Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Gameplay

High Road to Revenge is a flight-based combat game: during most of the game, the player controls an aircraft from a third-person perspective. It is an arcade flight game as opposed to a flight simulator; physics are relaxed, controls are simplified, and takeoffs and landings are completely automated. Project lead Jim Deal explained that Crimson Skies was built around an arcade design to make the game easy to learn, and to place its focus on action instead of the physics of flight.

There are over twelve playable fighter aircraft in Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, including planes available to download over Xbox Live. Each aircraft has its own ratings for speed, maneuverability, armor, and a distinct weapons layout. Machine guns and cannons, which serve as primary weapons, have unlimited ammunition, but can temporarily overheat. Fighters are also equipped with limited-ammunition secondary weapons, examples of which include magnetic rockets, heavy cannons, and a Tesla coil.

In keeping with the game's arcade nature, the armor and secondary ammunition of the player's aircraft can be replenished by flying into health and ammunition crates, which are dropped by destroyed enemies and scattered throughout the terrain. Developers also added special maneuvers, such as the barrel roll and the Immelmann, which the player can perform during flight through manipulation of the analog sticks. Use of these stunts is governed by a "special meter" which recharges over time during play.

High Road to Revenge gives the player the ability to switch out of their current plane during gameplay and commandeer additional aircraft on the ground. The player also has the ability to take control of fixed weapon emplacements, at which time the camera shifts to a first-person view. Turret types include machine guns, flak cannons and rocket launchers. They are found in most of the game's maps, built into the terrain or mounted on vehicles such as Zeppelins.

Single player campaign

The game's single-player mode has four difficulty settings and spans twenty levels. The player has access to ten aircraft during the campaign; the player starts with one available, and can acquire others by stealing them during some stages of the campaign. Most playable craft can be upgraded once—each using money and upgrade tokens found or awarded during missions. High Road to Revenge, however, lacks the aircraft customization features present in the Crimson Skies game for the PC. Designer Jose Perez III later lamented the game's upgrade system, opining in favor of the one present in the PC game.

Several levels in the game are structured similarly to the open-world missions of the Grand Theft Auto series. On these stages, missions are represented by icons located throughout the game map. The player triggers a mission by flying to one of these icons; the events of the mission then unfold on the same environment. A predetermined set of story missions advances the game's plot during these levels. In addition to pursuing story-based missions, the player may explore the area, steal additional aircraft, complete optional missions, plunder neutral airships, or participate in air races. These actions may earn the player money, which is necessary to use repair stations or to upgrade a player's aircraft.

Multiplayer and Xbox Live

Multiplayer in Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge is available through split-screen on one console for up to four players. Multiplayer for up to sixteen players is also available via System Link and Xbox Live. In the latter mode, two players may play on one Xbox Live account via split-screen.

The following multiplayer modes are available for the game out of the box:

Dogfight: a deathmatch mode, in which players earn points for shooting down enemies.

Flag Heist: a capture the flag (CTF) mode in which the objective is to seize a flag from an enemy team's base and return it to one's own.

Keep Away: a mode in which the goal is to capture and hold an artifact (in-game item) for a set amount of time.

Wild Chicken: a deathmatch/CTF variant in which points are earned either for killing enemies or for returning a "wild chicken" (in-game item) to a team's base.

A player's online ranking in High Road to Revenge is based on their performance record, which includes wins and losses as per the Crimson Skies' Xbox Live scoring system. This system incentivizes players to earn higher points by defeating higher-ranked opponents or by achieving victories against stronger teams. The scoring system also credits players who play matches to completion, intended to punish players who "drop" out of an online match they are losing.

In addition, Microsoft released free downloadable content for the game during 2003 and 2004 via Xbox Live. This additional content has included new planes, multiplayer game maps, voice chat, and the following two multiplayer game modes:

Chicken Pox: a variant of Dogfight and Wild Chicken in which chickens are used as power-ups.

Plot

Setting

The game takes place in the Crimson Skies universe, set in an alternate history of the 1930s. In this fictional setting, increasing sectionalism within the United States of America has caused the country to splinter into numerous sovereignties, whereas in the southern sovereignty, slavery had been reinstituted, and was a major driver of conflict between the established nation-states resulting in a constant state of war with one another, and thus an interstate highway system never developed. This in turn caused the primary means of transportation to shift from the car and train to the plane and Zeppelin; consequently came the formation of air pirate gangs who plunder aerial commerce over North America.

As a result of the events surrounding the world of Crimson Skies, advancements in technology within the game universe proceeded at a faster rate than actually occurred in the same era. Certain designs and technologies were created specifically for the game, some beyond the scope of actual 1930s technology, examples of which include remote-controlled rocket launchers, magnetic rockets, weather control devices, and a Tesla coil-like weapon. The game's aircraft were designed to be true to the era yet unique, with some models inspired from actual period aircraft or from the experimental designs of the Luftwaffe. Art director Robert Olson has stated that his team faced challenges in developing content that "fit the time setting" and was also "both fantastical and believable", particularly in the design of the game's bosses.

