Average Customer Review: ( 85 customer reviews )
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The story(10/10): You are Nathan Zachary, a former playboy who met unfortunate circumstances (along with the rest of the nation) and is fighting his way back to the top. Along the way, you form a rag-tag band of air pirates as you explore this strange quasi-America and unravel a mysterious plot.

The immersion factor(10/10): Amazing. From the moment the intro cutscene pops up, you're going to be completely immersed. Segments like this do tons to push the story, and you're going to love savoring every moment of them. You're quickly thrown into the fray as you hop into the pilot seat. This game makes you remember why you always wanted to be a plane/ bird/ pilot/ superhero/ mobster/ pirate/ (you get the idea) as a kid.

Controls(9/10): The first "level" is a mini-tutorial that's quick and fun. Controls are super natural and goals are (almost) always extremely clear, so you have tons of time to enjoy flying and rarely have to spend time wondering about objectives.

Value(9/10): The singleplayer is long enough to please and worth every moment. I'm not even finished yet, and I would be 100% content if the game was only as long as I've played to. Very nice. There's not much replayability aside from collecting more tokens or exploring more areas, but for some (like me) it'll be more than enough to warrant a few more games.

Overall: This game is FUN. The story needs to be a movie yesterday. The controls can be picked up instantly, but there's plenty of room to grow in skill. The gameplay ranges from frantic dogfights to free-form exploration. Yes, you will find yourself just skimming a lake to see the water splash on the camera, or buzzing through a canyon to test your skills. The combination of graphics, control, and gameplay combine for what may be the best flying experience ever. Sure, die-hard sim fans will gripe about the realism. But do you ever really want too much realism in an action-adventure? I think not.

Bottom line (9.5/10): I think this game is going to start showing up on a couple "Top games of all time" lists. Not THE top game, but definately not far.

32 of 38 found the following review helpful:

Great Live GameNov 11, 2003
By Chip L "chip1978"
Even though most other reviews have already said it, it bears repeating: this game is great online! The game types are: dogfight, team dogfight, capture the flag, keep away (a sort of tag-like game), team keep away, and wild chicken (a game similar to capture the flag, but with only one flag).

The downside to live is that you're dependent on the number of other people online. You can always find a dogfight game going on, but it's harder to find a keep away or wild chicken game going on at 7 on Sunday morning.

The single player mode is good, but repetitive. There's only so much flying and shooting you can do before you get tired of seemingly doing the same thing over and over again. You can get into AA guns and fire from the ground or from vehicles, but overall this doesn't add too much in the way of variety. The storyline is pretty ridiculous (not in the good way like odd world), and it lacks any sort of complexity.

Overall, I really wouldn't recommend buying this game unless you have x-box live. It's got the great microsoft-title graphics (ala brute force or halo), so it's definately worth renting for that by itself. But if you don't have the challenge of playing other people online, this game's playability is pretty thin.

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Great for kids, tooNov 29, 2003
By Chris Anderson
My six years old is a budding ace on this (better than me at this point, I fear). The learning curve is perfect, with lots of encouragement, relatively frequent autosave points and a very simple UI. There's no death (pilots parachute out) and, like a good Pixar movie, the jokes work on many levels, so kids and adults alike will find it clever.

And the biggie: it's great fun, and looks amazing. The Xbox is thin on games that are appropriate for kids, and Crimson Skies is a very welcome arrival. Highly recommended.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Crimson SkiesMar 22, 2006
By Brian P. Freese "Brian Freese"
Xbox owners, allow me to introduce you to the game that will make you forget all about MechAssault. Mech-what? MechAssault. You know, the first-party game that kicked Xbox Live multiplayer onto your radar. Yeah, that one. Well, now you have Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, the next Microsoft title that will turn your console online and your smack-talking into high gear.

