the background visuals are second to none. There's a lot of attention to detail on the planes too, and when running at 30fps, it boggles the mind to think that a lowly 733Mhz Celeron is pumping out so many polygons.

Explosions look very nice, with fallen enemies igniting convincingly into chunks of flaming debris, complete with eye-catching transparent smoke trails that arc downwards as gravity takes hold of the detritus. And speaking of smoke trails, missiles and rockets look brilliant, as do most of the weapons on offer.

Most aircraft are equipped with one of two primary machine gun-based weapons in varying numbers and secondary weapons, such as semi-homing rockets, large bore shotguns and EMP lasers. These secondary weapons have a limited supply and, generally offer more eye candy than the primaries and serve well when things are looking grim.

During gameplay, you can land in various places and take control of stationary weapons turrets, such as quad AA guns, rocket launchers, flak cannons and there's even some levels that allow you to board moving vehicles, one example is an early level where you can land on a boat and shoot manually guided missiles. Taking yourself out has never been so much fun!

So, while we've established that the dog fights are rewarding, the graphics and sound kick arse and the gameplay is so compelling it hurts your hypothalamus, what about the multiplayer aspect?

Well, I've got three words for you guys: Hail to the king! Heheh, in all unseriousness though, playing with a crew of unknowns from more than a 1000 miles away is awesome fun, and trash talking them into tears is even better (Scientology_Meister had it coming).

With a fairly stable ADSL connection, we were able to play almost entirely American-hosted games with minimal lag. Granted, when the maximum of 16 players are going at it, things can become a little sketchy, but in general the online experience was excellent and I'm now an official Xbox Live junkie. Say goodbye to sunlight…

Sometimes when talking to other players, their voices would come through a little garbled as well, but the gameplay experience was well above expectations with 10 players going the tonk simultaneously.

And, with a plethora of game modes, including DM, Team DM, CTF and all the other usual suspects, such as Wild Chicken and Keep Away, longevity is well and truly taken care of. It's also nice to have global ranking in addition.

Furthermore, the use of turrets and other stationary weapons comes into play a little more during online games, with their improved armour and zooming capabilities coming in very handy for defending flags and improving your frag score. Downloadable content is also part of the package, and new planes are rumoured to be in the pipeline, which is nice.

Non-online multiplayer modes, such as split screen and system link games, also offer hours of entertainment, but once you've been online, everything else starts to look staid.

Crimson Skies: The Road to High Adventure has a light-hearted feel that seems to permeate every facet of the game and, at times, it becomes a very flamboyant romp through a 1930s that never existed.

I really liked Crimson Skies on the Xbox - it's a very playable and inspiring title. It's the kind of game that will bring new gamers, and indeed Sony-only gamers into the Xbox mould, what with its ultra-high production values and succulent gameplay. There is a chance that some gamers will quickly tire of the dogfighting on offer, but for most, there will be little to complain about.

When you throw fast-paced aerial combat into the mix, solid multiplayer features online and off, along with an undeniably charming cast (voiced by the original CS crew), a gobsmacking visual presence and booming sound effects, you're left with one of the year's best Xbox games.

ORIGINALITY 85%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 95%
PLAYABILITY 90%
ENJOYMENT 95%
OVERALL 95%