Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

by Microsoft

Product Features

• Games
• Windows

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004VP46
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9 x 2 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 16, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,607 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #86 in Video Games > PC Games > Arcade
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com Review

Hearkening back to the days when flight simulators had story lines and gamers valued playability over flight model fidelity, Crimson Skies is one of the more unusual games to appear in quite some time. The game is set in a fictional 1930s America, where sinister air pirates threaten both the sky and the ground and only you (playing the role of intrepid air adventurer Nathan Zachary) can save the day.

Both the premission briefings and the missions themselves play out like the campiest of Hollywood cliffhanger serials. Everything from the music to the way the dialogue is delivered evoke memories of the few episodes of Mystery Squadron and Tailspin Tommy we've seen. It's the kind of game where your enemies taunt you while you're flying, stately zeppelins float through the sky, and stunts are encouraged--the crazier the better. In fact, every time you perform an aerial feat that is particularly skillful (or stupid), the game automatically takes a picture of the dramatic event for your photo album.

Graphically, things couldn't be much better. The various planes are fanciful caricatures of real models of the period and are very detailed. The terrain and ground objects look amazing and are packed with little details. Mission environments are relatively small, but we never felt confined, thanks to the well-crafted mission objectives.

So is Crimson Skies an action game or a flight simulator? If it's this fun and stylish, who cares? The flight model is realistic enough that dogfights and canyon runs are challenging--speed bleeds off as you climb or tighten your turns, and the planes actually feel like they have some mass and inertia. On the other hand, missions are so over the top that you can't help but feel like you are playing an arcade game. Whether you are squeezing through mountaintop tunnel or barnstorming a hangar (and watching hapless pursuers smack into the sides of said objects), Crimson Skies is more reminiscent of Star Wars than of an episode of Wings on the Discovery Channel. However you want to categorize it, one thing is clear: Crimson Skies is a high-flying blast. --T. Byrl Baker

Product Description

It's 1937. Air pirates roam the skies over a shattered America. You are Nathan Zachary - dashing air pirate and ace pilot. Lead a squadron of privateers in thrilling ground level missions. Along the way romance a bevy of dangerous femme fatales, but be warned - these beauties can turn on you faster than a Fairchild in a terminal tail spin.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I so wanted to give this 5 stars..., November 5, 2000

By 

Kyle Gavin (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson Skies (CD-ROM)

and 4.5 isn't an option. I'll get to that in a bit, but about the good.

Atmosphere: Amazing. While playing, you will become immersed in the world created here. The voice acting is terrific, the in flight chatter is informative (though can be repetetive at times). It's downright fun.

Gameplay: Excellent. If you're looking for something to challenge you to the point where you'll tear your hair out, look somewhere else. But if you want a mildly challenging, but winnable flight/action game, give it a try. The planes handle very well with a gamepad or a joystick. I don't know about keyboard, but who would do that anyway? ;-)

Graphics: Beautiful. Planes look great, terrain, sky, everything. The cut scenes are nice as well. Just check any screen shot.

Now, the downside. Do not pay attention to the minimum requirements. They are way too low. I'm running an Athlon 900, 128 MB of RAM, and a GeForce 2 w/ 64 MB of DDR, and the menus are slow and the game play stauls at times, almost exclusively at the very beginning of each mission. If you have a slower system, you will have to turn all the graphics setting to low in order to play and drop the resolution to the lowest level. I'd suggest getting the demo first.

Couple other points, don't do a full install, it will run even slower. Also, before you even play it, go to www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/ to get the update. It will solve a critical bug that's mentioned in previous review(s).

A great game with an unfortunate problem that will keep the masses from enjoying it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who wants to be an air pirate?, September 26, 2000

By 

croll (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson Skies (CD-ROM)

Flight sims? Fun? Action oriented? Campy? Wait a minute, you said "fun"!?

Talk about being on target, Zipper Interactive has really nailed the fun quotient with Crimson Skies. Forget your preconceptions about flight sims being boring and tedious, overwhelming you with controls, air intake valves and flap setting. There's no fussing with landing gears here... just guns, rockets, and babes!

Think of your images of old radio shows and dramas, a crackling radio, an over-the-top heroic voice that's borderline comical as he proclaims the villain a "dastardly fellow". Add in the energy of a 21st century action game, filled with heroic dogfighting and incredible barrel rolls (no need for the laws of physics here when it might compromise fun), huge explosions, rippling landscapes, and incredible planes... and you've got a fantastic game.

The graphics here really are incredible, after I finish I'm going through all the missions in a bomber just so I can get up close to the ground and fly very slowly, to savor every bit of detail, just superb coloring and lush landscapes. The cutscenes are tastefully done with a feel for old news reels you'd see at the movie theaters in the '30s and '40s, artfully building the plot as it goes.

Gameplay is smooth and easy to quickly pickup. Controls are at a minimum, and though I have a new joystick coming in today, it's perfectly fine to even use the keyboard to fly. Maneuvering is very smooth and the keys are well laid out.

So far (I'm about half way through) the missions are pretty easy, which was apparently intentional as Zipper wanted to make sure everyone completed the game. Despite the ease, the missions are still a lot of fun with plenty of action. There's also a multiplayer option, and a skirmish mode, so you can design your own missions.

My only complaint is the menu interface... it's DARNED clunky and the hard drive chugs away for up to thirty seconds, just when trying to view a minor option on the plane construction screen. I don't know what the problem is here, but Zipper really could have done a better job on this, it detracts from what could otherwise be a very nice feature. Instead, building your own air wing turns into a tedious and mind numbing process. You can't even save your designs for quick reference in the future, just start from scratch.

But the slow menu interface is my only real complaint. This is a fantastic game, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys action games... It's kind of an aerial FPS. ;-)

(I'm running on a Pent III 800 Coppermine with 128M Ram at 100Mhz, Viper V770 32M and a SoundBlaster Live! Value.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Now I'm cooking with gas!, October 21, 2001

By 

Art Vandelay (Kramerica Industries) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson Skies (CD-ROM)

A while back I gave Crimson Skies 1 star for a simple reason, it was a monster on my system, it took ages to load levels and drop screens became a hard drive grinding trap, I swear it even took nearly 4 minutes just to change options or simply exit the game so why my change of tone? Simply put, RAM is the answer! I have just recently beefed up my Compaq PII, 450 mhz, 32mb ATI Rage 128 Pro system from 128mb SDRam to 256 and it was one of the best investments I've made to date! I am now able to click through Crimson Skies radiant screens with ease, drop down's are painless and the levels load like budda! I'm able to crank the graphics to 11 without so much as a glitch or one missed frame, you'd swear I was running a $10,000 gaming machine, fantastic! With the cost of RAM today (I paid $20 at a leading retailer for 128mb) there's no reason not to take full advantage of the amazing, white knuckle adventures Crimson Skies has to offer and it has many, the stunning visuals, super sound, nutty dialog and rollercoaster game play make this title a winner from start to finish!

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