The game takes place in four regions set in North and South America. Sea Haven is an island in the Nation of Hollywood; it is a refuge for various pirate groups, but the Hollywood militia attempts to uproot the raiders. Arixo is a desert nation-state, formed from the remnants of Arizona and New Mexico. Due to its vast, desolate, and lawless expanses, Arixo has become a haven for bandit activity. The Navajo Nation is an isolationist and militant haven for the Navajo Native American tribes that encompasses territory from the former states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Chicago remains an industrial city, while the "Lost City" is a complex of ancient ruins located deep in South America. In designing many of these environments, developers used inspiration from real-world locales, but reworked them to incorporate flight spaces accordingly with the Crimson Skies universe. For example, Chicago was significantly redesigned for High Road to Revenge with the addition of avenues for aerial commerce among its skyscrapers and landing areas within the buildings themselves.

Characters

The player character is Nathan Zachary (voiced by Tim Omundson), leader of the Fortune Hunters air pirate gang. The character of Nathan Zachary was redesigned from his previous role in the PC game Crimson Skies, redefined by the darker tone of High Road to Revenge in comparison to the "campy" and "pulpy" tone established in the PC game. Zachary's character was also modified to have a number of flaws and weaknesses in addition to his strengths. He is described as having a dry sense of humor, and is also portrayed as a somewhat reckless character. Overall, developers wanted to maintain that Zachary was not "born a hero" and instead was forced to become one as a result of extraordinary circumstances.

Other members of the Fortune Hunters include Zachary's wingmate, "Brooklyn" Betty Charles; and "Big John", who captains the Fortune Hunters' Zeppelin base, Pandora. Later joining them is the adventurer Maria Sanchez, who owns a fuel station in Arixo. Another ally of the Fortune Hunters is "Doc" Fassenbiender, a scientist who has developed new technologies for the pirate group and is a close friend of Nathan Zachary.

Opposing the Fortune Hunters include rival pirate gangs such as the Ragin' Cajuns, led by Louis "Wild Card" Thibodeaux; and the Red Skull Legion, led by Jonathan "Genghis" Kahn. The game's primary antagonist is Dr. Nicholas Von Essen, a German expatriate and leader of Die Spinne (German, "The Spider"), a fascist militia force. The game originally featured a larger cast of onscreen characters and more abundant character development. These, however, were removed when the game's "playable movie" concept was scrapped.

Storyline

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge begins the morning after Nathan Zachary (Tim Omundson) the leader of the "Fortune Hunters" air pirates, has gambled away his signature fighter plane "Gypsy Magic" (a Hughes Devastator) and his pirate zeppelin, the Pandora, to the Ragin' Cajuns, a rival band of air pirates. Thibodeaux (Jimmie Woods), the Cajuns' leader, attempts to claim Zachary's fighter and Zeppelin; Nathan, however, with the aid of Betty, another member of the Fortune Hunters, manages to recover them both. Nathan and his crew have another run in with the Ragin Cajuns when Thibodeaux steals Betty's plane, which prompts Nathan to destroy his pirate gang. Later, Nathan receives a distress call from Nathan's old friend Dr. Fassenbiender (Neil Ross), who reports a break-in at his lab. He informs Nathan of what he believes had been the target of the attempted burglary: his plans to construct a wind turbine, a device capable of artificially generating storms. He warns Nathan about Von Essen (Charles Dennis), a scientist who had unsuccessfully tried to engineer a wind turbine for a German superweapon earlier during the Great War. Suspecting that Von Essen had been behind the break-in, Doc entrusts Nathan with the schematics for the turbine.

Nathan and the Fortune Hunters with the aid of a pirate ship captain, destroy the hidden base of the "Hollywood Knights", a militia run by the "Nation of Hollywood" dedicated to stopping Sky Piracy in the surrounding land. They then receive a distress call from Doc who reports being under attack. When Nathan and the Fortune Hunters return to Fassenbiender's lab, they find it under attack by several planes and a heavily-armored zeppelin belonging to Die Spinne, a mysterious faction with advanced weaponry. Upon destroying their zeppelin, its nose separates itself from the rest of the airship's wreckage and transforms into a spider-like walking tank. Although they repel the threat, they find that the attackers have still succeeded in killing the Doc. Nathan, along with Betty (Tasia Valenza), Big John (Wally Wingert), and the other Fortune Hunters, embarks on a campaign to find those responsible and have them "brought to justice." He and the Fortune Hunters travel to Arixo, seeking out a mine producing titanium, the only material that could be used to build the wind turbine; there, they hope to gain clues as to the identity of Doc's murderer. During his search, Nathan comes across Maria (Nika Futterman), who agrees to lead him to the titanium mine on the condition that she is allowed to join the Fortune Hunters. They run into a road block, as to get to the mine they must cross Navajo Nation which has had its borders closed. The Fortune Hunters retrieve a sacred statue and return it to the Navajo as a show of good will. Nathan also passes three tests set by the Navajo to prove his worth. Together they all continue to the mine, and discover that the mining operation is controlled by the Red Skull Legion, headed by a man named Khan, who Nathan personally knows. Nathan then proceeds in destroying the Red Skulls and a giant mechanical worm created by Die Spinne.

