Crimson Skies Review: Microsoft's Dieselpunk Gem 

I think the real reason the audio works in this game is that everything's written and sounding like it's an radio drama or a weekly TV show of the 1950s/60s.

Definitely a game that needs a reboot

This game and its Xbox sequel are truly underrated gems. The Crimson Skies franchise has one of the coolest fictional settings ever created. I'm still waiting on another sequel after all these decades.

I remember going to a chuck E Cheeses as a kid and there was a sit down arcade machine that sat you in a MOVING BUBBLE with Mechwarrior and crimson skies. Needless to say, I dumped all my tokens in it

Crimson Skies on PC was fun as hell. I wish to God they’d bring it back.

I feel like countries and nations splitting and waging war on each other is one of the best premises you can have since you can go in wildly different places with fictional cultures often becoming caricatures of the inspirations while still keeping a more serious narrative. This wasn't the case though lol

this was my favorite game as a kid, building your own planes was so cool and i have wished for something similar ever since. the stunt missions are brutal, that is true, but they are all possible once you master the game (with or without a joystick).

In 1998, Microsoft had a server with 150 rooms for Crimson Skies, which was always full. I miss that time. The friends I made playing the game taught me how to speak English. I had more than 1k of battles registered on the combat zone website. Best online gaming experience for me.

Its a shame. All these absorbed studios Microsoft has, they still can't seem to make another Crimson Skies game. Oddly enough the new gen consoles came out, and there was nothing to put on them. And I'm not buying the whole, we don't have games because of COVID bit. There were people still going to the jobs and working on things from home. Games often get worked on years in advance and there was just nothing for them to put out. Meanwhile 3rd party publishers have things about as ready as what 3rd party companies consider ready anymore. But they're secretly holding tittles back because they don't want to release their shinny new game to a new generation of luke warm numbers because the two prime hardware options of the future are scalped and have an install base to weak to give them the major numbers they want.

I think I've found a good reason to dig out my old fighter joystick...

8:22 - as I recall you don't have to do a single one of the stunts in the air race to proceed, I went nuts trying to do them with a stick, but if you literally fly around until the NPC planes do their scripted paths the mission proper begins anyway. You get some snarky commentary from the announcer though! Same with the Cabbie Autogyro chase in New York, you can just sit back in safety and it doesn't affect anything other than your ego as he insults you. There are a few tight passages you HAVE to do in other missions but none were as bad or frequent as the air race. The one absolute nightmare mission for me was the one in Cloud Haven where you're forced to use the Hoplite Autogyro. You have to scout out a few locations to find someone and I never quite worked out how scripted or randomised it was. All I knew was you got repeatedly slammed by planes that far outclassed you, the theory (I think) was you using the insane agility of the gyro to overcome your weak guns and armor, in practice I got shredded over and over again. If you fail it enough times you get the option to skip it completely. Going off very old memories of multiplayer... There were theoretically thousands of possible combinations of airframe/engine/armour/weapons, in practice the meta was the Devastator with 60 cal dum-dums, 60 points of armour all round and either flak of high explosive missiles. You would rarely see anything other than every single player in that one build. Autogyro or Balmoral were the meme options and I got a LOT of mileage out of the Kestrel even though it was considered poor. Fun fact - if you had multiple missile types equipped (eg flak and high explosive) you could switch between them faster than the refire time of each missile. You could pump out missiles faster than you were 'supposed' to, leading to much controversy online. It was either banned by community rule or looked down on if you resorted to it. I think it was called 'rippling' in the meta. The other complaint was 'poaching', where you would shadow one plane and let it do 95% of the work of taking down another, then you would fire the killing shot and get the points even though you did little of the work. It was endemic on both team matches and free-for-alls and also became a debate of cheap tactic vs legitimate strategy. If you were running a match you could ban types of ammo/missile/plane, often the smoker and flash missiles were banned. Amazing how clearly it's coming back to me after these years!

I somehow love these graphics than today.... And I play DCS world 😆

Probz the best review I've seen of Crimson Skies. Keep it up bro!

Played the demo until the cows came home at my friends house. When i got a pc i grabbed it for 15 bucks and loved it. good times

I remember hearing about this game in Computer Gaming World magazine.

