Star Wars Starfighter

"A Good Game, but Very Short."

Gameplay - Starfighter is a fun 3-D space shooter. It is pretty easy on the easy setting but put it on medium or hard for a challenge. You pilot three different ships all of which are controlled relatively the same. Each ship is piloted by a different character, who all have their own story that is learned as you play. Although the levels are all varied greatly (from battles in space right down into the canyons of Naboo) you are still basically shooting enemies the whole game. The gameplay is varied by giving you missions, such as “protect the transports”, as well as giving you extra objectives which do not need to be completed unless you are trying to unlock a bonus level.
The controls are easy to learn and very responsive. The left analog stick turns your ship to the left or right and up or down. The right analog stick makes your ship roll in the direction you press it. X fires your lasers, while square is your secondary weapon. R2 and L2 are your ship’s boost and brakes. To zoom in you can press R1. Issue commands to your wingmates by pressing the directional buttons.

Story - The story follows three pilots who don’t know each other. First you play as Reese and learn his story, them Vanna, then Nym. After you’ve played as all the characters they meet and all start heading toward one goal of taking down the evil Trade Federation.

Audio/Video - The Star Wars universe is brought to life with the famous music, laser fire, and pilots talking over the intercom, all in excellent quality. The graphics are also quite amazing. Outer space seems to go on forever (which I guess it does) during the inter-stellar dogfights. All the characters are brought to life as well in great CG movies.

Replayability - This is where the game’s score is brought down several points. The game is rather short, and not to difficult either. After beating the game the only thing left to do is return to the missions and beat them over again to get more objectives so you can open the bonus missions. With only about 5 bonus missions the game has hardly any replay value whatsoever.

To buy or rent? - Rent this game first. If you like it, play it and I bet you can beat it before you have to return to the video rental store. If you do beat and you still feel the need to play it over again go ahead, buy it and enjoy, but... Rent it first!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/01, Updated 07/19/01