Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

The year is 2003 and gamers and Xbox enthusiasts wait with breathless anticipation of Halo 2 and Fable. Mouths water and pulses twitch as gamers from around the world wait for these two highly anticipated titles. But alas they are to be disappointed as the two games that could revitalize the Xbox logo are delayed again and again. The pickings of the 2003 season are slim at best for the greatest platform since the NES. Wait! What’s this? Crimson Skies High Road to Revenge comes right out of the sun and does a bee line straight for video game gold.

The story of our hero Nathan Zachary takes place in an alternate timeline where the interstate highway system was scrapped for focus on air travel. Zeppelins, auto gyros and exotic 1930’s aircraft are the means of navigating through the pseudo anarchist United States. As leader of the Fortune Hunters, a group of air pirates, Nathan and his squad of over the top pulp antiheros embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Whether it’s rescuing damsels in distress or flying through huge underground Aztec style passages, the single player action is fast and explosive. Borrowing much of the story from serials of the 20’s and 30’s, the background story is a gripping exploration of material rarely touched upon in video games. Think a combination of Indiana Jones and D.C.’s Black Hawks and you’re on the right path. Tightly written and quite clever, the story unfolds in a thought provoking manner that gives the audience not just a great game play experience but a story that is highly enjoyable.

Taking a page from the Grand Theft Auto games, the single player offers a compelling amount of side quests to take advantage of. In addition to a significant number of aircraft, during missions you can leave your plane and jump into a gunner position from the Fortune Hunter’s own zeppelin or even turrets on the ground. The progression of difficulty in the single player game is very linear, each level becoming increasingly more difficult and the enemy AI becoming more and more aggressive. In an unusual move from the first Crimson Skies on the PC, the action is moved from inside the cockpit to the outside giving a fresh look at a unique third person flyer; And with the attention to graphical detail given to the game you are really going to want to see your aircraft from this view. The controls are nice and tight and it’s easy to pull of an impressive defensive maneuver that can get the player out of a sticky situation rather quickly. The single player game is impressive and it’s unfortunate you cannot play through the game in a cooperative mode with a friend.

However, the real story behind Crimson Skies HRTR is the multiplayer. Offering up to eight different multiplayer match modes: Dogfight, Team Dogfight, Flag Heist, Keep Away & Team Accumulate, and Wild Chicken combine with five unique multiplayer maps and you have an extremely addictive amalgamation. Having played the game online for more than a few weeks, I did experience a handful of bugs, mainly occurring from lag, but the game for the most part is incredibly solid experience.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
9.5	++ Crimson Skies takes full advantage of the power of the Xbox, beautifully rendered and great special effects like water hitting the camera lens on certain levels.
9.0	+ Great voice-over work done here, especially Tim Omundson, who plays the voice of Nathan Zachary. Dolby Digital sound and a respectable musical score make this an auditory treat.
9.0	+ Easy to learn, fun to fly, the only hindrance can be taking full advantage of the camera angles.
9.0	+ Players can feel the love put into this project and the payoff is extraordinary. Be it the tightly rendered planes and backgrounds or the great story, Crimson Skies HRTR is a beautiful game.
9.0	+ After players have finished the single player experience its time to go onto Xbox Live and hand everyone a nice can of whoop-ass. You will be at work jonzing to fly up someone's tail and blast them with a nicely place magnetic missile.
9.0	++ Outstanding.