Fun fact: This game still has an active MP community. All you need is Gameranger and find some people to play with. It's great fun to just shitpost about in.

Lol. Who wanted racism in this game? Did you want a racist Nathan Drake as well?

Why is the universe of this game so appealing to me?

Long time watcher of your videos, love the review and the historical context you added.

Actually loved this game on PC back then!!

I liked to play this game.

I had so much fun as a kid playing Crimson Skies on my dads computer. This needs a VR remaster.

2:24 "No swearing, racism and bigotry that was so habitual for the era" literally unplayable

i played this game as a young boy. it was such a wonderful experience. it really got me interested in flight games and aerospace in general. im an engineer now.

Ah I only knew about the xbox version, it's a game I've meant to pick up because I really liked the setting of the game, like you mentioned, but I didn't know it was also on PC. Sadly sounds like a bit of pain in the butt to get working, so I might still check out the xbox version, even if its more arcadey, also I hear armored core music, I knew you were a man with good taste. Nice review man.

No joystick? Are you even allowed to review a flight sim? :D Seriously, you missed out on how the majority of this game is geared around the old radio serials of the 30's-40's. There was no swearing, there was no 'hard' violence, and even in movies a silk letdown was more common than the realistic deaths in cockpit. You can't compare this game's homage style to modern ideas that attract younger audiences. The flying is exciting and the right mix of sim-vs-arcade to make it fun. it feels like you're a skilled (but still vulnerable) hero. The option to skip the mission after four or five failed attempts was great, as it didn't allow the game to stagnate and drag you down from the story just because you couldn't get that one thing (air-race stunts), but allowed you to keep hammering away at them until you got them right if you wanted. There were also plenty of "collectable" photos that you got for various stunts, so replayability was good. I've never heard of anyone getting them all. I certainly didn't. The voice acting was perfect. All of the characters felt right and could easily be matched to the faces in the group photos based on their mannerisms. The fact that among all the pirate groups was one group that was 'gentlemanly' and considerate in their methods was a good hook and harkened back to the Erroll Flynn days of swashbuckling, again a serial trope, but was fun. Crimson Skies was a wonderful mix of the right things a game can be, and certainly has never been the norm. The Xbox version wasn't as good (They killed off Jack! ) and was limited to 3rd person view, and more arcadey. Wasn't as fun and I only bought it because I had an xbox and loved the series. The literature in the CS universe is top notch and really expands the scope of what the game started. Crimson Skies is an oddball game/sim, even among the afficionados of the time, and definitely worth the effort if you are willing to do what it takes to make it work.

Man, there's nothing wrong with the Xbox version lol. I came here because I was nostalgic for that one

Easyclicks was one of the best online players.

The gyro copter mission hunting down ulysses Boothe was a crule torture to beat

I really wish they would remake this game.

racism? OMG. ITs america not Africa.

Remember abandon it because a bug that erased your save file...

I just realized I am already subscribed to you back when I saw your Marathon spiritual successor video. This video is good too, I really enjoyed it. Would you please provide links to the patches and downloads you found?

You shot down the Seaduck at 0:35...

Yooo !!! My childhood it’s here hahah can u PLS upload the game with the graphics fixed? Or like a video explaining how fix the game ?

What's the best way to play in 2024?

Joystick is only like 20 monies m8

This was the orignal warthunder

I finally got this up and running on a Windows 7 desktop last year. It was my first playthrough since 2002 and it's still a great game. Sad that Microsoft just let this franchise die after the weak High Road to Revenge console release.

Without this game, Roblox Zeppelin wars would not appear on the platform.

Metal Gear Solid (the first one, originally on PS1) PC has also been published by Microsoft. So MGS is a Microsoft's game now, right?

I remember the graphics being much better. but that is like every game i recall being good and its now just stick figures.

I remember this when I was a kid.

