Sadly Microsoft didn't let them finish it… let's just get that sad fact out of the way. There is simply a fairly high percentage chance that Crimson Skies won't work on your computer at this time. It's crash prone and under-optimized even when it does work. Load times are significant and almost unforgivably long, framerates get jerky for seemingly no reason and there is a release bug (since patched) that will erase your campaign progress completely if you use that character in multiplayer or Instant Action! So if you have the game already get… that… patch… now! Other problems include frequent memory leaks (the game performs better if you exit out and reboot now and then) and a disturbing, if not problematic, habit of not completely exiting when I quit the game (I have to Cntrl-Alt-Delete and End Task to remove it every time). These bugs and problems are a crime, only because this probably could have been my favorite game this year otherwise. Shame on you, Microsoft! There, that said, on to the gushing.

In Crimson Skies you portray hero-pirate Nathan Zachary, leader of the intrepid Fortune Hunters gang. Nathan is a good guy: studious, enthusiastic and an excellent pilot. He fought the Hun in the First World War and engineered a daring escape from a POW camp. Then he fought the Soviets before striking out on his own as an air-shark patrolling the skyways. He's voiced with considerable charm and the cutscenes with him and his crew (still pictures with voice acting) should have come across as hammy but the voice actors are up to the challenge, as is the script.

The missions themselves are set in Hawaii, Hollywood and the asphalt jungle known as Manhattan, making for a wide variety of locales. The missions are linear and involve multiple objectives but the challenge level and difficulty ramp up gently and to the developer's credit you always have a fairly clear idea of what you're supposed to be doing at any given moment. Mission goals vary wildly as well, challenging you to shoot down a Zeppelin, lower a rope ladder to a moving train, or hunt down a hated enemy. You'll challenge the encroaching British Royal Air Force, the cold-hearted Soviets, private security fleets and, of course, rival pirates. The campaign is excellent but there are also canned single and multiplayer missions and an Instant Action mode that allows you to fill in blanks, like Mad Libs, to create your own cliffhanger.