Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

"Really good Star Wars game, except..."

This game rocks. The graphics are good in most (MOST) places. After the HILARIOUS intro (Who says disco is dead?), you are immediately plunged into... A training level. The beginning was on-foot, and at first, I didn't find anything wrong, until the Sandcrawler. The auto lock-on for the on-foot section was wonky. There were three enemies, and it went funky. It didn't even have the sense to lock onto a person out in the open, but except lock-on to someone behind a rock. Also, the character's faces aren't detailed much, and there aren't the actual voice actors (so far..). Where's Mark Hamill and, especially, James Earl Jones? Oh well, if he wasn't THERE to record the voice, he was probably somewhere else. Does this mean we can expect a new Lion King game or a Field of Dreams game? Factor 5 forgot something important: ''If you add James Earl Jones in it, they will come.'' Also, it's hard to shoot enemies when they are smaller than your ship and they zip by at high speeds. I'll get you next time, lucky survivor!The good stuff? Well, every good aspect makes me drool a fanboyish drool (that means there are Hot Pocket bits in it). The flying levels ROCK, The speeder bike levels ROCK, and the multiplayer modes RULE (Co-op, as you already know, is the whole game Rogue Leader, only two player! And Vs. is just fighting). One level, you have to evacuate hostages from imperial ships, in another, you fight in the asteroid field around Geonosis (the planet the climax of Episode II takes place); these missions are so good, I'm starting to... turn... fanboy... ish!!! W00T! SW rulez!!1! Star Trek=teh suck! Woah... sorry. Also, the game features many hours worth of cinema footage. Speaking of cinema footage, a lot of that footage is also seen perfectly recreated, movement for movement, so perfectly, perfectly... perfectly... so crispy smooth... Oh, anyway, rent first, and if you can get past the walking sections all the way to the flying sections, then you're okay.

Round up:

Good:
-Flying missions
-Perfectly recreated Star Wars scenes in 3D
-Actual movie footage (A few hours worth)
-Excellent graphics
-Hilarious intro

Bad:
-On foot sections
-Under-detailed character faces
-Not the same voice actors (No James Earl Jones!!!)
-Hard to shoot a TIE when they're zipping past you at 500 mph!

Overall, I think it's worth an 8. The game is excellent for simulating the destruction of the Death Star with a friend, yet the somewhat-hyped on foot sections are kind of a drag.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/03