Developer : Microsoft Game Studios
Release date : October 13, 2003
Synopsis :
Crimson Skies is an arcade flight video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published in 2000 by Microsoft Games. Although a flight-based game, Crimson Skies is not a genuine flight simulator, as the game is based less on flight mechanics than on action. According to series creator Jordan Weisman, Crimson Skies is “not about simulating reality—it’s about fulfilling fantasies”.
The game is set in an alternate history of the 1930s in which the United States has fragmented into a number of smaller sovereignties, and in which air travel has become the primary mode of transportation in North America. The game centers on Nathan Zachary, an adventurous air pirate seeking to rob the affluent of their wealth and power. Throughout the campaign, Zachary leads his gang of air pirates, the Fortune Hunters, on a quest to gain fame and riches.
Crimson Skies is often regarded as a “cult success”, commercially successful only to a limited extent. The game received generally favorable reviews; it had been noted for its high-quality voice acting, gameplay, and atmosphere.[5][6] Notable technical issues, however, were known to plague the game, the most notorious of which was the tendency to delete saved game files until a patch was released. The game was later ported to arcade games in 2002.
he Crimson Skies universe is set in an alternate history of the year 1937. According to the game’s backstory, factors such as the growing strength of the “Regionalist Party”, the division between “wet” and “dry” states, and a quarantine caused by an Influenza outbreak resulted in a general shift in power from federal to state and local levels. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, states began seceding from the United States. A number of independent nation-states form from the fractured United States; hostilities between these sovereignties eventually escalate into outright war.
After the breakup of America, the former nation’s railroad and highway systems fell into disuse as they crossed hostile borders. Consequently, the airplane and the airship became the primary modes of transportation in North America, which in turn gave birth to air piracy. Although air militias formed to defend against the air pirates, continuous brushfire wars between the nations prevent the established governments from effectively repelling the pirate threat.
Source : Wikipedia