For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, Crimson Skies is essentially "Indiana Jones" meets aerial combat, only the alternate universe isn't overrun with Nazis but with power-hungry gangs who fly tricked-out planes and are so trigger-happy that Al Capone would blush. With creative scenarios, a focus on action and engaging characters, you'll be sure this game is headed for the silver screen. But Indiana Jones this is not, neither in medium nor in pacing, and as a result, Crimson Skies at times can feel a bit slow and imbalanced.

Part adventure and part dogfighter, Crimson Skies places you in the anti-heroic cockpit of Nathan Zachary, an air pirate who's out for revenge and, if it happens to come his way, a little fortune and glory too. Along the way, he’ll meet a lady (or two), discover a nature-be-damned plot against the civilized world (a la "Wild Wild West") and embark upon an intricately weaved tale of his own.

Unlike "Indiana Jones," though, Nathan takes to the skies rather than a mine cart and relies on his trusty plane-mounted artillery rather than a bullwhip. And that, my friends, is where Crimson Skies grabs you by the joystick and gets your arcade-loving heart a-fluttering. Forget about flight sims, because Crimson Skies is arcade flying at its finest. From barrel rolls and Split S's to air braking and upside-down 180s, this game would make any pilot rethink the laws of gravity. The controls are easy to both learn and master, too, which means novices and pros are separated only by their ability to plan ahead and remain dedicated to the game, not by their familiarity with the instruction manual.

The arcade goodness doesn't stop there. Unlimited primary ammo? Check. Heat-seeking and cluster-bomb secondary weapons? Check. Dozens of airborne enemies swarming at once while terrestrial turrets fire on you with unfathomable power? Check. Yes, Crimson Skies seems to have it all. But not quite.

Each "level" is a virtual landscape that encompasses some serious real estate. The first, for example, is a small but tall island where you get comfortable with looking up, down and around for enemies. The second level is a wide-open desert so expansive you'll be thankful the Xbox has a built-in hard drive. Subsequent levels include an interpretation of a 1930s tech-savvy Chicago and other era-appropriate settings, and each presents some unique expansions of the basic gameplay.

The objective in each level changes depending upon your progress in the story, but invariably each level involves completing four to six "subgoals," most of which amount to mini-games that break up the dogfighting. Several levels ask you to get out of your plane and man a turret, for example, be it to protect an illegal stash of taxis or to defend your Zeppelin "base" from incoming fighters. Other subgoals involve switching planes to complete an objective or winning a race to win cash, which, once you fly another plane and thereby "unlock" it, can be used for upgrades or to repair your current craft in mid-mission.

Yet while each of these levels has slightly different subgoals, the actual gameplay behind those subgoals remains static from level to level. A turret battle is a turret battle is a turret battle, no matter how different the aircraft you're trying to shoot down. Yes, the scenarios will literally leave you sweaty with their frantic pace, but after three or four turrets you'll play through them just to get it over with and move on to the next dogfight rather than play them for enjoyment.

In the long run, of course, that ultimately speaks to the quality of the dogfights. And there's really no other way to say it: you've never played a dogfighting game this good. There's just something about the combination of tight controls, intense speed and a fully 3D environment. Air Force Delta Storm had the speed and dimensions, but its handling was too sim-like to let you stay in "hot pursuit" for very long. Lethal Skies II had the speed and environments, too, but the AI was so challenging that the only thing in hot pursuit was your PS2 controller headed for the TV screen. Crimson Skies, though, strikes such a perfect balance of speed, control, level design and challenging-but-not-impossible AI that you truly feel like you're an alternate-1930s-universe pilot.

Still, there's nothing like knowing you're hunting (or being hunted by) a human opponent, and Crimson Skies comes complete with some outstanding split-screen, system-link and Xbox Live multiplayer options. What's interesting about the split-screen with three players, though, is that it divides the screen in thirds horizontally, which makes for great lateral visibility but horrible up-down visibility. It's a unique treatment, but I've got to question the use of this technique in a game that relies so heavily on both horizontal and vertical sighting. But naturally, if you don't play with three players total, this is a moot point entirely.

