"A true N64 classic"

In the year '96, when Nintendo 64 was in its infancy, there came a game entitled Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. At the time the N64 already had some great games out like Super Mario 64, and Mario Kart 64, but this new Star Wars game went above and beyond the standards. Shadows has all the qualities of a great game. It has great graphics (for its time), complex levels, challenging bosses, and a great story. Let me elaborate...

Story: 10/10
The story of Shadows follows the novel and comic, but is completely from Dash Rendars (a rogue mercenary) point of view. You start by escaping Hoth, going through an asteroid belt, finding Boba Fett, rescuing Luke Skywalker, obtaining super computer data, traveling in the sewers, and ultimately destroying the Black Sun. The story is portrayed perfectly in this game.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay of Shadows is very impressive, for one the levels can be 5 minutes long (like Asteroid Belt), to 50 minutes long (Gall Spaceport). There are four difficulties: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Jedi. Easy is where everyone should start, it only took me a day to beat, and Jedi is not for your typical gamer, very hard. There are also challenge points to collect. For each difficulty you get all the challenge points on you will get a little "privilege". The levels get very complex, you can fly, race, swim, shoot, jump, hide, and I'm probably forgetting others. My only complaint is the fog, Dash cant even see two hundred feet in front of him!

Graphics: 10/10
Another impressive feature of this game is graphics. In '96 graphics were not very good at all, but this is where the game shattered the records of Super Mario 64, and Mario Kart. The graphics are beautiful to those standards, you can see the details of a stormtrooper or an AT-ST, and you can also see how much effort was put into creating this game. By todays standards this would probably get a 3 or 4, but back in '96 this was amazing.

Replay: 9/10
Once you have beaten one difficulty, you move onto a more challenging difficulty or you collect more challenge points. Each difficulty will take longer than the last one did (Easy took me a day, medium took me four, hard took me four weeks (!), and I haven't beaten Jedi yet). There are even secrets to unlock after collecting all the challenge points. The only problem is is that after you've beaten all difficulties and collected all challenge points, there's really no motivation to play the game again. If you want great replay value, get 97's 007 Goldeneye.
Overall: 9.5/10: This is a great game for not only those who enjoy the Star Wars series, but who also enjoy adventure games and first person shooters. This, like Goldeneye, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Party, Paper Mario, and Conkers Bad Fur Day, will continue to stand the test of time to make the N64 a classic console.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/05