8:22 have you tried procuring yourself a controller then? You didn't specifically mention any issues in mapping controller axes, so this makes me think that it is your personal issue rather one that partains to the whole overall quality of the game. I disagree with the general statement that arcade flight Sims become automatically easier with a controller, no, even with Ace Combat 7, with a controller, you need some feeling with the controls before you fly flawlessly

9:02 Crimson Skies is so cool to allow you to commit war crimes. And the chronology allows for the world of Crimson Skies does have the Geneva suggestion

I remember playing the arcade version at a go kart park, and being enamored with the planes, setting and the being tossed around in the red bubble. I just rediscovered what exactly I played tonight, after watching some footage of the game and noticing some similarities. I believe this should get a remake.

Played the boardgame (Fury's 70cal FTW) a lot and loved the demo back then. Never played the full game sadly. I wish MS would get back into it, its a fun theme/era to play in. IIRC the gun meta for the game is using Dum-dums rounds as they have the best TTK by far than any other ammo types (DDs were supposed to suck against armor and shred unarmored parts.. but the way it works it just shreds the target's internals regardless of armor). Explosive is next best. AP is the worst.

If you like this sort of games you might also want to check out Rowan's Airpower. It's a dos game so you have been warned.

when i was a small child my mother took me to a used game store to clean my copy of LotR:two tower and she let me buy this game with my savings (i payed in pennies and nickels). i wanted to see the gameplay after all these years. this made me feel good.

Anyone know how to fix framrate issues on this great game?

When a game does not allow you to remap controls, use AutoHotKey - this tool allows you to remap keys very easily.

Bull dog anyone

Did you had the issue, when the game starts to run at reduced speed, like half from normal, but without actual drops in FPS?

tanx 4 the rev

This game is so due for an upgrade on a next gen console.

Bam bum ba bum ba dum ba dum!

7:21 some of these aircrafts look uh... A little bit shafty.

Hearing a younger person's perspective on this game made me feel so old... and that thing about the Spruce Goose actually being real... I need to go take my meds now. When this came out in 2000, it felt like an absolute masterpiece. Nice balance of sim and arcade elements, great graphics, great music (but loops did get annoying), great universe, and the aircraft customization was brilliant. The joystick was indeed a necessity, but way more people had them back then, and the game was always buggy. I remember having to install a patch or two before it would run on my PC. I loved the Crimson Skies universe so much I bought the novel.

Loved this game! Was challenging but fun.

Oh man. I loved this game back in the day.

The PC version sucks because of the bad controls. But the Xbox version is actually pretty great.

zeppelin wars but with extra steps basically

a gamepad works pretty well for the game too

can you review mighty goose

Thanks for reminding me of his game... brought back some sweet childhood memories

zeppelin wars lore:

isn't this game on the same engine as mechwarrior 4?

Your channel is very underrated I really like your content it has brought to my attention lots of Games and Movies which I did not know of I wish you can make another video like the wars of the 20th century video but on Video Games this time.

A few obscure strategy games you might want to check out are "Korea:Forgotten Conflict", "Cops 2170" and "ALFA:Anti-terror." Korea (Which I've not played) is apparently like Commandos but during the Korean War. While ALFA is about Russian Counter-terrorism and is a turn-based action title. Cops 2170 is a turn-based strategy title where you play as police in a cyberpunk dystopia. (and is apparently a prequel to another Cyberpunk turn-based game, Paradise Cracked, though Cops and ALFA are on Gamersgate while Paradise Cracked isn't on any digital storefronts, the devs did go on to make the warfare series of games (Warfare, Warfare Reloaded and Syrian Warfare but sadly I had radio silence when I tried to them about re-releasing Paradise Cracked's English version.) Weirdly enough, the devs did release updated for free modern versions of Cops 2170/Paradise Cracked, but it was a small release on the official forums and no English translation included. (Sadly unlike when 7554 was released for free where they actually made sure to keep the non-native translations.) They seem like decent enough titles but there's practically nothing about them on youtube. (And I've only played a little bit of Cops/ALFA.) This does look like something I should checkout. It seems like I think there's multiple versions of SafeDisc DRM, so some games break due to it but others are fine.

Played this in high school, looking to set it up again on a retro pc

Great Review bro :-D

I've play recently on the cloud gamepass (pc) it work perfectly and it is even dubbed entirely in french very nice discovery

ok the original was god but the diss on the xbox was uncalled for. but I agree I wish they brought this franchise back

What are you talking about there’s no swearing.