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Crimson Skies For Xbox Barnstormed

Posted by simoniker on from the wanna-play-tom-strong dept.

Thanks to Gamesdomain for posting an interview with the lead developer of FASA/Microsoft's Xbox title, Crimson Skies:High Road To Revenge. The game, a sequel to the noted PC flight action title, is summed up succinctly in the first interview answer: "Crimson Skies is about three things - dogfighting on Xbox Live, story and choice-driven gameplay. It is set in a unique 1930s alternate United States where aircraft have evolved as the chief mode of transportation." The title is due out in October, and this interview is accompanied by some excellent-looking screenshots.

13 comments

  1. Heh by Frac · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thanks to Gamesdomain for posting an interview with the lead developer of FASA/Microsoft's Crimson Skies:High Road To Revenge for Xbox.

    For a second there I thought "for Xbox" was part of the title, making the game title Crimson Skies:High Road To Revenge for Xbox. THAT actually got me interested in the game - the game is about Microsoft avenging their low xbox market share by building an airforce of the 30's to fight their enemies? WOW!!!

    It would be out of character for Microsoft to send fighter jets to bomb Sony and Nintendo's headquarters, but then again, I wouldn't put it past them either...

    1. Re:Heh by simoniker · · Score: 1

      Hah, you wacky guys :) You're right though, I switched my sentence around so it doesn't sound like Crimson Skies is inciting Xbox-related riots. :)

  2. SMILES by Moschaef · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    It's times like this when I'm glad I bought the XBOX and not the inferior (YES, IT REALLY IS) PS2. I just get happier everymonth...

  3. Ha ha ha by Stigmata669 · · Score: 1

    I saw the explanation, and I thought: "Gee, I knew the Xbox was expensive and rather beastly, but who makes a game solely for revenge?!"

    --
    Yawn.
  4. Oh man... by Tickenest · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks to Gamesdomain for posting an interview with the lead developer of FASA/Microsoft's Xbox title, Crimson Skies:High Road To Revenge.

    When I read that the first time, I didn't look closely enough and I thought the game's title was "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenue ." I was like, "Wow, at least they're not hiding their motivations!"

    --
    This is the NFL, which stands for "Not For Long" if you keep making those bulls*** calls.
  5. Problem by Islington_66_81 · · Score: -1, Troll

    Theres really only one big glaring problem with this game. ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY FLIGHT SIMS OR DOG FIGHT IN ANY WAY WITH A GAME PAD!!!! Unless you have some kind of flight stick controler for the xbox youll hate this game. In fact youll probably hate it anyway since a.)Consoles in general have never mad good sim games and b.) People interested in online gamming should stick to the PC. The only even moderately succesful game for xbox live is ghost recon which might as well be counter strike only harder to play because of the controler. So lets just face it. YOU CANT GET PRECESION AND SPEED FROM AN ANALOG JOYSTICK THE SIZE OF MY LITTLE TOE!!!!!!

    1. Re:Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought that Rogue Squadron and Warhawk were really fun flying games for a console. Halo did a really good job of making a playable fps with a console gamepad. Is this game really a sim? Do sims usually feature 3rd person views?

    2. Re:Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Dude, not only do you have difficulty letting go of the shift key, I don't think you have played with a modern controller. A thumbstick (as compared to a d-pad) is actually a very responsive and rather easy to use.

      Diddy Kong Racing on the n64 had some awesome flying levels which were pure joy to play, and Halo on the xbox had the Banshee which was also very easy to control. IIRC most reviewers of the PC version of Crimson Skies (some years ago) metioned how much of an arcade game it felt, and when it was announced for xbox most of them said something along the lines of "cool - it would work perfectly on a console".

      Unlike a flight sim where I give you it is important (if you want to get the full experience) to play with a joystick, Crimson Skies is vastly different. Think kart racing (Mario etc...) but in planes - it is not at all about the simulation - and so the control scheme is much more simple.

  6. Crimson Skies for Windows is fantastic... by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful
    But never got updated for modern operating systems. As such, running it on Windows XP, well, it just doesn't work. Even with the vaunted compatibility mode. Having a version of the game debugged (they've had literally years to work on the engine since the PC release) and running nicely on Xbox means I will be able to play the shit out of it. This will likely be the very first Xbox game I purchase -- All I play now is Sega GT 2002 which came with the thing. Obviously, I bought it half for the hacking potential.

    For those who have never seen or played it; Crimson Skies is an arcade-style dogfighter. Those who bill it as a simulation game are lost. It allows you to fly a fairly wide range of craft from a big flying wing with a turret down to a little autogyro. You get to fly through caverns and a ruined blimp in some of the original missions, dogfighting all the while. Very cool. You play Nathan Zachary, air pirate and gentleman.

    So to those who say it will not be playable with a little bitty analog joystick: poppycock. It's not a sim. You'll be able to play it with a handheld controller just fine. A good joystick would improve the experience but is not strictly necessary. Hell, an analog joystick isn't strictly necessary, people were playing this kind of game with the keyboard before you could even get a good fighter stick for anything like a reasonable price.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Crimson Skies for Windows is fantastic... by Mad_Fred · · Score: 1

      I've actually played Crimson Skies with a PS2 controller. Plugged straight in through an adapter with default settings worked great, with the exception that having throttle mapped to an auto-centering axis (right stick up/down if I'm not mistaken) wasn't very good for keeping any speed you wanted.

      And the working great goes for playing on ME and XP as well. Granted, I finished it on Win 98 and haven't given it nearly as much time on XP, but it's there, has been played in multiplayer, and I've never had any crashes.

      (Nothing I didn't create myself that is, those memory optimization experiments were a different matter altogether ...)

      It's a wonderful game, that's for sure. If this incarnation is anywhere close it'll be the greatest lure to an Xbox so far (even though I'd be required to get a decent TV at the same time). The music, the voices, the action ... Can it fail?

    2. Re:Crimson Skies for Windows is fantastic... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Well, I feel left out then. I couldn't even get the game to install properly on XP. I don't care much though, if they're bringing it out for Xbox.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  7. This game sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I did a focus group for this game (yeah, free software and all that.) Posting anonymously for obvious reasons. This game simply blew. I talked a bit with some of the other participants, and they all agreed that the thing was designed by programmers rather than real game designers: the storyline was along the lines of cold and canned, the weaponry seemed like it'd been spec'd out by a third-grader (laser cannons on WW2-era planes, anyone?) and it just looks like another game full of mediocre eye candy.

    What I remember: At the time, the developers/managers had agreed to do some silly plot about you taking revenge on your nemesis for killing someone -- they hadn't yet decided whether or not it was your girlfriend or your best friend at that point. Most of the game looked like it would consist of pointless "clear the skies of enemy planes" fighting, rather than anything requiring any measure of intelligence, precision, or thinking whatsoever. Just another clickfest. The demo reels we saw showed poorly rendered 3D propellers spinning into oblivion, all manner of futuristic weaponry mounted on your plane without regard to how much it would weigh or how much room you'd need to store infinite heat-seeking missiles, and landscapes that looked VERY suspiciously like the ones from Microsoft's Flight Simulator. I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that there was plenty of code re-use in this game.

    Oh, and yeah. Your loss if you buy it.

  8. Time Period by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
    This game deals with a certain time period and a certain kind of "alternate timeline". Does anybody have any information on this kind of setting? This was the same kind of setting as Tale Spin and Porco Rosso. I think it would make an excellent setting for a D20 campaign, but I don't even know what to begin searching for to start gathering information.

    --
    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!