Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Xbox, 2003)

"High Road to Revenge" is the sequel to the first game in the series, “Crimson Skies” (2000) The setting takes place in an alternate reality in which the United States disbands and forms seperate nation states which are always at war with each other, so instead of land-based commerce, we switch to air-based commerce. This leads to glorious advancements in aviation technology allowing for the creation of super zeppelins and non-traditional airplane designs. You play the role of Nathan Zachary, a merciful "air pirate" with your own crew and zeppelin to boot. High Road to Revenge takes place within the same universe as the first game, but sadly, things are just different enough for me to notice.

First-off, the flight simulator feel of the first game has been abandoned for a second-rate console-based flying game. I've played other flying games on the Xbox before, and I wish HRtR embraced similar physics, flight dynamics, and realism (all things that were stronger points for the first game).

Secondly, I felt like there was an abandonment of realism in this game. The first game truly made it feel like this alternate universe was a possibility with zeppelins that looked like they could hold up the weight they were carrying, planes that seemed to have a wide enough wingspan to keep them aloft, and there was no such thing as a power-up. Again, all of these things and more were abandoned for HRtR. Then again, I'm somewhat of an aeronautics buff, so when I see things like a zeppelin that's covered in steel plating with what's easily a 10 ton electrical transformer on top, I know that something like that would never actually fly, and something like that never showed up in the first game.

These were my feelings within the first 4 hours of playing this game. Then, I discovered that I didn't care so much about these things, and got into the rhythm of the game. Once I got used to the non-intuitive controls (no rudder? what the hell?), I was able to start liking the game a great deal more.

First, The game is often set up where you have multiple missions that you choose from while in flight, similar to a sandbox game setup (like GTA games). I love that.

Second, unlike the first game the cinematics actually help coherently bridge the plot between missions (although whomever likened the animation quality of the cut scenes to that of "The Last Flight of the Osiris" from the Animatrix has obviously not seen one of the two). As far as the story goes, I thought it was an interesting story that takes you around the globe and back again with missions that have varying difficulty so as not to make things dull.

As for the multiplayer, I wish I could review it, but I'm playing this game on a 360, so the game doesn't recognize the new version of Xbox Live, and won't connect. I have not looked for a remedy though, so there might be one out there.
Basically, if you are willing to look past the downfalls of the game, then you are in for a treat. If you take anything from this review, I'd recommend you play the first game "Crimson Skies" for PC first so that you know what the game developers were originally after, because it truly is an enthralling series. I would love to see the development of a 3rd game for next-gen consoles that learns from HRtR, but also embraces parts of it as well. I think that with the strong points of both games combined, we could see the Crimson Skies franchise soar once again.

Pros
+ Excellent Graphics & gameplay.
+ An intriguing story that keeps you playing through to the end.
+ Huge boss battles & several planes to choose from.
+ Great multiplayer on or offline.

Cons
- Nothing but flying & turret shooting
- No co-op.
- Some levels can be difficult.

Comments
Any fan of 'Sky Captain' should enjoy this game. The world you fly through is unique from any other game out there. There aren't many good flying games out there anymore & this one is terrific.

Verdict
Must have for any fan of flying games.

Crimson skies is an all around great game. Good graphics, music, game play,and multiplayer mode. As i said in the title this the very best airplane shooter there is to date. I recommened ages 10 and up. Also play online!!!!!!!!

I bought this game for several reasons. I was looking for a game that offered a unique twist to the "been there-done that" games on the market and we've all been there, right? This particular game had proven itself thru good reviews and This is my first attempt at a "flying" game. I really enjoyed the game a lot. It has a good story line and the controls are easy to pick up. There's a good mix of just plain fun play and some rather challenging, if not down right hard, tasks to complete. But even the harder play was fun! The only problem I had was making sharp U-turns with the planes which could have been my lack of coordination or, perhaps, the way the game was intended to be played. It was a pain in the rear for me, not to mention time consuming, when in combat or making attempts at picking up upgrade tokens or other items. Even if you aren't into flying, which I'm not, this game is worth checking out. It will provide enough entertainment to make it worth the money. I gave it a 4 out 5 because I simply didn't feel I was able to maneuver the planes as well as I should be able to and there were a few times, during very difficult missions, that I yearned to be on the ground with a sword or a butt burning spell!!

"Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge" is a must have title to add to one's collection of original Xbox games. You play a pilot named Nathan Zacharay who, throughout the game, builds up an arsenal of fighter planes to take down enemy bases and units. The gameplay is addictive and doesn't ever seem to get old. This was one of the original games I owned for my Xbox and was also one of the games that spent a long time in my system's disc tray. The online play is superb as well, giving you the option to pick out what plane you desire to have the dogfight with and allowing you to play in a variety of well-designed maps. Overall, if you owned an original Xbox and never played it, grab it. If you own a 360, grab it. It's worthy of being in your collection.

I bought this because when my original Xbox died on me, I sold it and every game I owned for it to put my money towards a 360. I eventually got the 360 and I'm looking to rebuild my old collection again.

Pros: Excellent multiplayer experience, great controls, well-designed stages, addictive gameplay.

Cons: Can't really think of any. I should probably change my review from good to excellent.