Sky Crawlers utilizes what it calls the "Tactical Maneuver Command" system. Essentially, this lets you lock on to enemy craft and go for a near-instant KO. You must simply follow an enemy for a few seconds, press a button and, like magic, you'll be right behind the enemy for an easy kill. The tracking was also overly generous, allowing you to follow a craft without actually having it on screen. Supposedly, this technique will get more difficult to utilize later on, but it made the game a bit too mindlessly easy for us.

The Sky Crawlers, in spite of its attempts to recreate a cockpit experience, ultimately feels shallow due to the overly-generous lock-on system. Flying around, taking down targets is mindless fun -- rather ironic, if you're familiar with the original story. However, with impressive production values, and the promise of animated cutscenes in the style of the film, we're still excited to play The Sky Crawlers when it comes out. Yes, the gameplay doesn't strike us as particularly inspired, but the universe compels us to see more. Perhaps the full game hides depth unseen in this early demo, and offers the kind of challenge we expect from a team as revered as Project Aces.