You know the thing that I like about Indiana Jones? The fast-paced, breakneck action and heroes with quick, snappy one-liners. You know, the adventurer that always saves the day and gets the girl. Yeah, yeah, this is supposed to be a preview for Crimson Skies, not a motivational speech for Indy 4. But Indy and Microsoft’s latest Xbox exclusive title have two things in common: the first one is the classic radio serial plot. Full of drama, action and mystery, Crimson Skies picks up the cinematic mantle from Indy and looks like it’ll deliver a solid performance with its transition from PC to consoles. The other similarity between the two is the time period, albeit slightly different. Crimson Skies is set during the 1930s in an alternate history, where many of the historical crises of the last century set different social, economic and governmental wheels in motion. To that end, much of the continental U.S. has splintered into separate nation states, and piracy between nations has become a recognized form of warfare. However, sea pirates aren’t the threat; air pirates soaring through the skies in zeppelins are. (Everyone presently reading this, please forget that the Hindenburg occurred. Oh, the humanity…) Players step into the flight jacket of Nathan Zachary, infamous air pirate and head of the Fortune Hunters. Fronting a mercenary band of brigands isn’t an easy job: He gets his plane stolen, just about every bandit and lawman is looking to shoot him out of the sky and he’s lost all of his money in a high stakes poker match. Luckily, Nathan’s talent as an ace pilot allows him to support himself and his “nefarious” activities by taking on missions and jobs scattered around the numerous levels. Some of these include flying escort missions for other pilots, picking up contraband items and taking out rival pilot’s bases. Nathan takes to the skies in his Devastator, a plane with dual machine guns and slight homing missiles. However, he can “borrow” other aircraft from airfields or other factions, each with their own unique primary and secondary weapons. Regardless of the craft, each plane has a turbo boost, and each plane can perform quite a few defensive maneuvers. Nathan isn’t limited to taking off and simply dogfighting with his enemies; he can land and hop into an anti-aircraft turret to knock out incoming threats. Crimson Skies was impressive on the PC, and it’s just as amazing on the Xbox. The landscapes are picturesque, the plane models are well animated, and the explosions, especially tracked damage on planes is phenomenal. Cutscenes also stand out, with full attention to facial animation and lip syncing. With a score that sounds like it could double for an Indiana Jones movie, and razor sharp deliveries of lines by the voice actors, Crimson doesn’t look like it’ll be a title that will disappoint when it soars into stores later this month. Check back here for a full review! Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge for the Xbox? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Jeff 'Linkphreak' Haynes ] [ Comment in our Forums ]

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