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As you progress through the game Nathan can earn cash from his exploits as well as mementoes for his scrap book. Cash is obtained by completing mission objectives while the scrap book items are obtained by performing special stunts such as flying through a cave or another ridiculously dangerous tight space. These special items do not unlock hidden missions or change the campaign progression in any way, but do provide an extra incentive for honing your flying skills. Having said that going the distance to pursue these "extras" can result in new aircraft or equipment becoming available to use. This leads on to the plane design area of the game. You could quite easily play through the entire game using the suggested planes but for those who like to tinker and customise an option has been provided whereby you can build an entirely customised plane. There are a number of different plane types on offer, ranging from heavily armoured, slow moving bombers to zippy scout-fighters. These can be combined with a variety of different engines, weapons and armour. In the single player campaign your designs are restricted by the amount of available cash but in multiplayer you can customise to your hearts content.
As well as the excellent 24 mission single player campaign there is an instant action mode and a stack of multiplayer options. The instant action mode is very well thought out and is a far cry from the way it is implemented in most other games of this type. Instead of picking from a list of enemies and participating in some dry scenario Crimson Skies allows you to create an exciting quick action story by selecting objectives, wingmen and enemies and then it combines them into some quite nifty little mini-story based scenarios. Multiplayer works in a similar fashion and can be played on a LAN, modem-to-modem, through the Microsoft Zone as well as direct TCP/IP connections.
There are a couple of unfortunate flaws in Crimson Skies that prevent it from reaching true classic status. The game engine, while very visually pleasing, does tend to slow down when flying through enclosed areas and can be very choppy on machines that just meet the recommended specifications levels. Even on high-end machines slow down and choppiness is noticeable. While this doesn't affect the game too greatly it can be frustrating ... especially when trying to pull off a tricky stunt. The other flaw is the loading time between the missions and the game interface. These sequences take an incredible amount of time even on a full install.
Even with those flaws taken into account Crimson Skies is still one hell of a game. It is a breath of fresh air into a market that it flooded with stale sci fi/fantasy clones. Its unique combination of go-get-em daring adventure action and an incredibly enjoyable flight model provides one of the most appealing gaming experiences in recent times. Whether this unique approach will result in mass-market success is unknown, but if a sequel is not produced for Crimson Skies it will be a crying shame. |
