Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk

"Another group of Rebels, nothing to see here!"

Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk brings us an arcade like flight simulator, that isn't too bad on the visual part, doesn't suck completely on the audio section, and which gameplay isn't all that bad, but, repetitive!

STORY
So, you play out the role of your squadron leader, one squadron of the several that constitute some rebel forces... aaaand, you can imagine a bit the rest now, can't you? Rebels and such..
Really, nothing new on this part. You're supposed to just go against the opposition and wipe them as usual, suffering some dents here and there (as part of a story that you -must- follow).. so, yeah.

Cliche!

GAMEPLAY
Arcade feeling.
Really, it's all down to this! No takeoff and landing complications or anything, and the aiming system and weapons are all very pointed towards some easy adaptation so to give that fast paced action, which unfortunately fails in the end.

You have a truckload of planes to select from... well, not a truckload, a bunch, because a lot of them end up being mixes of a certain hull, with a certain main gun and a certain secondary and special gun, so. They are all very nimble, give or take, except for the bomber, which fire power really makes up for it.

There are story missions and challenge missions, both end up being the same, since you need to complete missions from one side, to unlock one or two from the other, that you must complete in order to progress, and thus repeating this cycle till you reach the final levels in each of the cases. Of course, needless to say, challenge missions, as they sound, provide some sort of challenge, which is usually defeat a previously played mission within an allocated amount of time, with a particular plane or so.

Now, the game could be -really- fun, but, it's kind of slow and repetitive. Why?
The AI sucks... well, it was designed to be plain I guess. See, enemy planes move in certain formations, which may split and group up again and all, but they always follow the same path in pre-established patterns... yes... you only need to follow them at a constant pace to not have a thing to worry about, except a missile or two that you can dodge with the click of a button (and the only way, I might add).
And your team mates are no better... their craft are as crummy as the opposition, where you come in being able to deliver most of the damage... where you kind of need, because enemy bombers and ground turrets are the units that can cause you most damage, and you need to destroy enemy units in order to refill the shields.

A lot is missing here...

GRAPHICS
Not something I'd take the hat to, but, surely it's not all that bad, neither. It's missing a bit more of visuals, but, the models are kind of well made, the levels are more or less well designed, but don't have any astonishing features.

There are some missile trails, the after burners make a short pretty effect, but, that's really about it.

SOUND/MUSIC
Rather simple as well, still, it provides something so that we don't feel in the void... more or less fitting sounds, even if some of them get lost in the middle of everything (it's complicated to hear that shotgun like subweapon sometimes).
The music isn't all that great either, but, some might enjoy this or that little part of the musical score.

RE-PLAYABILITY
Not much, really. No multiplayer, easy missions/challenges that you'll most likely complete in 2 or 3 tries should you even fail, and not that immersive gameplay, doesn't make you have that much will to pick up the game after you ran trough it.

OVERALL
Too bland. There is stuff missing here... if this was a bit more like, let's say, FreeSpace, yes, it'd be great.. but, this degenerated into repetitive gameplay, that will only make you have fun in small bursts.
Rent this one. It'll be enough to see all the game has to offer.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/05