Crimson Skies has the standard Dogfight, Flag Heist (Capture the Flag) and team-based modes, but our personal favorite here at DailyGame is the hilarious and addictive "Wild Chicken." This mode is sort of like Stayaway in Midtown Madness 3 with a bit of capture-the-flag base-defending flair. None of the game modes is a stinker, and every one runs smoothly online. Even with 16 people playing at once.

One of the most comical details of "Wild Chicken" is watching the feathers fall from your newfound "wingman" and act like a contrail, and it's details like this that make Crimson Skies feel as believable as an alternate-universe-with-tricked-out-planes videogame can. From blinking landing lights and animated flaps to deformable trucks on the streets of Chicago, Crimson Skies delivers Big Time in the graphics department. For Pete's sake, how many times is an Xbox editor going to say "Best. Water. Ever."? Well, apparently one more, because this game's got it. It's also got damage-sensitive "animations" and a framerate that never wavers.

Then why, oh why, must the non-dogfighting waver as it does? This game is fun. It's a blast. I'd even say it's the most enjoyable non-FPS on Xbox Live. But its development team was apparently so focused on making an outstanding dogfighting game that the "other" gameplay elements in Crimson Skies are a step or two behind. On their own, the turret scenarios and races are just fine, but taken with the rest of the outstanding gameplay mechanics, the game can feel a bit unbalanced and slow.

But pop in another controller or log on to Xbox Live, and all those issues fade into the horizon. If you have an Xbox Live account and/or at least one friend in the world, Crimson Skies is the next great multiplayer experience on Xbox. If you're a hermit or otherwise socially challenged, the game still has something for you, with an adventuresome story and entertaining dogfights that are the stuff of arcade dreams. Just don't go into the game expecting the End All, Be All of gaming. Crimson Skies is fantastic, but it's a little gameplay balance short of legendary.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Awesome Game!Mar 23, 2004

Let me just say that Crimson Skies:High Road to Revenge is a great game.It's up there with Halo,and others.It's one of my top five favorite games.

SINGLE PLAYER:
You are Nathan Zachary,a pilot for the infamous Fortune Hunters.You are out to get revenge on someone.I am being blunt to keep from spoiling the plotline.
It might actually be worth it to go out and buy the original Crimson Skies,so you know what's going on in the storyline.Especially since the original is only about $10.00 here on Amazon.
SCORE:8/10
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MULTIPLAYER:
Split-screen is okay,but for some real action,go on Xbox Live.It is a lot of fun (on Live).Without Live,it's still an good game,though.
You can play Dogfight, (Deathmatch) Team Dogfight,(Team Deathmatch) Wild Chicken,(try to keep the Chicken and return it to the base) and others.
The game is developed by Day:1:Studios,so if you play MechAssault,you'll feel right at home with Crimson Skies.
By the way,my Gamertag is TurboCircuits...
SCORE:10/10
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GRAPHICS:
Truly amazing.The water in the game is very realistic,and if you fly low to (the water) it'll splash on the camera lens.
The graphics are very detailed.It's hard to explain,you'll have to see it for yourself.
SCORE:11/10
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CONTROLS:
The controls are very simple.If you have played MechAssault,you'll catch on pretty quick.
The controls are like this:
Right Trigger:Fire main weapon
Left Trigger:Fire secondary weapon
SCORE:9.5/10
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SOUND:Very good.The explosions are realistic,along with the gunfire sound effects.Very realistic.
SCORE:10/10
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FUN FACTOR:
This game is a lot more fun on Xbox Live than it is offline.Just think:
Your plane is on fire and another player is on your tail.You see a plane depot up ahead,and fly in.You exchange your old,beat up plane for a new one with full health.The other persone is eating your dust.
You just into a gun turret,fire a missile,and direct it straight into an enemy's face.This is one of the hundreds of things that can happen of Live.
SCORE:10/10
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Buy Crimson Skies:High Road to Revenge.You won't regret it.
TOTAL SCORE:10/10

Gamertag:TurboCircuits

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