Despite all the dialogue and narration, I walked away from "Falcone" with the most important question: are they little people or giant birds? I too would love to ride on the back of a falcon, but I need a little more perspective. This question didn't bother me while I was admiring the graphics and shooting down enemies, but it was on the back of my mind throughout the adventure.

It's a question that came to me because I care. The world of Falconia is a vast expanse of ocean, dotted with islands ruled by factional warfare, which drew me in as the story progressed. I never wanted to skip the NPC chatter that preceded each mission.

It's a water world where Kevin Costner would feel right at home, so domination of the sea and sky is essential, and that's where you come in. As The Falcorner, you'll be riding a bird and helping with everything from simple deliveries to raids on heavily guarded forts. Surprisingly, The Falconeer is almost entirely the work of a single developer, Thomas Sala (voiced by Benedict Nichols), who cites "Crimson Skies" as one of his influences. And it shows. The controls are a perfect mix of casual bird sim and arcade aerial combat.

To speed up, the bird swoops down; to slow down, it flaps its wings on the fly, extending the falcon's wings to gracefully circle as needed. The chirps, flaps, and screeches work in tandem with the wonderful animation to create a convincing sense of control over the bird. At the very least, the bird is topped by a small or even normal-sized human being.

Falconeer's shooting would feel right at home in a World War II dogfight game. The Falconeer is fun to control, no matter what activity you are doing (the three categories of attack, defense, and transmission).

There are several escort missions, and these are a good example of how "Falconia" does some (but not all) things right. Now, I usually hate escort missions. Because I'm human. But it doesn't bother me one bit to accompany a slow but steady boat ride. For a while, there is nothing to do. It doesn't matter. Have you seen these graphics? This is a gorgeous game, and I usually relish any opportunity to bask in its charms, savoring the simple pleasure of piloting a falcon. Once combat inevitably appears, it is usually a delightful aerial dance with a few enemies.

However, there are no checkpoints, which is a major problem in this mission. If you die in the middle of the mission, you have to start all over again, and on the third attempt, you find yourself merrily sailing around the ship at a frustratingly slow pace, excitedly awaiting the battle you know is coming.

Nonetheless, the game (for the most part) lovingly lets you play in a rich atmosphere with a good mix of calm traversal and tense combat. One minute you can be soaring through the clouds alone, the next you can be attacking giant robot crabs with hit-and-run tactics.

The main problem with The Falconeer is its inconsistency, which prevents it from becoming the essential adventure I sometimes glimpse it can be. One small but noticeable problem is that the cash you get for completing the story and side missions (necessary for weapon and Falcon upgrades) is often out of proportion to the effort. An optional quest that takes only a few minutes may earn as much as a lengthy story mission, but this makes no sense. Also, while the story missions give clear instructions, when it comes to exploring the open world outside of them, the map only shows place names (and, by the way, you cannot set up custom waypoints), and you are on your own.

Difficulty levels throughout the story are all over the place, and there is no smooth gradient. While difficulty spikes are rare, they can be very annoying when they strike, so we eventually lowered the difficulty to easy to soften their impact (although we don't deny it). Also, it's nice to have allies in most story missions, and they always weigh in, but they don't always follow instructions (limited to "hit this target" or "get this enemy off your back").

Despite these criticisms, and despite the lack of an option to automatically target an enemy that is chasing you, Falconer still shines, mostly. Optional missions are half-hearted instructions like "go here" or "kill that," but you still dive in for pocket change. Any excuse to return to this fascinating world is a good one.

There is always something to see. A whale that can be seen for a moment from the ocean below, a thunderstorm that might fly through to recharge the lightning gun, a temple we have yet to discover, someone riding a dragon the same size as a giant/normal sized falcon, a sky-scape shrouded in sunset clouds. Above all, it feels special, even if it is something we have seen many times before.

The lack of direction other than the story is both a blessing and a curse, and its long-term appeal is debatable. Still, given the opportunity, one should take this flight.