Customer Reviews

Crimson Skies

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.)

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!

I have owned or played virtually every combat flight simulator that was ever worth anything on the market and even experimented with a few. This is by far the most enjoyable online experience with customizable planes, armor, ammunition and engines you can practically create your own weapon of destruction or flying coffin. I have played the game through to the end and enjoyed every minute of it. Although the enemy AI could use some work the flying challenge in some of the missions make up for it. Also the Difficulty level can be increased to provide that extra challenge. The slow menu load time is a known glitch and I fell with the quality of the graphics , is worth the wait. I have run this game on a COMPAQ Presario 1700XL laptop PIII500 with 196MB ram and it plays fine. My main system is a PIII650 256MB RAM Voodoo5 5500 64MB and I have had no problems at all. It plays much better in Windows 2000 Server as well as Professional than in Windows ME with greater stability both online and offline. I guess the issue is whether or not your mix of harware is optimized to run the game not necessarily the specs. If your hardware must use extra resources to intercommunicate then you would realize degraded performance. Hell It worked on the laptop with 8MB of video ram and no voodoo or high end graphics just a Rage mobile graphics chipset. I think the increased hardware requirements are overrated. I have tried it on 4 machines and have had no need to go any higher than PIII650. The Voodoo3 issue is valid though I have encountered the crash with the demo and did not have the card available for the full version test.

This is a great game, but the patch doesn't solve the save-game problem like Microsoft claims. The first thing I did after i got the game was install the upgrade, but when I designed a plane in Instant Action mode and then returned to the campaign, my saved game wasn't there anymore, although the patch was specifically supposed to solve that problem, among others. So my advice is, play the campaign game to the end and THEN try instant action. I don't know about games being erased in multiplayer, but I'd use caution there too. Also, if you don't have DirectX 8, the game will give you an error message, telling you it needs it, and that involves a visit to the DirectX website and a half-hour download of yet another upgrade. But the bottom line is, the game is worth the headaches, and that's a high compliment, considering what a pain it was just to install it. I haven't been playing it very long, but hopefully I won't run into any more problems. I'm running on a Dell PIII 700 with 128 RAM and NVIDIA TNT2 32mb graphics card, if that matters.

In a post-WWI world where the flu epidemic has not stopped, abolition has been enforced with deadly precision and old wounds from the Civil war re-opened, in swoops this fantastic title.

Based on the board game of the same name by Fasa, Crimson Skies places the player in a world where the United States has broken into factions such as the Nation of Hollywood with it's high flying squadron the Hollywood Knights or the country of Dixie, formerly the southern United States. The highway system has never been implemented and the railroads are beseiged by bandits and state militias so commerce, travel and privateers take to the only place left, the skies.

Air Pirates, flashy aces, bounty hunters and government fliers, all of this, along with a distinct 1930's setting with it's big band swing music and jazzy rythym combine to form a truly unique world.

Players take the part of Air Pirate Nathan Zachery as he barnstorms and dogfights across the skies. From raiding a rivals fortress like zeppelin to stealing the infamous Spruce Goose from a Hollywood backlot as well as saving a comely damsel in distress from the top of a speeding train, Crimson Skies brings a player fast action and easy controls.

Filled with arcade type action and a user friendly interface, Crimson Skies concentrates more on dogfighting action than on learning the intricacies needed for more advanced flight simulators. Make no mistake, while not as complex as Microsoft Flight, Crimson Skies delivers with easy controls that get you right into the action instead of setting for hours reading the manual.

Crimson Skies is very likely to become Game of the Year for many players and innumerable magazines have already declared it a Must Have, and they are more than accurate.

I have been playing video games since the late 70's. Arcade, console, and PC. I've played on them all. On each and every format there always seemed to be one or two titles that stood out from all the rest and made me want to come back time and time again. These games are the same ones that become the "benchmarks" on which all other games are judged. These games all had one thing in common. Great gameplay. Graphics may differ, story lines are different(or non existant), but they all are fun to the extreme. Crimson Skies is one of these games. I have'nt been sucked into a game this deeply in ages! This is the 1st computer game that made me run out and by hardware to hotrod my pc to improve my framerates! The online game is insanely fun! The in game AI aren't the brightest at times, but crank the difficulty level up and they provide quite a challenge in almost all the levels. Now that the price has been dropped, this is an absolute must have game for anyone who has a pc. Buy this game! You won't regret it!

One of the biggest drawbacks of most flight sims is that they assume that you have some interest in learning how to really fly -- from takeoff to landing. I dont.

I don't want to worry about fuel levels, or landing, or taking off (where most of my other flight sims destroy me). With C.S., you drop out of a balloon, shoot up your targets, head towards the home zep, and press "A" to autodock.

Some missions start off like you have to perform incredibly difficult air stunts, but in many cases, you can just ignore it and go for your target (you'll here lots of insults from the enemy, but, I repeat, ignore it).

As for the hardware / software issue - yes, that can be a problem. With a PIII 833, 128 MB RAM and a 32 MB Video Card, no game should give you a problem...but I did have the occassional lockup. Additionally, I had to reconfigure my joystick settings every time I used the game (I'm left handed, and use a Cyborg 3D gold - but it's not the joystick's fault; the necessity to reconfigure didn't happen until well after the joystick had worked fine).

It's odd that Microsoft can't get a game to work flawlessly under a Microsoft operating system, but nevertheless, the game draws you back, and you grudgingly learn to live with those little problems. The storyline and the action is so addictive that they become simply inconveniences.

C.S. is a great game, excellent thought behind it, exquisite design, with crappy programming. So fly, shoot, and blow up things, and don't kick the computer when it locks up.

Once I got this installed and started a mission I thought the game had crashed. For some reason, this game has pathetically LONG load times. It seems to freeze your system, but its just going through its routine. Very frustrating at times when you are in a hurry to shut the game down, or to get into a mission. Once you get through all of that pain in the arse stuff you will find the game to be a blast. The storylines are terrifically entertaining, very original. The flight itself is excellent to. There are numerous odd aircraft to fly, all with WWI style guns which I just love. Besides the usual dogfighting, there are some "barn storming" missions where you get to see who's the best hot dogging pilot. Most of the times I crash, but its cool when you can fly right through a train tunnel with barley a foot on either side of the wing. The downside to this game, might be that you need a bit of "umph" in your computer to run and load this. For all its faults though, its really fun to play.

This is one awesome game ! Beautiful graphics, very nice cloud and haze effects. Unlike FS98 or FS2000, you don't need to master your piloting skills. Very playable.

But, I have a PIII 800MHz, GeForce 32M card... Slow load times, once it loads, no slowing down. On another 300 MHz machine I have, it takes 5 mins to load and has a low frame rate.