Crimson Skies

Crimson Skies, the new arcade-like flight-fantasy game from Microsoft, is a tale of three experiences. The first experience is the one you will have with the game package, manual, story, and overall theme. The second experience is the one where you actually fly some cool WWII-style planes (with some modern era weaponry and modifications), engage in some gut-wrenching dogfights, and zoom in and around city landscapes, remote island vistas, and rolling thunderclouds. The third experience is the one you will have trying to get the first experience to connect with the second experience.

Let me explain. See, in every computer program there's the guts of the system (the brains, so to speak) and then there's the user interface. The interface can be the most beautiful thing in the world, but if the brains don't work right, then the whole experience will be excruciating. Imagine having the most simple and elegant controls imaginable for your car, but not having a good engine under the hood to make it run. Somehow, driving the car isn't so enjoyable.

Crimson Skies is a lesson in how an incredibly awesome game interface, gameplay, and graphics (the part the user sees) can be so completely ruined by a game that just won't run. Let's talk about the first two experiences, and then discuss how game crashes and memory leaks ruined the overall game.

I've never had such a great out-of-the-box experience. Crimson Skies sets you up for something special. The game manual is entertaining, well conceived, and secretly educational. You can read the whole manual in about 20 minutes, but you'll discover that the writers somehow taught you everything you need to know. The whole thing reads like a comic-book. You really believe that you are part of some grand mission, that you really are Nathan Zachery, ready to take on the world and all it has to offer you.

Once the game starts, you will quickly realize that the interface in the game is even better than the manual suggested. Setting up missions is done in a playbook that seems to be resting on an old wooden table. Parts of the campaign have heroic music in the background, cool configuration screens, and an aviation theme straight out of an old serial movie. This is one game where the setup screens are a fun precursor to the actual 3D action. One section of the game allows you to build your own aircraft, and the interface has a blueprint in the background that feels like you really are in some dimly lit flight hanger constructing your war machine. There's even a paperclip note attached to the blueprint that reminds you of how much money you have used up (gee thanks).

All of this is actually a fun part of the game and builds anticipation. Before we talk about the game bugs, let's skip ahead to the actual gameplay.

There are two basic modes. The campaign mode is where you will have scripted sequences to deal with. You might have to blow up a bridge, pummel a Zeppelin with lead, hop aboard a bomber in midair, and engage in countless air-to-air conflicts.

These are the best graphics I have ever seen in any computer game.

That bridge that hangs over a ravine? It looks real. When you blow it up, the explosion looks real. The mountains, cities, thunderclouds - real. Explosions on your plane also mirror reality, and the sounds in the game also help suspend disbelief. All of these things happen at the same time: you'll take a hit on your wing, fire will erupt, the plane will start to sink like a rock, your engine will chug along apprehensively, and then the enemy that just nailed you will sail on by. It's aurally and visually stunning to say the least.

You can also start a quick mission. Each one can be configured in multiple ways, including your weapons, the planes you will fly against and their proficiency, plus the location and objectives. You can compete in simple dogfights or stunt contests. It's all very cool, and all very fun. All of this adds up to an incredible game, a surefire 10 out of 10.

And then the first bug will hit you.

Oh, it may take a while, but one thing is for sure: at the end of your first mission, the entire game will slow to a crawl. Often, the game will crash - either right back to the desktop or lock up completely. Once you get the first memory leak in the game, you might as well start packing. Every click, every configuration, every help screen, and every game load will take forever or longer. It's downright painful, and what it means in the end is that, even though the game is great and you will have a lot of fun up until the first memory leak, you won't want to play the game because you know that, sooner or later, it will slow down or crash.

There is a new patch (version 1.01) that addresses another slightly less infuriating problem: the tendency for the game to delete saved game files. I can actually deal with that okay (obviously it's still a big problem) but if the memory leaks were fixed, at least I could play the game. Microsoft will probably fix these memory problems and crashes, but until then Crimson Skies will go down as one of the most glorious Zeppelins in the recent history of gaming.

Gameplay = 10 No other game in recent memory had this much variety in gameplay. Just when you think Crimson Skies is just a flight sim, surprise! It's an adventure game, and a combat game, and a strategy game. You will have to make decisions about how soon you deplete your ammo, how to plan your attack on a weapons factory, how to rely on your wingmen and when not to, plus many other gameplay decisions.

Graphics = 10 As I said before, no other game has impressed with such rich graphics in recent memory. Crimson Skies is one of those games that will tempt you to just fly around for the fun of it (of course you will be pelted by enemy aircraft the whole time). Bridges, mountains, other aircraft, buildings, bombers - they are all highly detailed and textured. Some of the buildings looked so real I almost hated blowing them up (almost).

Sound = 10 There's no question that the sounds in Crimson Skies add to the gameplay. Wingmen shout at you from mid-air, enemies taunt your ability as a pilot, your plane chugs along like the flying tank that it is, and the heart-pounding weaponry makes the whole experience a real thrill.

Difficulty = 10 Crimson Skies is a difficult game, and yet that's what makes it fun and enjoyable. This is one of those games where you may find yourself so enthralled in the action that you forget all about the bills and work. There's a challenge waiting around every Zeppelin.

Concept = 10 Computer games have seen an influx of two basic game types: the RPG ala Baldur's Gate, and the first-person shooter ala Half-Life. Granted there are other game types (hunting, puzzle, adventure), but these are all throwaway titles from two-bit developers. Most gamers know that, if it is a quality game, it's probably from Blizzard or Id Software (and the handful of companies who also make those same game types). Microsoft has actually broken this mold with its racing games, and now it has really broken the mold with an excellent, challenging adventure-flight simulator.

Multiplayer = Not Rated I was not able to get the multiplayer game to work. This could be a problem with my own system, since most users have reported no problems with the multiplayer game.

Overall = 5  Actually, I'd prefer to give this game a 1 and a 10. That's right, this game should actually get two separate ratings -- because it really is unplayable right now (a 1), but with the bugs fixed I think it will be a 10.

Installation = No problems.

Buy the Game? Even with the bugs, Crimson Skies is a good game to buy. The most compelling reason to buy the game is because you can be assured that Microsoft will release patches to address the memory leaks. Until then, you will be able to enjoy the game on a limited basis until the patch arrives.