Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

"Flying good, running bad."

Upon first glance it would seem that Factor 5 has created the single greatest interactive Star Wars experience of all time. Ever since it was first announced I have been following the progress of this game, seeking out all information and screenshots possible. Hell, I even preordered this game (no big deal, but I rarely ever preorder). And so finally the day comes, I at last have possesion of one of my most anticipated games of the year. I even took my time driving home so I could read the manual as well as drool over screenshots on the back of the box.

But all is not right with this game as I had once thought. While the visuals and sound are absolutely incredible (some of the best the GC has to offer) the gameplay has all but fallen flat on its face. Now since I had preordered it, I received the demo disc with all the extras. Most importantly the disc contained the Hoth level for playing. I figured that all of the problems presented in the playing would be corrected before its final release, but apparently that would require effort.

However the on-foot parts aren't the only dissapointing thing about the game. The difficulty of the flight missions has been dumbed down, even though there are what seem like hundreds of TIE fighters swarming about, many of them don't actually ever attack. There are a few groups of them that take little pot shots at you, but the rest are just there for scenery.

So far I have written almost exclusively about the low points of the game, which would make it seem odd at this point for such a high score (7). So perhaps I should mention some of the things tat make this game (even with all of its major flaws) a worthy purchase.

As mentioned before, the graphics are astounding. When Nintendo was bragging about the texturing capabilities of the GC back in 2001, this is why. While the texturing is still behind newer PC games, it is still rather impressive. All of the ship models and areas you play in look superb with plenty of polygons. Even all of the hundreds of little storm troopers running about the ground like space roaches are made of plenty of polygons. And the framerate hardly ever dips down. Wonderful...

Multiplayer is great. As many of you already know, Factor 5 included RS2 for cooperative play. Not only that, but the improved the graphics even (which isn't even needed as RS2 looks great even today).

All in all I can't quite tell yet if I really like this game, or if I'm just in denial. While its obscenely cool to take on a Super Star Destroyer in a little piece of junk fighter ship, the on-foot segments are terrible (don't even get me started on Jaba's barge, AAAAGGHHH!!!)

But, if you're a Star Wars fan and own a GC, chances are you've already gotten this game. But for those who don't, I strongly suggest you rent before you buy. Just warning you...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/03