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Quick take: Strike Commander meets Privateer in a lighter, almost arcade-ish format, set in the 1930's -- only much more fun.
Many people think that if you're a pilot in real life, the last thing you'd want to do when you get home from work is fly a computer. Although being a pilot is one of those jobs that people are attracted to because they love the activity itself, the notion that an aviator could tire of flying is untrue, but with one important exception--one only tires of it if they're not having fun. This ''fun factor'' is just as important in the flight simulation world as it is in the real world. Microsoft and Zipper Interactive have gotten it right--Crimson Skies is just plain old fun to play.
Based on an interesting alternate-timeline world that features fantastic aircraft, Crimson Skies brings high-flying fun to a desktop PC near you. Reminiscent of Saturday Matinee serials, full of incredible action, campy overacting and, most of all, high adventure, Crimson Skies is in an alternate timeline story that takes place during the golden age of aviation (the 1930-40's). In the Crimson Skies universe, the U.S. has divided into 23 smaller independent territories. Small wars between these nations caused the destruction of the highways and railways, forcing air travel to become the lifeblood of commerce. This brought about warring air pirates that roam the open skies.
"In the Crimson Skies universe, the U.S. has divided into 23 smaller independent territories."
You play Nathan Zackary, leader of a band of air pirates that travels around in a dirigible airship named The Pandora. This flying aircraft carrier is both home and airbase to your merry crew. Through the Campaign mode, you'll lead them on 24 Missions that take place over five terrains: The Kingdom of Hawaii, Pacifica (Pacific Northwest), Nation of Hollywood, Free Colorado State, and The Empire State (New York).
The missions are arranged in a linear campaign that tells the storyline through audio mission briefings and photographs. From what we've seen so far (we were playing a pre-release beta version of the game), these missions are unique and interesting.
In addition to the typical search and destroy, and defense missions, you and your fellow air pirates will take to the skies to rescue comrades from moving vehicles, shoot down other airships, fly an air race, fly through tight places called Danger Zones, and even steal the Spruce Goose (of Howard Hughes fame). As you steal... ahem, acquire aircraft, you can make use of the newly-obtained technology. Through your exploits you can also ''earn'' money to modify or upgrade your aircraft, or build your own custom planes from scratch. Building some of these aircraft remind me of
The Crimson Skies world is a target-rich environment filled with scores of ground and aerial targets that will keep you entertained for hours. What's particularly interesting is that many of the ground targets are filled with surprises. For example, if you shoot the rocket on a Hollywood sci-fi backlot set, it'll launch into the air out of control. The attention to detail in this area is so thorough that you'll likely want to replay missions over and over just to discover what'll happen if you blow up non-mission critical objects.
"What's particularly interesting is that many of the ground targets are filled with surprises."
The scenery graphics look very good (about on par with Jane's USAF), and it run surprisingly very well on our P2-400 low-end test system. What's especially impressive is that the trees are modeled as individual objects, and the cloud effects are simply stunning. (Fighting in and among the clouds will certainly add a new dimension to air combat!)
Also included is an Instant Action mode that uses the familiar Yeager Air Combat ''there I was...'' scenario builder format. Players just select variables from drop-down lists to create a mission/situation. Although it's too early to rate the computer opponent Artificial Intelligence (AI), at this stage the computer-generated pilots seem to be well versed in the Boom and Zoom, Scissors, and Loop Fighting techniques of air combat.
The biggest disappointment, and ''disappointment'' is perhaps too strong a work, is the lack of player control over wingmen (your interaction is limited to listening to your wingies and enemies make radio calls). Your aerial battles have the benefit of an ingenious scope called the Spyglass, which displays a magnified view of your selected target in an unobtrusive circular 'optic' overlay. With an arrow always pointing to the target's location relative to your position, this innovative feature effectively replaces the complex padlock viewing systems common in hardcore air combat simulations and should greatly reduce the learning curve for novices.
If the computer AI isn't challenging enough for more experienced players, Crimson Skies also features Multiplayer mode that includes Deathmatch and Team play over the Internet, via LAN, or modem. [Ed: Don't be surprised if Crimson Skies makes its way to the VPC Flight Rooms.]
Crimson Skies is computerized high entertainment for aviation fans, but don't just take my word for it, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that DreamWorks has acquired the rights to make a movie based on Crimson Skies. Crimson Skies may not reflect the real world of aviation at all, but that doesn't stop it from being fun to play.
Essential Data:
Developed by: Zipper Interactive
Published by: Microsoft
Released: 3rd Quarter, 2000
Operating System: Windows 95/98 or better, with DirectX 7.0a
Multiplayer Capability: 16 players, LAN IPX, TCP/IP, Internet, or modem-modem
Minimum System Requirements:
- 266 MHz Pentium II
- 32 MB RAM
- 350 MB Hard disk space (minimum install)
- 8 MB RAM or better 3D graphics supported (any that fully support Direct3D)
- Soundboard with speakers or headphones to hear audio
- DirectSound compatible 3-D sound card for 3-D audio
- Quad-speed CD-ROM drive
- Keyboard and mouse
Tested on:
- Pentium II 400 MHz Processor and Windows 98
- 256 MB RAM
- 12 GB Hard disk
- 3D Support (Matrox G200)
- 32x CD-ROM drive
- SoundBlaster PCI-128 sound card
- Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 21TX Monitor
--and--
- Pentium III 1GHz Processor and Windows 98SE
- 384 MB RAM
- 96 GB Hard disk
- 3D Support (GeForce2 MX)
- 50x CD-ROM drive
- SoundBlaster PCI-128 sound card
- Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 21TX Monitor
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