Development is handled by the team that gave the world Crimson Skies (and Snoopy’s first aerial adventure – Snoopy vs. The Red Baron) so credibility and, for those that are interested in the genre, expectations are high for Flying Ace.

The graphics, although simple, are charming and give the game a smooth, clean feel. Bright colour schemes make it easier to pick out your aerial targets and, if anything, are more alluring to the eye than the Peanuts comic strips that have since been banished to the editor’s floor.

The single player campaign is short and focused. Other than the missions themselves there is little else on offer bar a few short moments where Snoopy and Woodstock enjoy a couple of frosty cold ones after a hard days dogfighting. Your plane is equipped with two weapon slots that you pre-determine before you start a mission. If the current set up isn’t working for you then you can alter your arsenal every time you die. Weapons are varied and cater for a good range of playing styles, shotguns for close range, homing missiles (no, the weapons aren’t period) for long range and air mines for tactical defence.

The missions you will encounter in single player do their best to stay varied with a good selection of protection, turret based, acrobatic and good old fashioned dog fighting modes to teach you how to handle your plane. It is perhaps best viewed as a warm up for the online component which is arguably the strongest hand that Flying Ace has to play.

With human opponents the instinctive nature of the combat system really shines. Banks, rolls and speed passes become more useful when you are playing against more ingenious opponents than the AI can muster. In multiplayer you can play as your Avatar if you are so inclined or you can assume the role of the supporting cast of Peanuts. Then you just start fighting, there is very little messing around and the free for all online mode is one of the most appealing aspects of the game. You log in and you get on with it.

There are some variations in game mode available such as Capture the Flag or a bizarre American football mode called Pigskin, but the tight controls and well designed and balanced weapon system means that you are likely to have the most fun blasting away at all and sundry in the more basic modes. The combat is close enough and requires enough skill to give the payer that great feeling of satisfaction when you have finally outsmarted your online nemesis. Killstreaks are rewarded with extra power in the form of Woodstock or the Dog House (with a massive machine gun) which encourages aggressive play.

At the end of the day Flying Ace is Crimson Skies with a cuter, more appealing hat on. With the death of the original Xbox servers, Flying Ace comes at just the right time for those who have a passion for airborne combat. The missions may be repetitive and, if you are adverse to flight sim games this probably won’t sway your opinion, but it offers well balanced gameplay and a keenly focused multiplayer mode that creates its own depth. The Beagle just scored a direct hit. For 800 MS Points, it's hard to find a better aerial competitive multiplayer game.