Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

"A Great Game From the World of Star Wars"

Introduction

When the Nintendo 64 was released there were only two games that you could find for it or at least two games that could come with the system. The first one was obviously Mario 64 which is still a highly popular game. The other game was Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire which gave the more mature gamer a reason to get a N64. Shadows of the Empire hits the ground running with a variety of game play with a solid plot that takes place from The Empire Strikes Back up to Return of the Jedi. I never read the book that this game was transferred from so maybe my review will be a little biased to my ease of being amused and having to replay certain levels over and over just to see each little detail that is placed in this game. And there is a lot in this game that will catch your eye. Shadows of the Empire seems to be a game that was originally for the PC because you can just tell with the graphics the way they are, although I really commend the game because you don't see any other game accomplish what Shadows of the Empire does graphics wise. You get a fun "Hey why not?" character to play in Dash Rendar who works behind the scenes to help Luke Skywalker and friends in their struggle against the Empire and a new foe in Prince Xizor. You will get to relive the Empire Strikes Back, fight two of the toughest bounty hunters in the universe, and wage battles across massive levels that other games for the Nintendo 64 cannot compare.

Story 8

The story is not exactly supposed to be a rehash of the Shadows of the Empire novel. In fact it was meant to be a part of the entire project to be technical piece of the puzzle so that after having read the novel, read the comics, and played the game you would get the overall story behind the Shadows of the Empire. The game itself has some inconsistencies with the novel so it is very reasonable to say that the game was going to reach an audience that was never going to read the novel or the comics. The plot unfolds through still pictures with text and uses no videos for cut scenes. I think the plot unfolds nicely although you don't really get the full picture with what is going on, but you do get the necessities. Dash is simply a replacement Han Solo that helps out the Alliance from the Battle of Hoth to the infiltration of the Empire to steal the plans to the second Death Star and defeat Prince Xizor. You won't actually get to fight Xizor in the game so you don't really get to know who Xizor really is. Of course every Star Wars plot has to involve an annoying character and this game's Achilles Heel is in the android Leebo. He is your annoying counterpart who also is never seen in the game beyond the cut scenes and who will interrupt you with “helpful advice” during your missions.

Gaming 9

Before I get to the totally awesome aspects of this game let me get the bad out of the way. The controls are somewhat awkward for moving around and switching weapons. Unless you play the game using the control pad (which nobody would ever want to) then you have to reach away from the control stick to switch weapons. The movement is a little tricky and you do not have the full trust of Dash to make certain jumps. So you will be taking plenty of falls through cracks and off ledges.
Wow, so now on to what make this game awesome. Well the first things you notice are the many different camera angles you can switch between. When you play as Dash you will be able to switch from a third person, first person, overhead, and “Hollywood” angle. What is so excellent about these views are that it is fun to play with each with the “Hollywood” angle a view that is just for kicks. Fans of either third or first person will not be disappointed and the “Hollywood” angle will have Dash running around in a sort of blockbuster movie-like fashion. It's pretty sweet. The Hoth Battle was awesome when first played when this game came out, but judging by it now it lacks the feel of actual invasion by the Imperials as the enemies you take out are few and the shield generator seems to blow up for no reason. Here you get to trip up the AT-AT Walkers and watch the Millennium Falcon take off as you move to the Outrider. And the Wampas. Shadows of the Empire earns extra points for having the Wampas in this game.
You will also get fight in space battles, do some high speed train hopping, play a little road rash with some swoop bikers and even strap on a jet pack. The game offers a lot compared to other Star Wars games that focus only on a particular game type.

Graphics/Sound 10

To be one of the first games released for the Nintendo 64, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire completely takes the cake for visual accomplishments that no other 64 game compares to. Shadows of the Empire involves very expansive levels that involve being able to see far distances as well as involving plenty of Easter eggs for the avid Star Wars fan. Shadows of the Empire also gets a ten for being able to keep the frame rate up with all of the added graphics in the game. There is considerable detail in each of the characters, especially Dash Rendar. His hands may suffer, but the facial details are up to par. But the ride through the junkyard to IG-88 is the example I will use to illustrate how well this game handles frame rate and distance graphics. Not only are there plenty of Easter eggs to see in the junkyard, but the enemies are easily spotted from a distance. The enemies will grunt when hit and there is a little dialogue to hear during the game. The music has its own orchestral composed soundtrack from a composer hand picked by John Williams so there are definitely no complaints here.

Replay Value 8

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire plays out for a good long time. Some levels are fairly simple and can be completed in under an hour whereas some levels require you to do a lot of traveling to get to the end of the game. There is no multiplayer for this game which would have really helped it out a lot, but this is definitely a game meant for a single player experience only. You will find Challenge points all through out the game to use to unlock things like most of the other LucasArts games employ. Special cheats are also available to give you a very fun advantage as well as reach places in the levels that can't be accessed when played normally. You also get cheats to play the end of the game as a TIE fighter or X-Wing and completing the game on the hardest difficulty will allow you to see the final ending for the game. So there is plenty to do to completely beat Shadows of the Empire, but Shadows of the Empire is also just a fun game to go back and replay for its various game play and there are plenty of fun missions and Wampa fights to bet on.

Final Recommendation 8.75/10

Shadows of the Empire is a game that is well crafted in development and offers an experience that is really like no other Star Wars game you have ever played. This game can be so much for so many different fans from gaming style fans to Star Wars fans. Shadows of the Empire is a lot of fun to play and has there are no major flaws that make this game too difficult. I highly recommend Shadows of the Empire as a must buy for any owner of the N64. Whether you are a Star Wars fan or love to shoot stuff this is a great game to go back and play even today. For me, Shadows of the Empire still has a great atmosphere and gives you a lot for a wide-eyed Star Wars fan like me. You can look for Dash Rendar's Outrider in the Star Wars: A New Hope movie.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/08

Game Release: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (US, 12/03/96)