Crimson Skies

Eye Opening!

On the heels of their success with Mechwarrior 3, the talented folks at Zipper Interactive have been working on a movie-like, action packed combat flight game called Crimson Skies. This is not a hardcore simulator by any stretch of the imagination; it's more of a fun filled, fanciful interpretation of how the world of the 1930s could have played out. The United States is in complete disarray, thanks to the Depression, a total isolationist policy, and Prohibition not being repealed. Four nation states vie for control of the land and you can fly for any one of them, as the hero-pirate, Nathan Zachary.

Avenger

Bloodhawk

You haven't seen planes like these before

Fantastical prop driven planes are the order of the day in Crimson Skies. Forget about the conservative lines and sensible design of World War 2 planes you know and love. Look for massive, twin engine, bi planes with propellers both pushing and pulling the plane. 20 mm Vulcan cannons? Machine guns? Bah that's for wimps. How about 70 mm rapid fire monster guns and rockets mounted on your craft? It's kind of hard to describe, so click on a few screenshots to see the vivid imagination of the Zipper crew. There are 13 planes in all that are flyable, but you'll also be going up against huge armed zeppelins that act very much like the cannon laden wooden ships of the 16th century.

Brigand

Coyote

Gameplay

So it sounds interesting but how does Crimson Skies play out? In a word, fantastic. Crimson Skies was one of several games at Gamestock that was actually playable, and were we glad! It snuck up on us as a very pleasant surprise with its visual flair, gripping action, and great personality. Trees line the terrain outside of cities, towns are alive with buildings, bridges, and traffic on the streets. As the ace pilot Nathan Zachary, you'll be flying under bridges, through tunnels, into and out of warehouses, and more! If you've seen it in a movie, you can do it in Crimson Skies - one mission we played required us to drop a ladder down from our plane to pick up an operative off of a moving train! All if it had to be done while fighting off squadrons of enemy aircraft and timing the train as it moved into and out of hillside tunnels.

Defender

Devastator

Awesome missions

Another mission required us to buzz over the rooftops of 1930s Hollywood to facilitate the escape of a key operative from a movie studio. We had to break open the studio entrance with guns and rockets, turn around, fly back and escort the getaway car by blowing up roadblocks ahead of it and the planes overhead trying to shoot up the car.

Firebrand

Fury

A third mission has Zachary hopping onto an airborne bomber, pulling out the astonished pilot and stealing the aircraft in order to sneak into enemy territory. With such breathtaking and creative missions, Crimson Skies promises some truly exhilarating gameplay for action fans. Let's not forget the possibilities in multiplayer - Microsoft representatives talked about standard team DM, Zeppelin match, and team CTF with the planes! We can't wait!

Kestrel	Peacemaker
Raven	Valiant
Vampire	Warhawk

Expected release: Q3 - 2000