Cheap Crimson Skies (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me) Price
CHEAP-PRICE.NET ’s Cheap Price
Here at Cheap-price.net we have Crimson Skies at a terrific price. The real-time price may actually be cheaper — click “Buy Now” above to check the live price at Amazon.com.
Both the premission briefings and the missions themselves play out like the campiest of Hollywood cliffhanger serials. Everything from the music to the way the dialogue is delivered evoke memories of the few episodes of Mystery Squadron and Tailspin Tommy we've seen. It's the kind of game where your enemies taunt you while you're flying, stately zeppelins float through the sky, and stunts are encouraged--the crazier the better. In fact, every time you perform an aerial feat that is particularly skillful (or stupid), the game automatically takes a picture of the dramatic event for your photo album.
Graphically, things couldn't be much better. The various planes are fanciful caricatures of real models of the period and are very detailed. The terrain and ground objects look amazing and are packed with little details. Mission environments are relatively small, but we never felt confined, thanks to the well-crafted mission objectives.
So is Crimson Skies an action game or a flight simulator? If it's this fun and stylish, who cares? The flight model is realistic enough that dogfights and canyon runs are challenging--speed bleeds off as you climb or tighten your turns, and the planes actually feel like they have some mass and inertia. On the other hand, missions are so over the top that you can't help but feel like you are playing an arcade game. Whether you are squeezing through mountaintop tunnel or barnstorming a hangar (and watching hapless pursuers smack into the sides of said objects), Crimson Skies is more reminiscent of Star Wars than of an episode of Wings on the Discovery Channel. However you want to categorize it, one thing is clear: Crimson Skies is a high-flying blast. --T. Byrl Baker
| PLATFORM: | Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me |
| CATEGORY: | Software |
| MANUFACTURER: | Microsoft |
| ESRB RATING: | Teen |
| TYPE: | Computer Games, Flight Simulators (Simulations), Flightsimulator flightsim, Flying, Air, Mechanized action |
| MEDIA: | CD-ROM |
| MPN: | C24-00006 |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| ACCESSORIES: | |
| UPC: | 659556459666 |
Related Products
Customer Reviews of Crimson Skies
A blaze of glory! This is a really cool game, but don't be decieved into thinking it's the latest in Microsoft's revered Flight Simulator line. This is arcade action, with minimal stalls and no blackouts to speak of. But does that mean we can't have fun?
Of course not! Reminiscient of "sims" like the older game Top Gun: Fire at Will, Crimson Skies places a heavy emphasis on fast action, amazing graphical splendor, big explosions, and varied missions.
Did I mention the graphics? No matter how low I swooped to the ground, it never descended into a muddle of blocky pixels. And the trees....I've played a lot of flight sims, and this is the FIRST game to get it RIGHT.
The scenarios are varied and entertaining, and you won't find yourself saying "not ANOTHER fighter sweep!" The maps are equally excellent, ranging from NYC to Hollywood to those tree-filled Rocky Mountains. Trees, and lots of 'em!
I don't know why everyone is complaining about the system requirements. I'm running this game on a PIII 500 MHZ Dell Optiplex with 128 MB of RAM and only a Voodoo III 3000 PCI, and at 800X600, I've got the graphics options pretty much maxed out. Load times for missions are 30 seconds tops, and the only real stutter is in the menus. Sometimes the software will hiccup when you click on a drop-down menu or button, but this is trivial once you get into the action.
I haven't played multiplayer yet, so I haven't hit any bugs. I do not doubt for a minute that they exist, though. The engine needs a little smoothing out.
Play it!
I so wanted to give this 5 stars...
and 4.5 isn't an option. I'll get to that in a bit, but about the good.
Atmosphere: Amazing. While playing, you will become immersed in the world created here. The voice acting is terrific, the in flight chatter is informative (though can be repetetive at times). It's downright fun.
Gameplay: Excellent. If you're looking for something to challenge you to the point where you'll tear your hair out, look somewhere else. But if you want a mildly challenging, but winnable flight/action game, give it a try. The planes handle very well with a gamepad or a joystick. I don't know about keyboard, but who would do that anyway? ;-)
Graphics: Beautiful. Planes look great, terrain, sky, everything. The cut scenes are nice as well. Just check any screen shot.
Now, the downside. Do not pay attention to the minimum requirements. They are way too low. I'm running an Athlon 900, 128 MB of RAM, and a GeForce 2 w/ 64 MB of DDR, and the menus are slow and the game play stauls at times, almost exclusively at the very beginning of each mission. If you have a slower system, you will have to turn all the graphics setting to low in order to play and drop the resolution to the lowest level. I'd suggest getting the demo first.
Couple other points, don't do a full install, it will run even slower. Also, before you even play it, go to www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/ to get the update. It will solve a critical bug that's mentioned in previous review(s).
A great game with an unfortunate problem that will keep the masses from enjoying it.
Best Game Since TIE Fighter
Crimson Skies is an incredibly fun game. The missions are varied and often quite challenging. I'm a pretty good dogfighter (note: no dogs are actually fought in playing this game), but the stunt and zeppelin missions sometimes took a frustratingly number of tries to get through. Still, I eventually acquired the necessary skills (and realized that some aircraft are better suited to some levels than others) and made it through all the missions.
Crimson Skies is more of an arcade game (flight stick and throttle are all you need to manage) than an actual flight sim (with flaps, ailerons, landing gear, etc.). This is fine with me, but some may prefer a more technically involved program. In addition to a pretty wide variety of aircraft, there is also a wide range of ammunition (which, like matching the plane to the task, also needs to be managed). Once you get into it, Crimson Skies is nothing but fun.
Like TIE Fighter, my favorite arcade-style flyer, Crimson Skies features a strong story line linking one mission to the next. The game features a cast of recurring characters - this adds to the fun of moving from one mission to the next. Do I get to push Ace Dixon around again? Yes. Excellent! It also helps explain why you'd do a stunt mission on the Hollywood studio lot you just shot up and from which you've commandeered the Spruce Goose. The instruction manual and pre- and post-mission summaries help build the retro atmosphere with news clippings, photographs and art deco-themed memorabilia.
If Amazon were to allow half stars in the ratings, this would come in at 4.5. How could it be even better? Two of the things that made TIE Fighter so much fun were its flight recorder and side missions. The recorder let you go back and view your mission from any desired angle. It would make Crimson Skies even more enjoyable if you could go back and see things you've shot down crash and burn instead of having to immediately switch to your next target. The side missions in TIE Fighter amounted to going further and further over to the Dark Side. In the first few missions of Crimson Skies it looked like there'd be added "targets of opportunity" (shooting the munitions truck on the suspension bridge, destroying the work camp, etc.), but they soon dried up to be replaced primarily with stunt flying. An offhand comment about Germans early on has a payoff at the end of the game, but it would have been nice to feel the big ending building up more over time.
It's not entirely fair to evaluate a game for what it isn't, so please don't let my comment above dissuade you from buying this game. Crimson Skies is simply the most fun I've had in a long time, and while it's possible that it could be improved, it's pretty close to perfect as it is.