You can still find some really innovative games outside the mainstream, and the latest title from Russian developers Gaijin Entertainment proves it. The studio itself is perhaps better known among gamers for Blades of Time or War Thunder, published two years ago by Konami. Skydive: Proximity Flight, their own interpretation of BASE jumping, is now available on Xbox Live, published by TopWare Interactive. It allows players to experience the thrill of flying from the comfort of their own living rooms, even if they’re not into extreme sports themselves.
High above the clouds ...
BASE jumping has been quite popular among extreme sports enthusiasts since the late 90s, and deadly accidents have ensured that it remains a controversial media topic. But there’s nothing dangerous about Skydive: Proximity Flight – on the contrary, playing with Kinect makes you sweat a little bit, and I hear that’s supposed to be good for your health. With a little hop, your avatar jumps off the side of a cliff; after that you use both arms to maneuver your jumper in his funny-looking flying squirrel costume, properly called a wingsuit. The suit allows you to swoop down at breakneck speed or soar back upwards to regain altitude. Courses follow a predetermined route, but there’s more than enough room to move around in the horizontal dimension, too. I almost want to compare it to the Panzer Dragoon series, but Skydive doesn’t feel like your typical rail-shooter. This might have a lot to do with the excellent graphics, but also with the fact that this game allows you much more freedom of movement than similar titles. The developers have done an extraordinary job of capturing the feeling of gliding through the air, and the team’s cooperation with professional skydivers like Jokke Summer and Andrey Boldyrev definitely paid off.
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to get the hang of it all, thanks to the game’s excellent Kinect controls, which are extremely precise and well implemented. If you don’t have a Kinect yet because you’ve been scared off by poor implementations of the system like in Fable: The Journey, you should go and get one now. Of course, you can also turn to your regular controller, as it’s not like Skydive: Proximity Flight was designed exclusively for Kinect. For you self-proclaimed couch potatoes out there, the game offers solid controls using the conventional Xbox controller. To be honest, what we’re actually dealing with here are two games in one: a really well done action racing game, even if the “vehicles” are a bit unusual, as well as what is perhaps one of the best Xbox 360 Kinect titles out there.
Those crazy guys in their flying suits
Of course the game lets you do a lot more than cruise around in the clouds – by moving your arms in different ways, you can carry out a whole range of stunts like barrel rolls, back flips, and nosedives; but you can also use the rest of your tired body to complete successful flights. The game’s most interesting feature, or perhaps its most exhilarating, are adrenaline flights, which will have you hunkering down like a skier at high speed. When you’ve built up enough adrenaline performing stunts, you’ll start moving even faster. This feature can best be compared with the “boost” from Burnout Revenge. And there’s no question that you’ll find your own adrenaline level rising along with it, so you can probably cancel your subscription at the gym.
Skydive: Proximity Flight offers a total of three different game modes. “Challenge” mode includes four different subcategories. Aspiring daredevils can get started by exploring all the routes and practicing simple as well as advanced stunts. Gradually become acquainted with the mechanics of the game and eventually learn how to combine stunts so you can show off what you’ve learned at the highest difficulty setting in Challenge mode. The difficulty level rises steadily and doesn’t make any huge leaps, and you have to be able to complete smaller and simpler stunts in order to unlock the more difficult combos. Like in real-life BASE jumping, the hardest part is staying in the air – in this case, doing as much as you can before you have to open your parachute to land. Once you’ve reached your goal, you can pull the cord by crossing your arms, though you can also skip the automatic landing maneuver if you want to.
So you think you can fly?
“Adrenaline Race” gives you the chance to see if you’ve really got what it takes. Your own “bird man” races against various AI opponents, and if you’re good you’ll end up on top. This is where you really get to see the hazards of each individual level – whether you’re flying through snow-covered mountains or sandstone canyons, you’ll always be able to find loopholes in the natural formations you can exploit to shave off a fraction of a second or two, and it’s up to you whether you want to take the risk. The developers also saw fit to add tracers on your opponents so that you don’t lose sight of them as they’re gliding through the deep valleys, leaving you all alone. There are six stages available with a total of eight starting positions to choose from. Various camera angles provide even more realism. Last but not least, “Freestyle” will give you a chance to breathe as you try out the flying skills of twelve different characters with names like “Nosferatu” and “Firewing”. Solo flights like these allow you to really admire the game’s graphics, and you can also change the weather conditions and starting times for the various stages.
For an indie game, the graphics in Skydive: Proximity Flight are really something else. The game environments are very well done, fog and cloud effects of all shapes and sizes can be found at all altitudes, and everything is animated at an average of 40 frames per second. And as if that weren’t enough, the guys at Gaijin Entertainment have also thrown in a stereoscopic 3D mode. As far as the soundtrack goes, there’s not much to say except that it rocks!
The game doesn’t have a multiplayer mode, but friends can send each other challenges via Xbox Live, and the host can set objectives and scout out routes beforehand. Likewise, being an Xbox Live game, there’s of course a leaderboard and a variety of achievements to unlock.
hi
good game