Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

"The BEST Star Wars experience for GameCube owners!"

Introduction: The first Rogue Squadron game on a Nintendo system was on the N64 and it was released in 1998. It was a good start for the series, but it was missing many things. It made very little reference to the Trilogy, there were no Trilogy missions and you couldn't play as people like Princess Leia, Han Solo and Darth Vader. In 2001, LucasArts released the sequel to Rogue Squadron called Rogue Leader. It was an amazing game and a breakthrough in the Rogue Squadron series. It was the ultimate experience for Star Wars fans, but people were still wanting to have on-foot missions and multiplayer. Well, in 2003 LucasArts released the much anticipated and hyped sequel exclusively for the GameCube, called Rebel Strike. It is the next step in the series and the demands were high for this game...So how did it do? Is it the best in the series? And is it worth buying? Read on to find out.

Graphics:10/10 For any of you who have played Rogue Leader, you already know how spectacular the graphics are. Well if you can believe it, the graphics have actually been improved in this game! For those of you who haven't played it, let me sum up how I feel about the graphics: They are without a question the most spectacular graphics on any GameCube game out there on the market! The ship models such as the X-Wing, Y-Wing, A-Wing and TIE Fighter look so amazingly life like and detailed, it is frightening! The character models, such as Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and Darth Vader are also excellent. The stages and planets such as Endor, Bespin and Tatooine are very realistic and really show off the true power of the GameCube! Now what LucasArts has done to improve the graphics is up the detail on all of the ships and make much better lighting effects and shadow effects. For example, if your in an X-Wing and are being shot at by a TIE Fighter, if a TIE shots at you and misses, the laser beam reflects off your ship and that alone shows how detail oriented this game is. Another example is if your on-foot as Luke and are running in the Death Star, your shadow is fine tuned to his body and is not blocky at all. There have been many games where the shadows are blocky and look really fake, but not in this game. Overall, the graphics are absolutely amazing and the best the GameCube has to offer thus far in its life.

Sound:9/10 The sound in Rebel Strike is absolutely amazing! ALL of your favourite Star Wars themes are present from the original Trilogy! They are fully mastered and sound exactly like they do out of the movies and even slightly better! The themes all seem to come in right at the right time during a mission and perfectly fit the mood and atmosphere of that particular mission. One of my personal fav themes is the main title theme...man, that theme is so catchy! The regular sound effects such as blasters firing, lightsabers swinging, Wookie grunts, classic quotes and all are present in this game and sound great. All in all, the sound is some of the best I've heard in a GameCube game and will indefintley live up to your expectations!

Control:7/10 First things first: The controls in the flight missions are flawless...I can't think of anything off of the top of my head that has to be fixed up for the flight controls. LucasArts stuck with the original flight controls from Rogue Leader and although that may not be very innovative, it was a smart call and they stuck with a winning formula. Shooting lasers, firing missiles, using your targeting computer, speeding up, switching views and commanding teammates are just a few of the things you can do and they have never been easier to perform. I credit LucasArts and Factor 5 for making the awesome controls and Nintendo, for their awesome controller that feels incredibly comfortable. Now comes a little bit of trouble in the controls, and I'm refering to the on-foot controls. The on-foot controls are good and all, but I have some few gripes with them. First of all, the camera. The camera is not very good in on-foot missions as it tends to zoom out too far from all of the action and this can be a very big pain in the rear end. To add to the strain, there are no controls to adjust the camera view, so this can get very annoying at times. Secondly, the things you can do in the on-foot missions are very limited and the only thing you can basically do is shoot your gun/swing your lightsaber and move around and open doors and such. My other complaint with the on-foot missions is most of it is just shooting and not a lot of elements such as stealth are used. There are no controls for you to sneak around or talk to Imperial Troops if your disguised as them. Thus, the controls are a bit of a mixed bag and the flight controls rock, while the on-foot controls are good, but could be improved.

