Wii Flying with Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
XSeed has a pretty good track record as a studio, helping to bring some interesting games to life. We’ve seen several of their titles on the DS before as well as their holiday games from last year on the Wii and DS. This time around, they bring a Japanese game to US shores, from the team behind Ace Combat. Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces isn’t likely to absorb serious flight simulation fans but offers surprisingly good graphics on the Wii, and fun controls that are simple enough to allow nearly anyone to fly. It’s probably the best flight game on the Wii.
The Story mode makes up the bulk of the game, and luckily the campaign offers plenty of unlockables and decent missions. There isn’t as much variation as you might want, but the combat is satisfying. It’s also easy to enjoy the cutscenes, which are anime-like, as the series is based on Japanese series and movie (though the plot can be confusing for those who aren’t familiar with it). A quick recap: the world is at peace, but corporations realize that there is money to be made off of conflict, and there are genetically-modified immortal “Kildren”, and… well, the story isn’t deep, but this is a game all about flying. And certainly the game shines best when engaging with other planes; dogfighting is uniformly excellent. Loading times could be pretty bad, but once ready to go, it was a finely balanced blend of challenging and fun.
At $30 and available online, it’s a nicely budgeted title that offers pretty good bang for the buck, even if the story mode felt a bit short. There isn’t online or split-screen multiplayer, which is a pity- but for those who want to fly alone, Sky Crawlers offers a fun experience.
