When looking at the screenshots of Crimson Skies you could be forgiven for assuming that the game would share similiar elements to a flight sim, but other than the fact that it focuses on planes they have almost nothing in common. Crimson Skies is an unashamed action title and a darned good one at that. It's larger than life pulp-fiction story meshes brilliantly with a game engine that seems to be designed with the express purpose of making the player feel like they are the most talented pilot on the planet. Very little keyboard control is required, as the developers have streamlined the game so that nearly all the necessary controls can be mapped to your joystick. Of course, being a Microsoft game it works exceptionally well with any of the Sidewinder series sticks. This orientation towards flight-based action makes for some highly enjoyable sequences in the game including capturing bombers by flying above them, jumping out of your plane onto the bomber, punching the bomber pilot and throwing him out of the plane, or rescuing someone from a train by flying along side of it and having them leap onto a dangling ladder.

Crimson Skies shares some similarities with the X-Wing and Wing Commander games in that you participate in a series of missions which all take place as part of an overall story. The game begins with Nathan Zachary searching for treasure in Hawaii and stumbling onto a British incursion. From there you launch into a rollercoaster ride of abducted scientists, beautiful women, pitched battles, the attempted theft of the Spruce Goose and an assault on a fortress in the sky. Each mission begins with your plane being dropped out of your Zeppelin (and home base), no complicated take off procedure is required. From here the wild antics begin as you fulfill your mission objectives and generally try and cause as much airborne havoc as possible.

One of the reasons why Crimson Skies is so appealing is due to the way it truly feels like a 1930's pulp action film. Of course, no-one at Gameplanet has ever seen a 1930's pulp action film but this game feels like one anyway. The unique universe of Crimson Skies is brought to life in a number of ways, but the biggest factor is without a doubt the voice acting. It is simply superb. The actor who plays Nathan Zachary portrays him perfectly. He is cocky, always wisecracking, and full of bravado. Surprisingly this does not become irritating. The support players are also well cast which is good as the dialog plays a huge part in setting the scene in Crimson Skies. There are no cut-scenes as such, the story progresses through in game events and the voice-only mission briefings. Some may see this a drawback but it actually adds a lot to the game. The characters are well rounded and interact with each other a great deal during the missions. Jordan Weisman (one of the founders of FASA) describes Crimson Skies use of dialogue to further the story as radio drama. Other developers could learn a lot from how successfully it has been implemented and how effective it is in giving depth to the story and characters.