Gameplay:9/10 Here is where Rebel Strike truly shines and is unsurpassed by many games in its Action adventure genre. The flight missions are simply amazing...You can play as a wide variety of ships such as X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, B-Wings and many more. There are also tons of unlockable ships that are really fun to use. What even makes this game better is the wide variety of characters you play as: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Wedge Antilles and Darth Vader. The flight missions are brilliantly designed and have you do a wide variety of fun tasks such as dogfighting TIEs, protecting Transports, stealing enemy ships, taking out Imperial Star Destroyers, taking out the Death Star and much much more. Add on to the fact that there are tons of ways to do these tasks and this games gameplay is the best in its genre. Using your lasers, firing missiles and targeting computer really help you to spot the enemy and take them out quickly and efficently. Plus, you can even command your teammates and tell them to do certain things such as taking out TIEs, forming up (flying beside the leader) or fleeing the mission area. All of the flight gameplay from Rogue Leader has been taken and that is defintely a good thing. Overall, you'll really enjoy sitting in your X-Wing and blasting those TIE Fighters. Now, comes the second part of this game which is the on-foot missions. The on-foot missions are good, but could be improved upon. Many of these on-foot missions have you playing as major Trilogy characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Wedge Antilles. Like I mentioned earlier, the on-foot missions are a lot of mindless shooting, but are still fun. The targeting in the on-foot missions is a little bit frustrating, but after playing them for a while the gamer will get used to it. Also mentioned earlier was the bad camera and how that affects some of the fun in the on-foot missions. However, many of the on-foot missions that are directly interconnected with the Trilogy weave in and out almost flawlessly and are really well done in that regard. All in all, the On-Foot missions are fun, but could be improved more in a future sequel to this game.

Storyline:10/10 Whats there really to say about the storyline? All of the missions take place in the original Trilogy and between some of the movies. THAT is a GOOD THING. Some people have complained that LucasArts should move on and all because the Trilogy has been done to death, but that is not true. Many past Star Wars games take place during the Trilogy, but don't have you connect to it. For example, in many you can not blow up the Death Star, fight in the Battle of Endor or freely roam around Tatooine like in this game. Put it this way, if you've seen the Trilogy, you'll know what this game is all about. It's about Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and the Rebel Alliance trying desperately to save the galaxy from the evil Empire and Darth Vader. So now if you haven't seen the Trilogy, you'll still know what its about. In conclusion, the storyline is great and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Multiplayer:8/10 The multiplayer in Rebel Strike is very well done and will have you and one pal doing a variety of things. You can do so many things in multiplayer, it is overwhelming. You can dogfight your friend, race him/her over Tatooine, blast eachother in an AT-ST chickenwalker and more. This game also includes a cooperative mode which will have you and one buddy working together doing ALL of the original Rogue Leader missions. My only complaint with the multiplayer is the targeting. YOU CAN NOT target your friend when they are flying a ship. This can be very frustrating as you have to fly around a lot and shoot them like hell in order to get one kill. It takes a long time to get a kill of a friend, especially while dogfighting. Another gripe with the multiplayer is it is only two player and not four...Now, why couldn't they have made it four? I see no reason why they couldn't have. Aside from that, there are many modes, Cooperative Rogue Leader missions and all of the ships from the one player solo mode available in multiplayer. Also, there are no on-foot multiplayer missions, but I don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing. In conclusion, the multiplayer is well done and very fun to play with a pal.

Replayability:9/10 It may not take a long time for you to beat all the original missions, but there are also 5 hidden missions that you can unlock by earning medals that get you points to spend on unlocking them. Add on to the fact that there are tons of hidden ships in this game, and a full two player multiplayer mode and I think this game will last a long time. Also, take into consideration it is very challenging and extremely difficult to get Gold medals on each of the missions and this game will indefintely take you a while.

Alright, were near the end of the review and here is a list of Pros and Cons and a Conclusion for this review.

Pros/Cons

Pros
+ Best graphics on the GameCube
+ Great sound tracks and effects
+ Flawless flight controls
+ Great gameplay overall
+ Long replayability
+ Great storyline
+ Fun Multiplayer

Cons
- On-Foot Missions need a little more variety
- Controls for these On-Foot missions need to be improved
- Better targeting system in Multiplayer and On-Foot missions

Conclusion Overall, this is one game every GameCube owner should have! I recommend anyone to buy this game, regardless of whether they are a fan of Star Wars or not. This game is a blast and a great collection to add to your GameCube library. To sum it all up, the Force is strong with this game so, go BUY THIS GAME. NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/04