Developer: Zipper Interactive
Publisher: Microsoft

Alternate history is a small but growing style of literary fiction that is often considered an offshoot of science fiction. While many alternate history stories do have elements of science, many are simply tales set in a world where a key historical event or two played out differently and resulted in an entirely different timeline. This simple premise, like most back stories, does require a well considered flow of events to work properly – especially with gaming where players need the world to seem familiar enough but still unique. The results have been mixed when it comes to bringing an alternate history based world to a gaming environment, but Zipper Interactive seem to have everything well in place with Crimson Skies, theirupcoming adventure flight simulation.

Based on the paper and pencil roleplaying game from publisher FASA, the game involves an alternate timeline for the 1930s where the United States has broken up into several smaller rival nations. Mini air forces, full of daredevil pilots, defend their individual states against hostile aggression while the vast road and rail networks that transported goods and people around the country in our realitysimply do not exist. Instead, airships and zeppelins are the transportation method of choice in Crimson Skies, but these slow moving luxury liners and freighters of the air have fallen prey to a new breed of high flying bandits and sky pirates.

Players take the role of an infamous sky pirate named Nathan Zachary, the Errol Flynn-like leader of the notorious Fortune Hunters sky pirates. But predictably, Zachary is also a pirate with a heart of gold who willingly responds when duty calls – such as helping repel a British invasion of Hawaii. Zachary's career continues as he is called upon to take out enemy zeppelins over such scenic locations as Manhattan, and even to steal Howard Hughes' famous Spruce Goose from a Hollywood movie studio!

With its diverse and lush locations, daring aerobatics and 1930's movie serial-style storyline the game is part Indiana Jones, part Flash Gordon and a whole lotta fun! Furthermore, gamers who might be turned off to traditional flight sims need not worry that this is just another complicated flying game with unique aircraft, as the developers have worked to make this a game that is extremely forgiving, but not by making it too much of arcade game either. Zipper Interactive instead created relaxed physics and much simpler controls, plus players don't have to be concerned with things like takeoffs and landings.