Stop reading this review, go out, buy Crimson Skies, come home, and play it right now.

If you’re still reading, I’m going to assume that you need more convincing, and since that’s my job, have a seat and get ready to hear about the most amazing sleeper hit of 2003.

Set in an alternate universe in the 1930s, Crimson Skies borrows its backstory largely from American history. The “Great War” is mentioned, as well as the Depression, showcasing that the game’s writers wanted to give a familiar feel to the initial reaction to the game.

Although on paper it may sound unappealing to some, what really works here is that CS has something to get every audience’s attention. If you’re a fan of Star Wars, you’ll love alternate Chicago’s spectacular skyscrapers and reminisce over Coruscant. If you like the anime TV show Cowboy Bebop, then you’ll feel giddy over flying through towns in a souped up fantasy plane as you look for leads. And fans of James Bond will feel right at home with the lead character’s womanizing antics.

Of course, as said lead character, the single player story revolves around your role as Nathan Zachary, leader of the Fortune Hunters, and you aren’t flying the friendly skies.

With the United States no longer one nation and instead existing as nothing more than warring nation states, destroyed bridges and army checkpoints have lead to ground transportation falling behind to air transportation. And of course, air transportation naturally leads to air piracy. And that’s where you come in.

Rob zeppelins, steal contraband, and if you really want to be heartless, shoot down random planes for chump change, all while collecting tokens to upgrade your aircraft. And with eventually ten planes to choose from, that’s a lot of upgrading.

The way that Crimson Skies gives you these ten planes, however, is where the real beauty lies. Not content to simply hand you a new ride, the developers at Fasa chose to let you “get out of the car”, so to speak. At virtually any time in any mission, anywhere on the map, you can get out of your plane and man an AA gun, or switch to a different plane. You can even man the weapons on a war zeppelin to really bring the pain, and with mile-high dogfights against three zeppelins, fifteen Brigands, and ungodly metal creations the likes of which you’ve never seen, you’re going to need to bring as much pain as you can possibly muster.

With all this action, you might think that Crimson Skies is just a mindless explodorama with no real plot or purpose, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s just the opposite. With a plot that will rival most movies’, Crimson Skies will suck you in for the long haul as what begins as helping an old friend turns into a much darker, twisted scramble for power. Complimenting this dramatic storyline is a musical score that sounds like it’s straight out of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. The music is used to perfection, with tense audio filling the air in impossible looking dogfights, and lighter tunes playing in the background as you explore the surrounding area. And to boot, Crimson Skies features brilliant voice acting the entire time. Static-filled radio transmissions will buzz through your speakers as an ally informs you of a zeppelin weakness, and enemies will call for help when you get a bead on them.

And, of course, it also helps that the game is drop dead gorgeous. The water is jaw dropping, sparkling as rays of light shine down from a sunset. Clouds will muddle your view in high-altitude combat, smoke will billow from your plane, and flames will pour from your engine when you’ve taken too much damage. Of course, as shiny and beautiful as the planes are in this game, you’ll want to avoid taking that much damage, especially so you can enjoy one of the finer aspects of the game’s graphical prowess: watching a zeppelin’s skeleton plummet to the ground after you destroy it.

It might sound too good to be true, but Crimson Skies gets better, as it has the best control scheme I’ve ever used. Not only is the interface throughout the game slick, intuitive, and just plain easy to use, but piloting your aircraft is enjoyable, fun, and helps to make just flying around a game highlight. Although there’s no button mapping for customizable controls, you really don’t need it as Fasa did a masterful job with button placement. Everything feels natural, and you’ll find yourself almost knowing what button does what before the great pre-fight tutorial explains it to you.

Oh, and did I mention that Crimson Skies is the best Xbox Live enabled title since MechAssault? Featuring the classic gametypes Dogfight (Deathmatch), Flag Heist (CTF), and the newer innovations of Accumulate and Wild Chicken, you’re sure to stay busy, especially with team versions of each.

If you want more icing on this already beautiful cake, Fasa plans to release downloadable content via Xbox Live, and it could come in the form of more maps, and maybe even more planes, if the DLC of the aforementioned MechAssault is any indication. You don’t have to be a fan of flight games to fall in love with Crimson Skies, because there are so many elements to the gameplay, done brilliantly, that anyone can pick it up and start playing. Simply put, Crimson Skies not only does everything well, it does everything clockwork perfectly.

Go buy Crimson Skies. It’s a gem that should be, not only in every Xbox owner’s library, but in every gamer’s library, period. It’s like the game says… “Rule the skies, rule the world.” And Fasa has proven they rule the skies.

Pros:

• The game itself is a pro. Everything is wonderfully done.
  
• Xbox Live gameplay
  
• Downloadable content to come!
  
• Suh-weet looking fantasy planes.
  

  Cons:
  

  • It can be hard to identify who’s who is multiplayer.
    
  • Inviting people on Xbox Live is dangerous…you could easily remove them from your list by mistake!