Development

Developers insisted early on that Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge would not simply be a port of its predecessor Crimson Skies. Although Project Art Director Robert Olson complimented the radio play that frames the campaign of the previous title, he notes that a different presentation was needed for the game's new target audience. The development team decided upon an adventure along the vein of the Indiana Jones franchise, adding elements of "over-the-top, 1930's pulp-fiction style action", such as the game's boss battles. The style chosen by the developers led them to hire Drew Struzan, the artist responsible for the Indiana Jones film posters, to do the box art.

Series creator Jordan Weisman noted that the game had a "difficult development", and went through many different creative directions. Throughout the development process, Weisman worked with the game designers to ensure that "the essence of the [Crimson Skies] IP was coming through". When development of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge was first assumed by FASA Studio, it was conceived that the game be made into an "interactive movie", a concept that would have involved an elaborate storyline and a large number of cutscenes. This process would have needed a linear mission design, potentially restricting gameplay. Programmer Patrick Schreiber later noted about the "playable movie" concept that "it looked great on paper, but […] was difficult to implement in a way where it felt like the player had some control over what was happening".

Consequently, developers pushed back the game's release date by a year in favor of increased development time. At this point, both playtest feedback and inspiration from games that offered more gameplay options helped shape the game's development. The game's "interactive movie" concept was scrapped, the storyline simplified, and the original linear mission design was reworked to promote more choice-driven gameplay. One example of this is the game's open-ended missions, which allow players to "explore the […] world of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge at their leisure". Another is the ability to substitute a fighter plane for a stationary weapon or another aircraft, which was added in order to give the player "different ways to accomplish the same goals".

The developers made several graphical improvements during this extended development period, focusing resources on improving the looks of the game's water and aircraft. The team also made the decision at this point to add online support to the game. This was an important decision for the game's developers due to the technical and gameplay obstacles involved, although their association with the team that produced MechAssault (another Xbox Live-enabled title by FASA Studio) managed to considerably reduce the amount of time needed to implement Xbox Live in High Road to Revenge.

Merchandise

In October 2002, Del Rey published the mass market paperback book Crimson Skies as an official tie-in to the Xbox game. The book is not a prequel to the Xbox game; it instead offers the backstory of the world of Crimson Skies, and also details the adventures of three of the series' main characters in the form of three short stories (the first two of which had been published previously on the Crimson Skies website):

Paladin Blake and the Case of the Phantom Prototype by Eric Nylund

The Manchurian Gambit by Michael B. Lee

Bayou Blues by Nancy Berman and Eric S. Trautmann

Published a year before the final release date of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, the book contains several inconsistencies with the final version of the game. Although billed as a tie-in with the game, numerous main characters and prominent aircraft from the book do not make an appearance in High Road to Revenge. In addition, the book contains a reference to a "Zeppelin casino," which was featured only in the E3 2002 demo build of the game.

The game's soundtrack was later released separately from the game by the record label Sumthing Else Musicworks. The soundtrack contains two discs—a CD featuring 54 tracks from the game, and a DVD containing Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mixes of the game trailer and two pieces from the soundtrack.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, where the game was ported for release on May 20, 2004, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one seven for a total of 32 out of 40.

GameSpy described it as "one of the most fun, and almost more importantly, unique games to hit the scene in awhile [sic]". The game's graphics were very well-received by reviewers; of particular note were the game's explosions, long draw distance, fanciful plane models, and large, open environments. Critics wrote favorably of the game's audio, applauding strong voice acting as well as its swashbuckling and adventurous background music. Reviewers lauded the game's presentation, highlighting the contribution of the game's visuals and audio to the game's style and atmosphere.

Game Informer and GameSpot complimented the game's streamlined arcade control scheme, noting the ease with which it is possible to learn the game in comparison with other flight games. However, IGN noted that the gameplay would appeal more to casual players than flight sim fans. Reviewers also praised the game's mission design, with Edge magazine stating that "the mission structure is surprisingly open-ended", and that the ability to utilize stationary turrets "adds a much needed strategic aspect to combat and spices up the online play immeasurably".

The game's single-player campaign was generally well-received, partially because critics found its "escort missions" less frustrating than those in other flight games, and partially due to its depth in comparison to similar Microsoft Game Studio titles. Critics most notably acclaimed High Road to Revenge for its Xbox Live features, many describing the online component as the game's best feature. IGN said that "the freedom to fly […] in any direction and unleash tons of firepower on human opponents will want to make you hug your Xbox Live subscription", and commended elements such the game's capacity for 16-player matches and the quality of downloadable content.

Although Xbox Nation likewise approved of the game's action-oriented gameplay, the site criticized the "lame 'favors for everyone' mechanic" surrounding the missions, noting that the player is always forced to perform "chores" for other characters in the game. GameSpy noted that the game had "some repetitiveness". IGN disapproved of the game's undescriptive plane selection screen, which does not inform the player of a plane's weapons loadout. The website also disparaged the game's upgrade system, which was described as "dry and unimaginative" in comparison to the plane customization feature in the Crimson Skies PC game.